How many more chances should Joe get?

 

On January 14, Joe Silva stabbed to death Harold Griesenbeck at the Juliette Fowler Independent Living facility because Harold "put a flower on my door and he had on a red hat."

 

Joe was sentenced to three years in prison in 1976 for burglary. He evidently did not serve the three years, for in 1978, he was sentenced to five years for two counts of aggravated assault. At the same time, he received a life sentence for repeat burglary. He didn't serve much of that sentence, either -- he was out by 1987. So, in Joe's case, life plus eight years amounts to approximately 10 years or less.

 

Instead of worrying about guns in the hands of law-abiding citizens, perhaps our attention should be directed to criminals who are allowed to walk out of prison without serving their sentences. We might stop a whole lot more crime doing that than we will by disarming people who only want to protect themselves against the knife-wielding Joes of this world.

 

"Man: Flower on door led him to kill." The Dallas Morning News; January 16, 2013; p. 4B.