Check it out!
Here's the article about the shooting in my apartment complex last Friday.
41 Year old Lisa Greene fatally shot
And to think, I've jogged past those buildings before. I haven't seen a picture of Ms. Greene, but I have the sinking feeling that I used to wave to her while I jogged, as she would ride her bike around the complex in the morning.
The enormity of someone's life being lost in such a violent manner is not lost on me, but at the same time I have a certain emotional distance from it. For example, all weekend I barely thought about it. This morning I was more concerned with the duck who has nested and laid eggs in my hedge than with the situation of this murder. There's a certain practicality in this, in my self-preservative technique of not worrying about things I can't change or affect, especially since the shooter has not yet been caught as near as I can tell. You continue to keep a handle on the day to day, and cross that bridge when you come to it.
The guy had felony convictions and misdemeanors, and yet was out on the street.
Florida Governor Charlie Crist has just signed a bill called the 'Anti Murder Bill.' Should a felon out on probation violate his parole, he will go back to prison until a judge can decide whether he is a danger to society.
One of the problems with this bill is that Florida prisons are overflowing with non-violent inmates whose convictions are drug-related, and usually small potatoes compared to violent crimes. I'm hoping they'll recognize this and start to revamp drug and alcohol laws a little. I'm not saying that drugs don't cause some violent crimes because they can set the stage for bad situations to happen, but if it comes down to choosing between someone caught with an eighth of pot on them vs. someone up on assault charges, I think the latter is more an immediate danger to society. Yes, the pot-user might get high and drive his car through someone's living room or any other Republican drug-propaganda fantasy, but there's also the chance he'll go home, smoke out and just play video games until falling asleep. The problem lies in between, as terms are not clear. A couple pushes and a landed punch outside a club might constitute 'assault' to one cop, while a two-by-four to the head and multiple broken bones and a fractured skull means 'assault' to another.
I don't know, maybe this is all much more complicated than I'm making it. If you have any thoughts throw them in, by all means. I'd like to try and get some perspective on this.
Also, I'm feeling much better now. Thanks to everyone who sent their well-wishes and commiserations!
41 Year old Lisa Greene fatally shot
And to think, I've jogged past those buildings before. I haven't seen a picture of Ms. Greene, but I have the sinking feeling that I used to wave to her while I jogged, as she would ride her bike around the complex in the morning.
The enormity of someone's life being lost in such a violent manner is not lost on me, but at the same time I have a certain emotional distance from it. For example, all weekend I barely thought about it. This morning I was more concerned with the duck who has nested and laid eggs in my hedge than with the situation of this murder. There's a certain practicality in this, in my self-preservative technique of not worrying about things I can't change or affect, especially since the shooter has not yet been caught as near as I can tell. You continue to keep a handle on the day to day, and cross that bridge when you come to it.
The guy had felony convictions and misdemeanors, and yet was out on the street.
Florida Governor Charlie Crist has just signed a bill called the 'Anti Murder Bill.' Should a felon out on probation violate his parole, he will go back to prison until a judge can decide whether he is a danger to society.
One of the problems with this bill is that Florida prisons are overflowing with non-violent inmates whose convictions are drug-related, and usually small potatoes compared to violent crimes. I'm hoping they'll recognize this and start to revamp drug and alcohol laws a little. I'm not saying that drugs don't cause some violent crimes because they can set the stage for bad situations to happen, but if it comes down to choosing between someone caught with an eighth of pot on them vs. someone up on assault charges, I think the latter is more an immediate danger to society. Yes, the pot-user might get high and drive his car through someone's living room or any other Republican drug-propaganda fantasy, but there's also the chance he'll go home, smoke out and just play video games until falling asleep. The problem lies in between, as terms are not clear. A couple pushes and a landed punch outside a club might constitute 'assault' to one cop, while a two-by-four to the head and multiple broken bones and a fractured skull means 'assault' to another.
I don't know, maybe this is all much more complicated than I'm making it. If you have any thoughts throw them in, by all means. I'd like to try and get some perspective on this.
Also, I'm feeling much better now. Thanks to everyone who sent their well-wishes and commiserations!