About 500 students will graduate this weekend from Atlanta's prestigious Morehouse College. One person who won't be there is Rashad Johnson, shot three times by a fellow student. But the shooter will receive his diploma -- part of a plea deal that spared him up to 20 years in prison.
Joshua Brandon Norris faced one count of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and a second count for possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. But in a court hearing in January, he was presented with what the judge described as "the break of your life."
It's hard to understand the college's thinking here, which naturally they won't comment on. I would think that quietly dismissing Norris would have been the best way to avoid criticism, so I don't see their actions as an attempt to protect the college. Yet, it's a bit difficult to understand not only the prosecutor's decision to accept such a plea but the school's decision to support Joshua Norris.
I find the story puzzling to say the least, unless of course, the judge, prosecutor and school know more than we do about it. In fact that's the only explanation I can think of.The incident began at a Halloween party in 2007 at an Atlanta club, where Morehouse college kids had gathered for a bash. The club owner said he saw Norris causing trouble, and a bouncer threw him out the front door.
Minutes later, the people in the club heard gunshots and everyone hit the floor. The club owner said the shooter was the man he saw kicked out.
Johnson told CNN that there was an altercation outside the club and that he exchanged words with Norris. He said he didn't think much of it, and he began walking to his car when Norris pulled up in his Hummer, got out of the vehicle and pointed a gun at his head.
"When he put the gun to my head, all I could think about was I'm not going to let this kid take me away from my mom, especially with what she's dealing with right now," Johnson said.
He said he grabbed Norris' wrist and pulled his arm down when shots rang out. "I felt the sharpest burning sensation when the first bullet hit my leg. It actually made my leg buckle," he said.
On the It's My Mind blog there is indeed more to the story, but it's not good. Joshua Norris is described as an arrogant rich kid who acts as if he's above the law. Other incidents of gun play and brutality are described, which have been covered up and all but buried.
So what do you think? Given the basic facts of the story, is there a way to understand the legal and academic decisions in this case? Do you think there's more to the story than has been reported? Assuming the part about having a gun with him while driving the Hummer is true, is that legal in Georgia? Would such a thing be legal in another state, New Jersey, for example?
What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.
On the It's My Mind blog there is indeed more to the story, but it's not good. Joshua Norris is described as an arrogant rich kid who acts as if he's above the law. Other incidents of gun play and brutality are described, which have been covered up and all but buried.
ReplyDeleteThis isn't just a problem with rich kids.
Y'know how gun rights advocates are always saying "enforce the gun laws we have"? That isn't just a talking point. In my state's neighboring city of Philadelphia, the city government is constantly clamoring for new and stricter gun laws. This seems natural to anti-gun advocates; Philly has a disgustingly high murder rate, and most of the murders are committed with guns.
But a big part of the problem is just what we're protesting: Philadelphia doesn't _use_ its gun laws. There are extensive laws on the books allowing the courts to throw the book at violent criminals who use guns, yet the actual criminals are routinely allowed to cut deals, get out of prison early, and generally dodge the consequences of their actions.
The city uses its gun laws almost only as a way to disarm and harass the great majority people who _aren't_ part of the problem, and refuses to deal with the tiny minority of people who actually make life miserable for residents.
The reasons for this are complex, and I don't claim to be an expert. But cases like the one you cited, in my opinion, are clearly more of a problem than the unknowable number of people who might and might not die as a result of our country's strong gun rights. Our government is abdicating its responsibility to deal with the people who threaten our lives; shouldn't we be trying to deal with those people rather than trying to take away from everybody any object a bad person might use to hurt somebody?
Assuming the part about having a gun with him while driving the Hummer is true, is that legal in Georgia? Would such a thing be legal in another state, New Jersey, for example?
ReplyDeleteNJ has bizarre transport laws, but the basic intent is to make it extremely difficult to have a gun nearby (in the presumption that the only use for a handy gun is to shoot somebody you're angry with).
The short version is that it's strictly legal in this state to keep an unloaded rifle or shotgun in your car if the driver has a state firearms purchase permit on him (certain other narrow exceptions), but handguns can only be transported directly between your home and a gun shop, a shooting range, or a gunsmith. Under laws passed by NJ's most virulent anti-gun legislators, if I stop at a McDonald's drive-through on my way home from the range, I've committed a crime whose legal consequences are on par with first-degree murder.
Michael, Please tell me you're exaggerating with the first-degree murder comparison.
ReplyDeleteI sorely wish I was.
ReplyDeleteNew Jersey classifies crimes as first- through fourth-degree, with first-degree crimes being the most serious (our state law doesn't itself mention felonies or misdemeanors--determining whether a New Jerseyan is disqualified from voting or gun ownership is a matter of whether he's sentenced to a year in prison or more).
"Unlawful transfer or transportation of a firearm" is a crime of the first degree in New Jersey. The state transportation laws are confusing, but the bottom line is that a person without a concealed carry permit (and ordinary Jerseyans are _never_ issued permits) can only legally transport a firearm, unloaded; inaccessable to the driver; and must go directly between his home and a gun shop, shooting range, approved activity (mainly hunting, as almost all other "approved activities" are held at shooting ranges), or gunsmith; and:
"...and in the course of travel shall include only such deviations as are reasonably necessary under the circumstances."
Remember, these are the kind of laws the Brady Campaign and VPC laud as "some of the best in the nation". It isn't the idea of "common sense gun laws" that bothers me; it's the fact that these laws overburden and criminalize legitimate gun owners to a degree vastly disproportionate with any affect on crime they may have.
African Americans are are on worst enemies.
ReplyDeleteWhere is Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton why are they marching against this miscarriage of justice or could it be because a white wasn't involved there is no need to protest?
"and we are not saved..."