August 01, 2011
ATF Wouldn't Arrest Gun-Happy Felon, and So He Strikes Again
Anyone who has followed this blog, Pajamas Media, and the gun blog for any length of time knows that I've been investigating a felon by the name of Lee Franklin Booth since late last year. I've tried to warn that he's a dangerous criminal that needs to be put away. The federal government apparently thought he would be a useful criminal informant.
I guess that isn't a secret anymore, but the feds have refused to bring Booth down.
Well, such negligence has consequences, and Mr. Booth apparently took another crack at trying to kill someone in the past couple of weeks.
I'll report on this more as the story develops.
Misdemeanor assault with a deadly weapon? WTF is that? He bumped into someone on a crowded elevator while he had a gun in his pocket? He hit someone in a spontaneous gun-throwing fight?
Posted by: Professor Hale at August 1, 2011 05:01 PMquite possibly, professor. It looks like legalese for "we don't know what to do with him, so we charge him with something, anything, and cover our tracks later".
We all know our host here has an unhealthy obsession with Mr. Booth and his history with the law. I wonder if he knows what really happened here and if so why he keeps it quiet.
IMO the entire "once you have a conviction for anything you can never again own a weapon to defend yourself" is blatantly wrong. Legally wrong, ethically wrong, and constitutionally wrong.
It effectively violates the constitution where it states that "to keep and bear arms cannot be denied".
It violates ethics in that you make people easy victims for criminals.
It violates law in that you effectively turn any penalty (including potentially a parking ticket even) into a life sentence without possibility of appeal, and worse yet, make that a federal sentence.
"assault with a deadly weapon" is one of those catch-all phrases anyway. If you're in a barfight and happen to be holding a beer stein which you use to hit someone on the head, you can be charged with it because it could indeed cause serious, even life threatening, injuries.
If noone got seriously hurt, it would likely be written off as a misdemeanor, handled by a fine and having to pay for repairs to the bar and a bandage for the person you gave a bloody nose.
