In 1998, 13 year old Mitchell Johnson and his 11 year old buddy Andrew Golden gunned down four students aged 11 and 12 and English Teacher Shannon Wright, and wounded 10 other people, at Jonesboro Westside Middle School. They had pulled the fire alarm to bring their victims into this trap.
Johnson was released from prison at the age of 21, and his record was adjudicated, thus restoring his right to own firearms.
Two days ago, a federal jury convicted Johnson, now 23, of a weapons charge in connection with his possession of a 9 mm hand gun and a shotgun.
I think it is time for a change.
[source] [hat tip: CMF]
Comments
If he had not been found to be in possession of marijuana, there could not have been any 'weapons' charge.
Posted by: llewelly | January 31, 2008 2:33 PM
That is true, I think. Well, it is speculation, but I'm sure you are right, and it was my reading as well. But who cares? The important point here is that he had the weapons!
I don't think we know anything about the weapons, though, as far as how he got them, etc. In other words, the link between this mass murderer kinda guy being legally able to obtain and possess firearms and the legality or not of these firearms in not established.
Posted by: Greg Laden | January 31, 2008 4:31 PM
I thought you might like tis story. If he is a poster child for anything, I would suspect it would be for reform of laws that deal with minors who commit egregious offenses, and then grow up and become anonymous and record free in adult life--their is a hella' fine line(like miles wide fine) between a minor who stays out after curfew and goes to juvie and a minor who commits planned homicides.
The fact that this guy got his 'right' restored is indeed a joke: adults who commit felonies have to wait five-ten years or so after their probation ends before they get that 'right'again. S/th is definitely wrong in this case, and he is a poster child not for handgun control per se, but rather other aspects of of other laws that deal with offenders.
Posted by: the real cmf | February 1, 2008 2:04 PM