What happened to our justice system?

[tweek]

My best friend was shot and killed by her boyfriend, John Kenneth Harvey, on Feb. 9, 2008. I heard today that he was sentenced to five years probation. Thats it. Five years probation and two days in jail that ws searved before his arrraignment. Why is this poor excuse of a man allowed to see the light of day at all? I will tell you exactly why... Poor John got his rich daddy to buy him out of trouble.$20,000 just to get the drug charges dropped. It is so sad that our legal system can be bought like that. That a man who deserves to rot in a cell can buy his freedom. Apparently it doesn't matter anymore if you took the life of another by shooting them point blank in the stomach and watched them for twenty minutes as they bleed out onto the carpet as you are waiting for the cops to come. He confessed. He should be locked away. Instead, every citizen of Loudon County gets the secure feeling that there is a killer living among us. So much for closure.

[Polly Wolly]

Look at your DA and that will give you the answer. This place has gone to the dogs because of the prosecutors in this county. They don't have time to investigate anything but they sure do want that money going into their pockets. We better get smart and elect some better people or you might be the next one murdered and whoever does it will go free.

[Gimme a Break]

I agree with you. This is a travesty of justice. I work in the law enforcement community, and I have heard already some of their displeasure with this decision (mine too for that matter). From what I have found out, the prosecuting officer in the case was not consulted prior to the "deal" being offered. And what a deal it is to a murderer. Probation? Give me a break!!! While I do not have a great deal of knowledge concerning this particular crime, any time someone is shot, another person confesses, and it was domestic violence related (as I have heard it was), the least he should have got was about 20 years and a second degree murder conviction. Then you have the drug issue also. That should add extra time on top of that in my opinion. But what can we do? We put the SOBs in jail, and the DA's office lets them go with a slap on the wrist!!!

[NOPT]

there's nothing wrong with the criminal justice system, what is wrong is actually the taxpayer's fault for being unable to afford to pay enough property taxes to afford real CSI experts like whats they gots on TV and in the private sector.
It's the state's case and the states has the burden to prove guilt beyond a shadow of a doubt. Evidently, your prosecutor elected to not waste the state's money on a trial he knew he couldn't win.
"http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2009/jun/16/man-...
Prosecutors said they reduced the charge to reckless homicide and agreed to supervised probation after reviewing the evidence in the case.
"It was a compromise," said Assistant District Attorney Bill Reedy. "We had to get realistic on what we could prove."
Physical evidence included ballistics testimony on how the shooting occurred.
"He claimed the shooting was an accident," Reedy said. "Our ballistics expert could not refute their expert.""

[NOPT]

Gimme a Break wrote:

While I do not have a great deal of knowledge concerning this particular crime, any time someone is shot, another person confesses, and it was domestic violence related (as I have heard it was), the least he should have got was about 20 years and a second degree murder conviction.

What the prosecutor should have done is wasted a bunch of the taxpayer's money trying a losing case and then had the governor double property taxes to pay for it.

[Gimme a Break]

NOPT wrote:

<quoted text>
What the prosecutor should have done is wasted a bunch of the taxpayer's money trying a losing case and then had the governor double property taxes to pay for it.

Since you are not from here obviously, and do not know how the justice system works in SmallTown USA, I will enlighten you. Even if the case is cut and dry, 100 percent guilty as charged, the DA's office would rather work a plea deal than expend any energy on actually prosecuting a case (trust me on this, I know of what I speak). The defendant in this case has a father with a lot of money to pour down the drain. The DA's office, knowing this, would rather not get into a financial battle with the father and the high-priced attorney he hired. Even though they could possibly get a conviction and at least some jail time out of it, they would rather not spend all day in court, so a plea deal is made. This in my opinion is a travesty of justice. They do the same thing with DUI offenders (some with multiple offenses). The charges get reduced to reckless driving or from DUI 4th offense to a DUI 1st. The difference being going from spending at least 180 days in jail to just a couple. Now imagine if that drunk hits and kills your wife or child and gets a sweet deal like that.

[Hoppy]

You are absolutely telling the truth Give Me. That's exactly how our justice officials are working things around here. The police arrest them and the DA and Judges let them go. Of course we got some officers that are kissin' butt and going along with these officials, but that is another matter. Just another day in the life of the Loudon County Justice Department. We've got to fix this too or it will even get worse. Can't wait for another election. Maybe the people will finally figure out what is happening and make some changes.

[Unbelievable]

It's amazing the lack of Justice in Loudon County. How did these people get elected to their positions? It's a travisty of Justice.

[nanna 1958]

loudon county police dept has alway been a joke