U.S. CRIMINAL LAWS FOR MURDER ARE INSANE

How many times have you read an article about a vicious murder, only to learn the person who committed the crime has a rap sheet longer than your leg? You see it way too often. The criminal was previously arrested for assault, rape, attempted murder, etc. If you’re like me, you ask yourself how or why is this horrible person walking around free? Why aren’t they locked up in a cage for the rest of their lives?

I’m writing this just after a serial killer in Texas, named Raul Meza, turned himself in. He was wanted for 2 murders in Austin, TX. After he turned himself in, he advised the police that he committed two other murders in San Antonio, TX. Authorities believe he may have killed several other people.

In 1982, Raul Meza was convicted for the rape and murder of an 8-year old girl. Guess what? He served only 11 years and was paroled in 1993. You read that correctly. A guy who raped and murdered an 8-year old girl, served only 11 years in prison for that vicious crime. This is a prime example of what is wrong with our criminal justice system. The emphasis should not be on parole or rehabilitation for murderers, it should be on protecting society from vicious killers.

After Meza was released, there’s a long list of people whom he murdered. Obviously, if Meza was locked in a cage for the rest of his life after the 1982 rape and murder of that young girl, numerous innocent people would be alive today.

The treatment of Meza described above is symbolic of so many other cases across the country. Why in the world does our justice system demonstrate so much undeserved empathy toward murderers?

What is wrong with our criminal justice system? Why do vicious killers, who rape and/or murder people, serve such short sentences? Why are they released on parole?

Remember, murder is a permanent crime. The victim and their family will never recover. That’s why the punishment should also be permanent, that means the rest of the criminal’s life. After committing a murder, a prisoner should never be released, so that he or she can do it again.

Let’s take a moment to review the various levels of charges one might face for the murder of someone. Please note, the following list is not all inclusive, it’s more of a generic summary.

First Degree Murder

It is the most severe homicide crime and the criteria is premeditated and carried out with intent. This could result in the death penalty, which is almost never actually imposed. More often, life in prison without the possibility of parole, is the sentence. In America, if you get the death penalty, you’re almost assured of at least another 15-20 years living on death row. See more on this at the end of this article.

However, some judges give out a sentence such as only 15 or 25 years to life. Why? Put them away forever!

Second Degree Murder

Second-degree murder is carried out with intent but with no premeditation. This one often carries a pathetic sentence like 15 years to life.

Third Degree Murder

Third-degree murder falls between manslaughter and second-degree murder charges. This murder is not based on having the intent to kill. Third-degree murder is often charged as a depraved heart or mind crime. This charge can arise when a person fires a gun in a crowd without intending to kill anyone. Do you or I really care if he or she intended to kill someone? Firing a weapon into a crowd is more than enough for me to lock up this person forever.

Manslaughter

Your behavior shows you don’t care if someone dies because of your actions (voluntary manslaughter). You accidentally cause another person to die (involuntary manslaughter).

Attempted Murder

Attempted murder is the failed or aborted attempt to murder another person.

In some states “Attempted 1^st Degree Murder” can carry a sentence of life in prison with the possibility of parole. Unfortunately, that kind of sentence is very rare. In most states, more often than not, attempted murder carries a maximum penalty of only 15 years. Very often, the actual sentence is even lower.

Unfortunately, our justice system usually rewards the criminal for failure. If you attempt to kill someone and succeed, you will probably receive a very serious sentence. However, if you try to kill someone, but fail to achieve your goal, the criminal justice system often rewards you with a very light sentence. How dumb is that?

Death Penalty

In 1976, the death penalty was reinstated by the Supreme Court. Since then, only 1,569 men and women have been executed in the United States. Incidentally, most of those executions were concentrated in a few states.

1,569 may sound like a large number, but over 47 years, that comes to only   33 per year. How many murders are committed in America annually? I don’t have the exact number, but it averages out to approximately 21,000 per year. Yes, out of every 21,000 murders annually, there are approximately only 33 death penalty cases each year

Let’s do the math.

21,000 x 47 years = 987,000 murders since 1976

How many people were put to death? 1,569. That means the death penalty is applied in America only about 2% of the time. Or looking at it from the opposite direction, in about 98% of murders cases, there is no death penalty applied.

If you’re like me, you are angry that the death penalty isn’t utilized far more often. However, it should only be applied when the guilty person confesses, or if there is 100% scientific proof. It should never be used in a circumstantial evidence case.

It doesn’t matter how you personally feel about the death penalty and/or how rarely it’s used. What matters is we keep the threat of a death penalty hanging over the head of murderers. Why? Because you would be amazed how many times a murderer pleads guilty to a lesser charge to avoid the death penalty.

Conclusion

We need a justice system that emphasizes punishment over rehabilitation for violent offenders. People who rape, seriously injure, or kill others, deserve to spend the rest of their lives locked in a cage. This type of sentence places the emphasis on protecting society from people who will kill someone for a trivial reason. They simply do not care about others.

Why should we demonstrate empathy for these cold-hearted killers? Why does our criminal justice system demonstrate such a high level of concern for violent offenders? You can bet every dollar you have, if the judge was sentencing a killer who murdered one of his loved ones, that murderer would never see the light of day again. We need judges who place themselves in the position of a family member who just lost a loved one forever.