Monday morning feel good stories

This morning a couple of stories that are different than our usual fare – first up, in Indiana, four men are charged with murder even though they never pulled a trigger. They didn’t even have a gun in their possession when their burglary victim shot their accomplice;

They thought the house was empty. None of the teens expected an armed homeowner to be inside. None of them was armed. None foresaw a shooting. But the homeowner, who was sleeping upstairs, did rush downstairs and did fire a handgun — killing one of the teens.

And all four of the surviving teens were charged and convicted for the death. Levi Sparks, now 20; Jose Quiroz Jr., 19; Blake Layman, 18; and Anthony Sharp Jr., 20, are each serving a five-decade sentence in the Indiana Department of Correction.

[…]

Felony murder carries the same penalty as murder, but unlike a murder charge, in which intent to kill must be proven, a person can be convicted of felony murder even if the death is accidental or unintended.

So, Elkhart Indiana is a little safer these days because these four decided to break the law. Their friend paid with a life sentence, though.

Thanks to Chief Tango for that link.

Here’s another one like that, from Kansas. It looks like from searching the blog, we missed this one when it happened, but we get to visit the case at the sentencing phase. 30-year-old Corey Burgardt, a fellow with a history of alcohol and drug abuse decided to rob his pastor. His pastor shot him in the head;

Prosecutors said Burgardt tried to get into the pastor’s home in November after a night of drinking. Prosecutors said the pastor fired a shot that grazed Burgardt’s forehead.

Besides an extended three year probationary period, Burgardt also was ordered to continue his current alcohol treatment program and pay $2,743 in restitution for the damage he caused.

I guess that the judge figured that getting a bullet to the noggin was punishment enough. The pastor, by the way, invited the criminal to attend his church.

Category: Feel Good Stories