THE TERM 'NON-VIOLENT OFFENDER' IS MEANINGLESS

Here is a good example of why the term ‘non-violent offender’ is meaningless. Any non-violent individual can turn violent at any moment. Correctional authorities should not bet the public’s safety on the up-to-now benign behavior of a prison inmate.

Here we have a ‘harmless’ thief who shot two people to death and wounded a third. Non-violent indeed!

GOLD STAR PAROLEE SHOOTS THREE IN ACAMPO
By Bob Walsh

PACOVILLA Corrections blog
March 26, 2011

A man on parole for petty theft with a prior [theft] shot and killed two people and wounded a third yesterday near Homestead and Jahant Roads in Acampo. He fled the scene, but crashed while being chased by police and is now in custody.

The parolee, Howard D. Smith, 40 (other ages quoted in various media outlets), had been corresponding with a woman who lived at the address on Homestead. He appears to have gone to the house to kill the woman’s current boyfriend, who was not at home at the time. He did shoot and kill an 91-year old man who lived in a separate house on the property, as well as shooting two other people who are believed to be related to the 91-year old. One of those other victims also died, the third is likely to survive.

I don’t see what everybody is getting so worked up about. Petty theft with a prior is a non-serious, non-violent offense. I’m surprised he wasn’t on NRP (non-revokable parole). He had been out on parole about a month, maybe a tad less, from an earlier revocation on his petty theft beef.