October 20, 2007
Boston Blotter: Man Killed on Bowdoin Street
--Early this morning, a 22-year-old man was found shot in the head on Bowdoin Street. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
--Last night, the Codman Square Safe Street Team heard shots fired at Dunlap and Washington. They soon found the alleged shooter, Oscar Mohamed, 19, of Jamaica Plain. Mohamed had shot two men. Both sustained non-life-threatening injuries. One of them didn't waste any time and took a cab to the hospital before emergency reinforcements arrived.
--A phone phreak from Philadelphia hacked into over 200 voice mailboxes at a company based in Massachusetts. The unnamed company acts as a meeting point for people connecting through personal ads. Barbara Denenburg, 50, broke into the system and left threatening messages for a Massachusetts woman.
Amy Farnsworth at the Globe notes that Denenburg allegedly made this behavior a habit:
Denenburg is also accused of harassed a series of women who placed ads through the company, including the Massachusetts woman. Denenburg allegedly sent her a series of letters and a package containing a cardboard tombstone inscribed with "RIP" and the words, "Hated by . . . all women everywhere."
--The 15-year-old who shot Pop Warner coach Myron Stovell is being held on $1 million bail. The message? Don’t mess with Pop Warner.
--Speaking of guns, Governor Deval Patrick wants the Legislature to pass gun control legislation. According to Casey Ross at the Herald, "The bill, filed in April, would limit gun buyers to one firearm purchase a month, increase penalties for possessing a gun near a school or park and create a legal presumption that defendants charged with gun crimes should be held without bail until their trials."
All of that sounds reasonable and might have prevented L'Affaire Pop Warner, but a bill would also need to address appropriate punishment for anyone bringing more guns into the city.
All charges alleged until proven under law.
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"Sounds reasonable"
No, it doesn't. Someone walked up to the coach, pointed a gun at him, and pulled the trigger. There are laws against murder and attempted murder. These laws have substantially harsher penalties than the laws the Governor is proposing. The law didn't stop the shooter. Why?
Well, maybe it's because he's a criminal and CRIMINALS DON'T OBEY THE LAW!!!
Laws do not prevent crime. Their purpose is to define the crime and set the penalty for convictions. So, it doesn't "sound reasonable" to expect this type of law to affect any aspect of criminal behavior.
What "sounds reasonable" is to convict violent criminals, imprison them for a very long time, and if they commit another felony after their release, lock them up for the rest of their natural lives, or execute them if it's a capital crime. That sounds reasonable. Most violent crime is committed by a small percentage of career criminals. When they are all in jail, we'll have much less of this to worry about.
Passing ineffective laws (as almost all "gun" control laws are) that are (suprise!!) ignored by criminals makes it clear the point of the legislation is criminalization of a larger part of the otherwise law-abiding population with a view of disarming them, enhancing their status as potential victims. Does that sound reasonable to you?