Originally posted by rburg:
I don't think his final blaze of glory was predictable. No one knew he'd been out romancing the uncooperative ladies. Nor did they know he would snap and begin shooting cops. The first real indication was when he did the ugly tasks.
You can't incarcerate everyone who has a minor transgression for life. I'd guess most of us here filched a watermelon in our youthful exuberance. Some maybe worse. But no one is advocating the death sentence for such offenses. We've built on so many levels of chances for the offenders, that some of the really bad apples get out. Its pretty easy in hindsight to say we should have kept him in the cookie jar for his full sentence. In fact, we're all saying so now. But the high cost of keeping someone like that locked up when he wasn't showing signs of how he'd turn out doesn't make sense, either.
Dick, I was agreeing with you until I got to the part I quoted. In fact, I think Mixon's actions were pretty predictable; maybe not the multiple murders and national media attention, but certainly that he would again commit violent crimes to the detriment of society. I think he showed every sign of how he would turn out. This person wasn't guilty of a "minor transgression"--he was guilty of multiple felonies, several of them of a violent nature. Here is his record:
http://apnews.myway.com/articl...90325/D9750TN80.html
"Mixon was a high school dropout whose first felony charge came soon after he turned 18. He was arrested in 2000 with crack cocaine and marijuana, and got 30 days after a no-contest plea to the cocaine charge, court records show.
Just over a year later, in 2001, he was arrested again for stealing six PlayStation video game consoles from a Target store and a nearby Toys R Us. That meant another 30 days in county jail.
Mixon applied for a work furlough program through the Alameda County Sheriff's department in 2001 but was turned down. "Applicants' past case of violence could pose a threat to the program, staff and community," records documenting the denial state.
In 2002, he landed six years in state prison for assault with a firearm. Paroled in 2007, he was brought in again in February 2008 as a suspect in an Alameda County murder. He was not charged for lack of evidence, but got another nine months in state prison for parole violations involving identity theft, forgery, fraud, grand theft and other charges. He was released in November 2008, according to state records."
I agree with all you said, though, about how he could have been a different person around his family. I don't hate his folks for trying to find something good to say about him. I am glad he is removed from society, but I can't rejoice at the violent death of any individual. I am glad he is gone, and I wish he had not done the violent deeds he did.