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Well as usual the "system" failed.
Once again those who do the right thing are penalized while the
criminals are set free with little or no punishment.
You guessed it the bastard is out.
After serving 191 days just 9 days over 1/2 a year. Just 6 lousy months.
He is free to plague our society again. Best of all he knows where I
work.
First lets look at the official letter of sentencing:
(Spelling and grammar
are exactly as in original document. Every attempt to maintain the
original formatting has been made. Due to HTML and browser issues some
of the formatting may be off from the original.)
RE: State of
Maryland
vs.
Gary L. Courm
Criminal Number 97399
Dear Mr. [Omited]
The above-named defendant was sentenced by the Honorable [name
omitted] on June 25, 2003, to the following.
Burglary-2nd Degree: 6 year jail sentence-suspended all but 191 days
(time already served). Burglary-4th Degree: 3 year jail
sentence-suspended all but 191 days (time already served). Assault-2nd
Degree: 3 year jail sentence-suspended all but 191 days (time already
served). Assault-2nd Degree: 3 year jail sentence-suspended all but
191 days (time already served); all sentences are to run concurrent
with each other; defendant is placed on 4 years of supervised
probation with conditions as outlined in the probation contract.
Your time and cooperation in this matter have been appreciated.
[Signature line omitted]
So that’s it. He is out,
again.
11 prior convictions for violent assault and burglary and this bastard
is free to walk the streets again.
Free to break into your office. Free to break into your home. Free to
assault you with his hands, with a crowbar, with a knife.
More importantly he is free to do this to me.
I say this not out of conceit but from a basic reality. This bastard has
a reason to single me out above others. He knows what I look like and
where I work. Most of all he has a grudge against me. After all I did
break is nose on the floor. I held him by his throat, cutting off his
air until he nearly passed out. I made him bleed. I had him arrested and
held in jail over the holiday season.
He is a career criminal with nothing to loose. He is an admitted crack
head with no permanent residence. He is nothing anyone would likely
miss, at least not for long. And those who are nothing have nothing to
loose. Jail in our area is little more than a vacation for many of these
criminals. They get a free room that is nicer than anything they had on
the outside. They are permitted to watch cable TV exercise in fully
stocked gyms and practice many religious acts all at our expense. They
get 3 healthy meals a day.
A Digression On Prison Food:
To my shock I have learned that not only are the prisons required to
provide nutritionally sound food but they must also pass a taste
inspection. Yes, we call poor-tasting food "cruel and unusual
treatment". It is an atrocity to justice that we would even think a
prisoner not only deserves but also has a given right to "good"
tasting food. I’m not saying they should have to eat only bread and
water but they should not ever be able to eat better than those of us
who do not commit crimes.
They are treated with more respect and rights than I feel they deserve.
We require as a "civilized" society that our treatment of our human
detritus be above that of their treatment towards us. But all to often
we treat the criminal members of our society better than we treat our
law abiding selves.
A thought for you to ponder.
In your life you are held to a standard by someone. Probably many people
throughout your life have held you to many standards. You have been
judged and are being judged every day by all of society. At least that
of which you have some contact. Your conduct, actions and appearance
will, right or wrong, be held for or against you. As a society we
constantly set standards for others and ourselves.
When we fail to live up to these standards we are punished in one form
or another. If you do not live up to the expectations of your work, you
will be fired. If you treat your spouse poorly, you will be divorced. If
you treat a waitress rudely you will be eating spit. (Trust me on this
one be nice and tip well.)
In fact every aspect of our lives carries with it a test and
consequences. Yet when someone within our society fails, time and time
again, to live up to the most basic of our tests, "respect the
well-being of those around you", they are often given the least
punishment.
A hypocrisy to ponder.
Martha Stewart bilks people out of their "hard" earned money. In the
process saves or makes herself a lot of money. (I admit I don’t really
know what she did or the consequences, but it is my understanding that
the issues are all about money.) We stand in defiant anger demanding a
long jail term and monetary settlements. Pundits on TV are debating what
she should have to do in penance.
But lets face it is only money we are talking about here. Martha Stewart
may or may not have caused some people to loose money. Maybe even their
lifesavings. But she has, to the best of my knowledge, never caused nor
even threatened to cause physical harm to another person. Nor have I
heard anyone accuse her of murder or attempted murder. I’m not
suggesting that we forgive Martha Stewart for her crimes if it is found
she committed any. I am suggesting that the punishment for a crime of
violence against another human should be greater than the punishment for
a crime of strictly monetary consequences. Equally our societal outrage
and interest should reflect the idea that crimes of violence are far
worse than crimes of cash.
Ask yourself: How did Martha Stewart’s crimes directly affect my daily
life? Why would I or anyone else want to see daily or even weekly
updates as to the status of the trial? If you were to ask me the same
questions about the bastard, I can give you a slew of answers. Martha
Stewart, well, I don’t want her to profit from a crime but in the end I
have no real reason to follow the status of her trial, so I don’t.
We have once again gotten the "wrong end of the stick". Entertaining
crimes committed by "celebrities" take a spotlight in the 9 o’clock
news. In fact they often form he core news source for many of the new
"24 Hour" news stations. People must be watching, and not just a few but
many. Enough to make it worth the advertising dollars. TV stations don’t
put what they want to on the air they put only what sells product to as
many people as possible.
We not only took the wrong end of the stick but we have taken the wrong
stick all together. We took the sparkling stick all aglitter and
exciting over the dull and boring stick. Just keep in mind.
The stick that sparkles has a lit fuse.
Sometimes I wish I could wash my hands of the lot of you.
Yes I do realize the arrogance of that statement but I keep getting hurt
trying to save property, people and even the "American Way", so maybe
I’m entitled to a bit of a swelled head along with the swelling of my
injuries.
No thanks to anyone this time,
From just another American.
~Kid Kaos
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