Posted on 02/22/2015 4:54:08 AM PST by marktwain
In what is probably a statistical quirk, five of eleven homicides in 2015 have been self defense shootings. Calling them 'victims' seems a little odd when the people shot were the aggressors. From tulsaworld.com:
Of the 11 homicide victims so far this year, five have been killed by civilians or security guards in shootings Tulsa police have deemed self-defense. For comparison’s sake, only eight such homicides occurred in all of 2014, and six of those involved Tulsa police officers. Tulsa police have not been involved in a shooting yet this year.
“It’s been an odd year,” Walker said. “I’m sure it will even out over the next 12 months, but, yeah, … it’s been odd.”Two of the five were armed robbers shot in self defense in a gunfight with a convenience store clerk in January. The other two robbery suspects involved were later arrested. Of the other three self defense shootings, two were by security guards firing at people in vehicles, and one was a domestic self defense shooting of a man by his wife. The 60-year-old man and his 63-year-old-wife were living together when it happened, even though the wife had a restraining order against the husband at the time.
In 2010, the total cost of Oklahoma’s prisons to incarcerate an average daily population of 24,549 was $453.4 million.
$453,400,000/24,549 = $18,469 per inmate, for 1 year.
For armed robbery, sentence can vary from 5 years to life.
So assuming these 5 decedents were felon criminals who would have been sent to prison for just a single year, the state has been saved some $92,000 plus. If the other six were to go to prison as well, again for just 1 year, the state may have been saved over $200,000.
Had they all been put in prison for 5 years, $1 million. $10 years, $2 million.
And this ignores things like the costs to future victims, future trials and imprisonment. One of the ex-convicts mentioned as killed had been convicted 9 times. This can add up to real money, if he had been killed at the time of his first felony, instead of his last.
And currently, costs skyrocket if the court gives them a death penalty, running into the millions for each and every mass murderer killed by the state, instead of with a few inexpensive bullets from a citizen.
Thinning the herd. Crime will fall as well.
Great post. Thanks. Detail the time and money spent at the range, on the weapon(s), on the ammo. Send the dead perp’s next of kin the bill.
With the DemocRATS importing America haters by the millions, you can expect this percentage to double before the Kenyan finally has to go out and find himself a REAL job.
Think of it somewhat like buying a smoke alarm and fire extinguisher for the home. If you have a fire, there is no way you are going to begrudge the expense, at least if they work.
I see one of the responsibilities of citizenship as being an enforcer of the law. Police and the courts are just a convenience. And to prevent abuse, both of them are under strict rules and supervision. An ordinary citizen has much more latitude to prevent violent felonies, integrating, as needed, the power of arrest, instant trial and conviction, and, if appropriate, capital punishment.
And to be an enforcer of the law, the citizenry need the tools to do so, because criminals ignore limits to their engaging in felony crime.
There’s been a heck of a lot of gunplay in Tulsa ... both bad guys and good guys. Tulsa is getting to be the Wild Wild West.
AND ... the fact of the matter is that the bad guys CAN EXPECT that someone is nearby with a concealed weapon (legally so) ... and in spite of that ... these bad guys are STILL doing shootouts. It doesn’t seem to have deterred them, in the least. It is like it was in the Wild West ... in that everyone is going to “have at it” no matter what.
I’ve noticed that it seems to be getting BAD in the last few years!
This is not a political statement of any kind, but stating that things are GETTING CRAZY around here!
— — —
Last year, there was a Tulsa policeman, well-respected, no problems, a pillar of the community ... and ... when he was off duty he was looking for an adopted daughter who had taken with a boyfriend (after the officer ... i.e., mom and dad, had kicked the daughter out to teach her a lesson). He found the daughter in a public venue, an outdoor musical concert area, and the officer shot up the boyfriend (killed him) and shot at his daughter!
That’s a real puzzler, but is indicative of the increasingly prevailing attitude, it seems, that if one has a problem, one solves it by shooting someone. That is getting to be the prevailing attitude around here!
We’ve REALLY got to stop that attitude that you kill someome to “solve your problem”. We’ve got to instill in people that you don’t pull your gun for “problem resolution” but ONLY in the event of an immediate and direct threat to your life ... and that the SANCTITY OF LIFE is extremely important, no matter WHAT DISPUTE one may have.
Strange or not so much? Could it be that people are getting their guts full of all the crap? I don’t have time to go on today.
We have sure taken a lot of abuse at the hands of entitlers and these last 6 years especially.
I know I am without mercy and don’t figure I’d have any remorse. I’m pretty much pissed off at anybody who crosses me.
