Spare the Trial and Pass the Bullets

The sheer number of depraved and outright disturbed people in the world never ceases to amaze me. Sure, in any given group of animals you're going to find aberrant behavior but sometimes I wonder if humanity's ability to think (or lack thereof depending on your viewpoint) aggravates the situation by several orders of magnitude. Case in point, the man who drove his car into a small group of people outside a Georgia McDonalds on Tuesday, intentionally targeting a group that included several small children.

Of all the lowlife wastes of flesh and bone not worthy of bearing the title human, those who prey on children are by far the most worthless. Mental health issues aside, something has to be inherently wrong with someone in order for this to even begin to formulate itself as a potential plan of action.

“There was clear intent to injure the people. It was obvious,” Police Chief Stacey Cotton said. “This was absolutely not an accident.”

Sadly,

Avery Nicole King, 2, who had been in critical condition, died Wednesday afternoon at an Atlanta hospital, said her uncle, Paul Casola, said.

Of course, there is now a full investigation underway which also aims to look into the perpetrator's mental capacity and prior mental health treatment.

Public defender Anthony Carter, who represented Barnes at Wednesday’s hearing, indicated his mental health could be a factor in the case.

Naturally, the insanity plea will almost certainly be entered when and if this actually makes it as far as a trial, since our legal system has a particular affinity for it. I'm inclined however to argue that mental state should not be weighted as heavily as it is in our system. Whether or not a person understands the gravity of what they have done does not magically change the fact that they committed the act. If treatment can be worked into the rehabilitation and incarceration, that's one thing, but it should not prevent a trial or conviction solely in and of itself.

As the saying goes, 'Ignorance of the law is not an excuse.' Nor should ignorance of one's actions be. The death of an innocent child occurred at the hands of this man, yet according to one witness:

"...the driver was “smiling the whole time.”

There this monster sat, smiling and laughing, meanwhile:

Anita King, 36, of Asheville, N.C., was treated at a hospital and released Tuesday. Stephanie Casola, 33, of Covington, was hospitalized in fair condition Wednesday, a hospital spokeswoman said.

Casola’s children, Jacob, 4, and Isaac 3, were hospitalized in serious condition.

(Source: MSNBC)

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