Disheartening...

It's not just MA that has trouble with keeping criminals in jail. Reader Kevin sends in this story that's not quite a DGC, but has the side benefit of making you mad...

Homeowner shoots burglar on Albuquerque West Side

The man accused of breaking into a West Side Albuquerque home Sunday and getting shot by the homeowner has a long rap sheet, KOB Eyewitness News 4 has confirmed.

According to Albuquerque Police, Richard Garcia has been arrested 37 times for various crimes including Criminal Sexual Penetration, ID theft, and a laundry list of property crime offenses since the late 1980s.

He was arrested as recently as January for four felony charges, but was released on his own recognizance. No bail, no cash up front, just see ya later, be a good boy. Listen to the police spokesman:

“What are we supposed to do?” questioned [Albuquerque Police Commander] Roseman. “We are doing our end of the deal catching these guys and preventing them from victimizing people, but then it's just a revolving door and they go right back out."

Precisely. Even though we've established that the police are under no obligation to protect people, when they do actually catch one of the bad guys, they're just released with a slap on the wrist - or less. It's obviously disheartening for the cops to see the goblins they're arresting back out on the street the next day - especially when they're right back to committing crimes. It makes the community fearful:

KOB spoke to neighbors in the area. Once they learned that Garcia gets out of jail so easily and quickly, they asked KOB not identify them in fear of their safety.

That's wrong on so many levels. The law abiding folks should have nothing to fear from some good for nothing punk. He should be serving a lengthy sentence in a secure facility, not waltzing out the same day. The justice system has failed those it is sworn to protect. We have laws that are supposed to be followed, and punishments meted out for those that break those laws. When we fail to punish, the laws become meaningless.

And yet the anti-freedom folks keep saying just one more gun law and there will be no more gun violence...

That is all.