Father of boy who shot friend gets 3 yrs
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| Sun, 07-18-2004 - 1:21pm |
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apus_story.asp?category=1110&slug=Child%20Shot%20Sentence
Saturday, July 17, 2004 · Last updated 8:28 p.m. PT
Father of boy who shot friend gets 3 years
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
CLEARWATER, Fla. -- The father of a boy who shot and killed a playmate with a loaded gun he found stashed under a sofa was sentenced to nearly three years in prison, followed by probation during which he must speak monthly on gun safety.
Louis Mevec Sr. was sentenced Friday for felony culpable negligence in the 2003 death of Sean Caroline II. Mevec, who owned the .357-caliber Magnum used to kill the 12-year-old friend of his son Louis, was convicted last month.
During his father's trial, 14-year-old Louis testified that a small group of Largo Middle School students had skipped school and were playing video games at Mevec's apartment when he pointed the gun at Sean and shot him between the eyes.
"I blame you and only you for my son's death," Sean Caroline, Sean's father, told Louis Mevec Sr. in court Friday. "My wife and I are also serving a sentence ... but we got no trial. Ours is a life sentence."
Circuit Judge Brandt Downey sentenced Mevec, 53, to the maximum six-year prison term, but suspended more than half of it and replaced it with probation. His remaining sentence is 34 months, but with good behavior he could be released by late 2006.
The Caroline family had asked that Mevec be required to speak on gun safety after his release.
The younger Louis Mevec was sent to a juvenile facility and is now living in New York with his mother and younger brother.
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edited out...because it was already addressed.
I'd have to say "different" options, but not necessarily "better" options. Of the measures being discussed only a firearm offers a full range of deterrence options, from mere appearance in the hand of someone apparently ready and willing to use it to the employment of lethal force in the event it's necessary. None of the other items you note have that range of capability.
This isn't to say that burglar alarms and non-lethal defensive tools don't have their uses and aren't effective within those uses, as they are. They are valuable tools in the prevention of and the defense against crime. But they are inherently limited in their capabilities, in their ability to use a full range of force levels for whatever is required by the situation, a limitation a firearm doesn't suffer from.
~mark~
Guns are inanimate objects though; it takes someone behind the gun to kill a person. THAT'S where the problem lies. Gun control or a gun ban does/will not affect those who are perpetrators of crimes like drive-by shootings. How many "gang-bangers" do you think are going to register a gun in their name, or wait for the criminal background check to come back so that they can *legally* buy a gun?
And say that the U.S. did impose a gun ban, do you really think the criminal element is going to think "oh my, I'd better turn in my gun. I don't want to pay that hefty fine or end up in jail"?
Actually it wasn't all that long ago (I forget the country) where some maniac went around with a sword attacking people on the street. But as long as you're asking questions, how about taking a guess at when the last time you heard of an affixed bayoneting occuring? That was one of the criteria used to ban those evil "assault weapons", the presence of a bayonet lug on the firearm.
"Guns don't kill people???.....what nonsense!"
Not at all. The only nonsense presented on that issue are the claims that an inanimate object is somehow responsible for how it's used by an individual. A firearm is just a tool, nothing more or less, and it's use is determined by the user, not by the firearm. Guns can be used to kill, but the responsibility for that crime is solely on the person using it.
~mark~
http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/West/06/30/supermarket.killings.ap/
Obviously it's way past time we gave some serious thought to sword control.
~mark~
I would respectfully request that you knock these kind of posts off. I mean dang...I'm sitting here behind a computer, in a server room, it is cloudy and my coffee is cold. Have some sympathy....geez....
You lefties can be so cold hearted..
:)
Jim
It doesn't do the same thing as a weapon. If someone ignores your sticker and breaks in, that alarm can be loud and even call the police but they won't get there in time to help you.
"Not to mention it stays with the home and can be installed in rentals, etc. "
So can guns...
"we haven't even discussed other options - like Tasers, pepper spray, etc., that are not lethal "
I will tell you this. If someone breaks into my home and I have a Taser and a .45. The guy isn't going to like my choice. Only reason I'd pick the taser is if the guy was on some expensive carpet...other than that....well...uh...BANG.
I would have zero sympathy or hold back if someone broke into my home. They are invading my property and threatening my family. Good night...the gene pool is better without them.
The only nonsense is this response. I would address it but my fellow gun toters have done a superb job.
***drops mouse***
***running around the house****
I...will....hrhmpphh...get..back...to...you...my....45...is making a break for it....
(later)
Ok I'm back. That dang .45...it's just been itchin to kill something...I stopped it before it got outside...it saw that bunny in my back yard and was getting blood thirsty...its getting a timeout in the chair right now...and it can only play with blanks for the next week....
See discipline is all you need for them drive by guns...
JIm
What is it with computer guys and cold coffee??? Yick! My husband will drink ice cold coffee too...I'll ask him if he wants a warm up and he tell me to hold on while he slugs down the cold stuff, then hands the cup to me for his refill.
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