Destruction of handgun adds degree of closure (murder weapon cut to pieces)

Portland Press Herald ^ | 7-12-02 | Gregory D. Kesich

[Jerry_M]

The murderer got 28 years, while the tool he used got the death penalty.

Is it just me, or is there something terribly wrong with this picture?

[Campion]

It's really hard to imagine anything more stupid than this. She gets her satisfaction from knowing that an inanimate object used to kill her son is destroyed? She thinks that somehow accomplishes or proves something?

For comparison's sake, change "gun" to "sledgehammer" and "shot" to "hit". If her son had been killed by a sledgehammer, and she'd fought to make sure that that sledgehammer was destroyed rather than sold, we'd justifiably think she was off her rocker.

[Eagle Eye]

Why don't they chop the perpetrator up in little peices instead of the instrument of the crime?

Anyone have any facts concerning the rates of recitivism for murdering handguns?

[Cable225]

"Are you saying to me that the gun that killed Devin is still around?"

Yes, and that dastardly gun was probably plotting other murders as you spoke!

Because the gun did it all by itself, obviously.

[fly_so_free]

Maybe we can find the box cutters used to hijack the planes on 9/11 and smash them into peices. Won't that make us all feel better???

I feel sorry for them that their son was murdered; but, puhleeeeeeze, they need to hold the human garbage that killed him responsible, not the gun.

[IronJack]

I would think they'd be more satisfied watching the murderer cut into useless little pieces. Better yet, using the pistol to blow his worthless brains out, then selling it and using the money for something worthwhile.

[Lion Den Dan]

What a flaming crock. Did any one test the IQ of the pistol before administering the death penalty? I am sure that it would have been higher than that of the aggrieved (combined).

[Atlas Sneezed]

Bang

[Jagdgewehr]

"I'm not against guns and wasn't before," she said. "Truly, I am against the violence, not the handguns. But I was sickened by the thought that that gun would be put back on the street."

Jay O'Brien said Thursday that he too wanted the gun destroyed. "The killer put that gun right to the back of our son's head and fired," he said. "This isn't about gun control; it's just the right thing to do. It has destroyed too many lives already."

One can only sympathize with the pain these people endure because of such a loss. However, I consider a crusade against the murder weapon as utterly inane.

The O'Brians reveal more contempt for the murder weapon than the individual that murdered their son. What do the O'Brians have to say about being "sickened by the thought" that the murderer Schoff would be put back on the street once he served his 28 years?

The above quotes seem to indicate that the O'Brians think the gun was the murderer - "It has destroyed too many lives already." What a blatant display of misplaced indignation and lack of sound reason.

What utter nonsense.

[Sandy]

What do the O'Brians have to say about being "sickened by the thought" that the murderer Schoff would be put back on the street once he served his 28 years?

The murder weapon has been destroyed, so he won't be able to hurt anyone else once he gets out.

[Godel]

What about the shoes the murderer wore to the scene of the crime, I hope those were destroyed also. Cars that are used in the commission of a homicide should be destroyed as well.

[Sandy]

Better yet, using the pistol to blow his worthless brains out

Now that's a good idea.

[HoustonCurmudgeon]

I am a gun owning, concealed handgun permit carrying, right wing Republican who spent three years in the Army (RA not drafted).

On May 12, 1992 my dad was killed in his home with one of his own guns during a robbery. As his executor, I assure you that I have arraigned for gun to be destroyed when it is no longer needed by the police.

I do not blame the gun, nor do I want it used again. If you care to argue the point with someone who has been there, have at it. I know of what I speak and how these people feel.

[Shooter 2.5]

"I do not blame the gun, nor do I want it used again.

Unfortunately it does sound like you blame the gun. If you are a CCW holder and support that, you should look into donating the gun to a CCW holder who can't afford a decent carry gun. Perhaps something good may come out of a poor person having some protection. Remember, a person can save their life without pulling the trigger.

[GovernmentShrinker]

Your feelings and those of the O'Briens are perfectly reasonable and understandable. However, I would much prefer to see a law giving the victim's next of kin the right to decide what becomes of the gun. Some people might feel better if it was given to someone who especially needed it for self-defense, thus creating the possibility that it could save an innocent life -- an ideal tribute to the memory of an innocent person who was murdered. For next-of-kin who would feel a better sense of closure and constructive response from that approach, I don't think the law should prevent it.

[toddst]

What about the shoes the murderer wore to the scene of the crime, I hope those were destroyed also. Cars that are used in the commission of a homicide should be destroyed as well.

"Hoplophobia: An irrational fear of an inanimate object."

A term coined by Colonel Jeff Cooper of Gunsite fame. Perhaps one should insert the words "and fixation" in this description right after "fear", as applies to these unhappy people who lost their son. Yet the person who is now in prison did the killing. Why no cry from the mother for that slug to be destroyed? I guess I'll never understand.

[HoustonCurmudgeon]

Unfortunately it does sound like you blame the gun.

Unfortunately you don't know what you're talking about. I just want the thing gone. If one of my horses had killed my father I would have shot it.

Write again when you've been there.

NO I don't mean that, I pray you never know how we feel.

[Bob]

Early one morning in April 1996, Steven Schoff of Alfred and Devin O'Brien, 20, two strangers who met in a Biddeford bar, drove to a gravel pit in Lyman.

Gee, two guys just meet each other in a bar and then happen to go to a gravel pit in the middle of the night.

What's wrong with this picture? I'm surprised that this wasn't investigated as an anti-gay hate crime.

[HoustonCurmudgeon]

In my case, because it was my fathers own gun, I am both the next of kin and the legal owner. I want it destroyed, but to make y'all happy I may take one of my many handguns and give it to a homeless person! ;-)