How far does a criminal have to
go before their crime is met with a punishment that will bring a sense of safety
and justice to the victim? This is the question I find myself asking right now.
How can a knife wielding man attacking another person be considered a
misdemeanor? Isn’t a knife a deadly weapon? The definition of misdemeanor is a
relatively minor misdeed. When did a grown man attacking a teenager, punching
him in the face, and coming at him with a knife become a relatively minor
misdeed? How can anyone consider that to be the case? I know the victim doesn’t
consider his attack to have been a minor misdeed. He thought the man was going
to kill him! Is that what has to happen? Seriously, does a criminal have to
attack and kill a person before the laws we have set up in this state classify
that person as a dangerous criminal? How could that young man go to sleep
feeling safe when he knew the laws set up considered his attack to be a minor
misdeed?
Yes, I’m angry! This young man
was left with a swollen eye from being punched in the face, superficial wounds
made by the knife on his arms and legs, and whelps on his back from being hit
while CRAWLING away from his attacker. Should it matter that the knife wounds
are superficial? What? Are our laws set up so that we have to have a medical
doctor measure how deep a knife wound is before we consider an attack with a
knife to be more than a minor misdeed? What’s the desired depth? One inch? Two
inches? I’m really confused about this right now. What about the wounds that aren’t
visible? Trust me, they are there. The terror inflicted upon the young man is
real! Do people really have the right to attack someone and terrorize them and
basically get a slap on the wrist?
You may be wondering if this is
a real situation. It is. I know the young man and his mother. You might even be
thinking, Ah, well, it must’ve been some
punk kid who pushed the man too far. It’s not. He is a very respectful
teenage boy, one that any teacher would be proud to have in his or her class.
I felt prompted to write this
last night after finding out about the situation because I was upset that his
attack was considered a minor misdeed. I asked permission of the mom and will
send this to her before publishing this to my blog. Something needs to be done.
As a mother, I remember all too well when my daughter was in a situation that
was a dangerous one. She was still considered a minor by the state we live in,
but there were no laws set up to help us as parents to get her out of the
situation. My daughter had gone into the situation of her own free will but
ended up trapped in abuse with all outside communication with friends and family
severed. She was still in high school. I felt helpless as a parent, so I
understand how my friend feels right now. She feels helpless. She can’t undo
the trauma her son has endured, yet she has the job of helping him to cope with
the emotional distress left behind by this man.
If the laws of Mississippi are
written in a manner that allows a person who has attacked you with a knife and
caused you to fear for your life to only be charged with a misdemeanor, the
laws need to change! We need our congressmen to do something about this. We
should be able to feel safe. We should feel that our laws not only protect us
but seek justice for us as well.