Sermon I heard today was about “how to act Christian” outside of church. Do as Jesus did. The scripture was Matthew 13; Jesus washing the Disciples’ feet. The context was Jesus’ impending death, and Jesus behaved as a lowly servant to his own disciples! As Matthew records Peter’s reaction, that act of service was shocking.Then I listened to a recording of C-Span from last night, and at the Governor’s Conference Asa Hutchinson introduced Danny Meyer, restauranteur and author of Setting the Table, who spoke about how to make an excellent organization. He spoke about what it takes to be someone’s “favorite restaurant” - or favorite anything else. And he said that only 49% of your score towards being that “favorite” comes from the things that you tell your organization to do. In a restaurant, that 49% includes service.
What, then, is the other 51%? The other 51% is relationship. It is the Tofflers’ “high touch” concept. He made the point that it is most like a hug - the only way to get one is to give one, and you cannot give one without getting one as well. He said that, ironically, you cannot do the second 51% of the job of excellence by putting your customers first. The only way to get there is to put your employees first. You recruit employees not merely to do a job but to relate to each other - and as a byproduct of that, in a virtuous circle way, to make the customer happy to be there.
IOW, if you cannot run a happy ship - which takes for granted that the crew is competent first of all - your ship cannot be truly excellent.
How did I get on this rant in a thread about law and order? Simply because we need civility, but beyond that we need friendliness. We can’t get it without giving, it, and we can’t give it without getting it. This culture just has to do better. You and I have to do better. Let’s figure out how we might set an example which will bring disgrace on the concept that there could be anything wrong with “acting white.” And the very last thing that can consist of, IMHO, is seeming not to “act white.”
The other thing I recorded last night on C-Span was Bill Whittle. He embodied excellence in his presentation of how to convince people who think they disagree with conservatives. Romney didn’t lose on the issues; he lost on emotion. He “won” on each of the issues - and was swamped on the feeling question, “cares about me.” And that was enough for a narrow loss.
Ironically, it seems that the solution might have to be “going negative.” Obama won by portraying Romney as an ogre, and a defensive crouch couldn’t redeem the situation. The only way out would have been to tell the truth about Obama. Which is what Guilani did when he questioned whether Obama loves America. Rightly define "America,” and the obvious answer to that is, “NO.”
I’ll let you do all my huggin’. I’m tired of it. It hasn’t worked for the last 50 years ‘cause it has gotten us to this. I’m fed up with being taken advantage of and the more I give the more is taken.
In that happy ship the great employees you have deserve to not be drug down by incompetence, slothfulness and indifference. A good firing of someone who needs it is equally good for morale.
Next time you write a quarterly tax check for six figures then have your wife threatened by some wet back in a grocery store parking lot demanding money or acting like they own the place I’ll call you to go be compassionate to them. It happens often enough that you should have plenty of opportunity. They are that way because they are emboldened by being told every day that they deserve more. Nobody deserves a thing that is not earned. I’ll offer respect and kindness until it is unearned and that happens a lot.
Free is good and work is hard and equality does not exist. A whole bunch of people don’t get that. If they do they have don’t like it because they have been taught for two generations or more that it isn’t “fair”. They like the easy way out and they aren’t giving it up. The founders knew about these people and they wrote protections into the Constitution to keep them from taking over. In the last 150 years compassion, compromise, caring and civility. There have to be consequences for failure. The last 50 years have done away with that or made the consequences a low simmer of misery and mediocrity. There have always been poor. Robbing the pleasure of success from some is not going to change that.
I am civil, polite, respectful and all that until I get crapped on too many times. Right now, I feel like I’m in dung up to my neck.
Save your sermons for someone else as well. I don’t care for them. I also get a good gut full of piousness. Even Christ got fed up with sorriness. I’ve pretty much got the Book down since I was just barely reading.
We see some things alike but not a lot. Romney lost because he was acting and it was apparent. He is a lousy communicator and I think double minded on many things. More than that though he lost because you can’t beat free stuff. Just like my cows on range cubes the takers will consume until there is no more or they bloat and die.
Have a nice day :)
I hope I didn’t come across as self-righteous; I’m hardly likely to make the Lord forget St. Peter(!)I was just reflecting on the difference between “good” and true excellence. And ruminating on what true excellence would look like in the context of our concerns for American society, a.k.a simply “America.” You’re certainly right that what we’ve been doing has had deeply disappointing results. People have been subjected to “the soft bigotry of low expectations,” and too many of us (one is tempted so easily to say, “them”) have fallen for it.
The idea of pursuing and promoting true excellence highlights just how low those “low expectations” actually are. People not even trying to pull their own weight - let alone trying to inspire everyone around them to excel. “when the fight begins within himself, A man’s worth something.” - Robert Browning
Excellence is a lofty goal right now. At this point I’d celebrate the state of the nation being somewhere between adequate and acceptable.
We never achieve true excellence. That is the goal of Christians that is unobtainable we are told. However, we can achieve greatness by making excellence our goal. For many though excellence is not even on their radar screen and they have settled for existence.
How is that?
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