I have lived in Delaware 29 out of my 33 years. I move along day after day knowing that things are getting worse. War, murder, and poverty are skyrocketing to ridiculous levels. The rich get richer, the poor get raped on all levels, and our so-called “leaders” stand by and do very little. Today, I caught a glimpse of how truly low we have come. I was eating my lunch and reading the paper, as was one of my many habits. I almost choked on my sandwich when I read the most infuriating article. The case of Andrew “Bam Bam” Brown should be the poster child FOR the death penalty. Mr. Brown was sentenced to 2 life terms on August 25,2006. He killed a man in March of 2005, on Easter. Steven Cleveland was gunned down because he wouldn't strip naked and run from “Bam Bam” during a robbery. It probably wasn't the smartest choice on Mr. Cleveland's part, but I certainly understand why he didn't.
Why should he give up his dignity because some idiot with a gun wants him to. Apparently “Bam Bam” gets cranky when things don't go his way. Can someone please explain to me why I need to pay for this douchebag, through paying my taxes, for the rest of his natural “life”? Everyone agrees that he's an absolute danger to society. The Judge, the jury, certainly the victim's family, and everyone with common sense accepts that “Bam Bam” isn't fit to breathe the same oxygen as the rest of us. Instead of giving him “three hots and a cot plus TV, phone, cable...etc, why not put a bullet in his head? Do it as soon as possible, not a decade from now with a little pinprick. Better yet, let someone from Mr. Cleveland's family get to pull the trigger. My vote is for the uncle who was quoted as saying, “Clap back...Bam Bam” Very well spoken. Prison supposedly is for rehabilitation. If everyone agrees that he can't be rehabilitated, put him down now, save the strain on the resources, families, and me.
“Bam Bam”'s career started at the tender age of 7...ten years ago! Mr. Brown and three of his friends decided it would be cool to beat an old, homeless man for fun. Where the hell was the state then? Still a better question, where the hell were the parents? Newsflash, if your 7 year old is out beating homeless people, he has a problem!! Unfortunately 38 felony arrests with 13 ending in convictions later and its poor “Bam Bam”. What a load. Linda Brown, his mother had the audacity to state “Nobody went to his rescue then, and now the media tries to make him into a danger.” Where were YOU? Why in a decade, did it not occur to YOU, that young Andrew was in trouble? If you see the cops 38 times with your son in custody, he has a problem!! It is not any states job to do your parenting for you. You were the one who was supposed to go to his rescue. The media didn't have to try to make him a danger, he did that well enough on his own.
Where is the justice in keeping “Bam Bam” alive at my, a complete stranger, expense. I have never met the man nor do I want to. So why do I have to pay for him? I have never laid eyes on either man, yet in the end, I have to keep this over-grown child with a temper, alive for at least 50 years. American justice doesn't give a crap what you do, as long as someone can pay for it. Why not go back a little ways, and have his family responsible for feeding, housing, and clothing him. Not forgetting Medical costs and such, this is gonna be expensive. I bet they'd support a single shot to a few hundred thousand dollars. It would free up a bed for lesser criminals, perhaps for all the political prisoners smoking and distributing marijuana. The benefits are endless. The state cowardly stands behind the fact that “Bam Bam” was 17 when he committed the crime as the reason not to execute. Time to put the boots on, the turds are piling up. There isn't much difference between 17 and 18, either is capable of putting a bullet in you. Mr. Brown knew what he was doing was wrong, now waste him and move on. Stop making the rest of us pay for something we didn't do.
In conclusion, almost everyone failed. “Bam Bam” Brown, the state of Delaware, and Mr. Brown's parents all failed to keep this danger from spreading. Why did it take a decade and a murder to see? 13 convictions ought to tell you something. The rest of us who just live here shouldn't have to shoulder the economic and emotional burdens that housing “Bam Bam” Brown entail. Give him a shot and a headstone, and move on to the next temper tantrum with a gun.
