The family of a man shot to death when he tried to help a woman who was being robbed said they have forgiven his killer.
The teen responsible for killing Mario Gonzalez, 72, was sentenced to 80 years in prison Wednesday in Marion Superior Court.
Mr. Gonzalez came to the aid of a woman being robbed at gunpoint by the then 16-year-old Dominique Staten.
Marion County Deputy Prosecutor Courtney Curtis said, "He aimed the firearm that he had a right to carry and then he lost his life."Gonzalez died from a single .357-caliber bullet to the abdomen. His gun was found at the scene, but he did not get off a shot.
The forgiveness angle is good. It occurs to me that perhaps this is one place where Christians have got it right. But, I suppose there are many vengeance-seeking Christians out there. What's your opinion? Is forgiveness of this type a Christian thing?
Another interesting aspect of the story is the fact that Mr. Gonzalez was a concealed carry permit holder, and as such was armed when he intervened in the robbery. What do you think went wrong? Isn't it strange that he didn't even get a shot off? Would he have approached a robbery in progress so unprepared? What's the point of carrying a gun if that's what happens?
Is it possible that many concealed carry permit holders are untrained and unprepared? Do some of them think the gun itself gives them some kind of protection? What do you think?
Of course, I was interested in the provenance of the gun. "Dominique Staten, then 16, had just bought a stolen gun from a friend," the article said. I couldn't help but wonder if the gun had been stolen from its legitimate owner and how easily that had been accomplished. Besides straw purchases, it seems that stolen guns are one of the main sources. Do you think that's right? Isn't there any way we could encourage gun owners to be more careful with their weapons? If the monetary damage of having a gun stolen is not enough motivation, would legal sanctions help? What if all guns were registered to specific individuals and those individuals had to be accountable for their weapons?
One other observation is that apparently the young shooter has made some efforts to turn his life around in spite of the fact that a good portion of it will be behind bars.
Staten's attorney, Eugene Kress, said his client wants to better himself.
"He's done a lot of work since he was initially incarcerated, furthering his education," Kress said. "His goal is to continue that. He's going to, I hope, use his time wisely."
How common do you think that is? How many young prisoners truly make an effort to turn their lives around? Does rehabilitation work in some cases?
What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.
it all depends on the training or education they have after they are released from prison. Many times a person with a felony record is discriminated against when he has to check the box about the past crime and arrest history in the job application. The same does not apply to wealthy criminals like white collar bankers or NFL stars like Michael Vick. He just got resigned and suffered no financial or career punishment for his felony record.
ReplyDeleteIs forgiveness of this type a Christian thing? Probably. But Christians don't have a monopoly on forgiveness. Lots of religions teach and advocate forgiveness.
ReplyDeleteWhat do you think went wrong? Isn't it strange that he didn't even get a shot off? Wait a minute, on the one hand you accuse CCW holders of being trigger happy, and now you are thinking it is strange that he didn't shoot first. What went wrong? The other person shot him.
Would he have approached a robbery in progress so unprepared? What's the point of carrying a gun if that's what happens? Mikeb, carrying a gun doesn't give you a cloak of invincibility. The point of carrying a gun is to have an effective tool to combat violence. It doesn't guarantee that it will work.
Is it possible that many concealed carry permit holders are untrained and unprepared? Do some of them think the gun itself gives them some kind of protection? Yes and yes. Anything is possible. Let's reword the sentence another way:
Is it possible that many drunk drivers are untrained and unprepared? Do some of them think that alcohol gives them some kind of superior driving ability?
Besides straw purchases, it seems that stolen guns are one of the main sources. Do you think that's right? Yeah, isn't that common sense mikeb?
Isn't there any way we could encourage gun owners to be more careful with their weapons? Maybe we need to have a federal program that buys gun safes for all gun owners, right? Mikeb, LEA (including the FBI and ATF) "lose" more guns per capita than gun owners as a whole.
If the monetary damage of having a gun stolen is not enough motivation, would legal sanctions help? Do you apply this same logic to other crimes? Drunk driving, rape (after all she was wearing a short skirt), arson, fraud, SPAM, etc.
What if all guns were registered to specific individuals and those individuals had to be accountable for their weapons? Then when it didn't affect crime rates, we could use the legal sanctions and start taking guns away from those most irresponsible, right?
Baaaah, baaaah.
Isn't there any way we could encourage gun owners to be more careful with their weapons?
ReplyDeleteIsn't there any way we could DISCOURAGE CRIMINAlS from STEALING guns?!
Also, please, explain how registration of the law-abiding would prevent a CRIMINAL from STEALING guns?......
From every report I've read, straw purchases of crime guns are the exception, not the rule. If you've seen a study that says otherwise I'd love to see it.
ReplyDeleteAnyway ... the CCW law did as it was intended, it empowered the 72 year old man to intervene to protect a fellow citizen. Anyone can freeze up when the moment of truth comes as to whether or not they will actually pull the trigger and end another human's life, but cops with all their training have the same issue; You don't know until you've faced it.
Although I feel confident that I would never draw my weapon unless I had resolved myself to use it, even I can't know 100%. In any case I know many people do use weapons effectively, so civilian CCW iss a law/concept I will always support.
We don't know the details here. Hopefully he was intervening not just to end a robbery but because he believed the woman's life was at risk, and if so he heroically took the risk upon himself and lost the gamble. Greater love hath no man than gives his life for another (probably got that quote a little off).
And forgiveness isn't just a Christian thing, though it is our specialty, it's a human sanity thing. Life is too short to spend it being bitter toward others. You can still punish people for their crimes and lock them up, of course, but we all have to move on.
Little Steve said, "From every report I've read, straw purchases of crime guns are the exception, not the rule. If you've seen a study that says otherwise I'd love to see it."
ReplyDeleteWhat do those reports say the rule is? Do they say most crime guns enter the criminal world by theft?
I was wondering about something Il Principe said. Michael Vick paid an incredibly high price in my opinion. He was the highest paid player and on his way to becoming the greatest quarterback that ever lived. All that was interrupted, he did as much time as many murderers here in Italy, and when released became the target of the powerful PETA warriors, which resulted in his having difficulty finding a job.
ReplyDeletewhich resulted in his having difficulty finding a job.
ReplyDeleteCry me a river! You aren't talking about some dropout who won't even be hired at McDonalds. Let's see, he gets out of prison in May 09 and signs a new contract in August of 09. Three months out of work, during a recession. Yeah, those PETA protests really hurt his ability to find a job.
MikeB,
ReplyDeletehere is the case of an ex-felon: Should he be able to do the same job that enabled the crime in the first place?
Should he be "allowed" to own dogs at all?
Should Vick's rights be restored because he is rehabilitated?