Saturday, November 17, 2012

California Man Gets 7 Years for Accidental Shooting

Local news reports

A Santa Maria man was sentenced to seven years in state prison Thursday for accidentally firing a gun, badly injuring his son and nephew.

Evans pleaded no contest last month to felony child endangerment and admitted a special allegation that he personally inflicted great bodily injury on his nephew, causing paralysis.

It seems a bit excessive to me. We see cases frequently where people get a warning or a slap on the wrist for doing this kind of thing.
Like them, he was a lawful gun owner, and no mal-intent was suspected, yet they threw the book at him. Wasn't it enough punishment that he injured his own son and paralyzed his nephew?  That's they usual rationale.

Sentencing disparity is something black defendants know about. This is a good example.

What do you think?  Please leave a comment.


2 comments:

  1. Unlike you, I'd sentence anyone who committed these acts to time in prison, regardless of skin color. But I wouldn't take guns away from good citizens who haven't screwed up.

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  2. The disparity is because of California. California has a law that makes it a felony to leave a gun where a child can access it (with a reasonable belief standard) AND the child uses it to harm or kill a person. That is exactly what happened here, and he got charged with a felony. This is a gun control law championed by your side, and they continually push to make it a national law. Why do you always make it about race?

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