[Stoat]

Although the victim was no angel, one can easily understand the rage of the father. Hopefully the perps will all burn in Hell, and soon.

[Anonymous Rex]

The perp admitted to killing the guys son in a plea deal. Turn him over to the family of the kid he murdered and be done with it.

[Badeye]

The father should have directed that rage at his live son, who went where he shouldn’t have, to buy what he shouldn’t have.

I’m not excusing the punks that did this. I’m surprised they left off the death penalty specification.

Gotta a very good friend who’s son is in rehab for the fifth (5th) time. His mother is the enabler, and I suspect his story will eventually end similiarly.

[PAR35]

Mike Sweat kept crying and saying he had to tell his grandkids that their father was dead, Abdalla said.

Maybe he should also tell them not to go and try to buy drugs in back alleys.

[George from New England]

The murdered kid was buying drugs. How much of a father was this guy?

[hophead]

The family who lost it in court are the in-laws of my co-worker. They are good people whose son took a wrong turn. Nobody should be killed by another just because you are an addict.
33 year sentence, of which he will be out in less than 15.
The judge basically told these people that their son was only worth 15 years of this perps life. I would have gone off on him too.

[JamesA]

Take the punk out and hang him and let his body swing till it rots and decays and falls to the ground. Feed the ants and other creepy crawlers with whats left.

[Vinnie]

I have given this situation some thought and if I’m ever in the gallery, watching the murderer of my relative sitting before me I have a solution.
He/she won’t live to serve the sentence.

[lilylangtree]

Drugs! The bane of humanity’s existence.

[nw_arizona_granny]

Ping.

[gridlock]

Sweat’s family members were in the process of giving victim impact statements to the court when Mike Sweat, who was walking to the witness stand, suddenly turned and charged toward Clifford. Mike Sweat jumped onto the defendant, while county Sheriff Fred Abdalla grabbed the father.

I would say he made a very eloquent statement.

I can't fault the father, except in as much as he did not succeed.

[Fido969]

Courts are jokes. Pompous judges, overpaid lawyers, all keeping the sham going at the public expense.

[epow]

“He has accepted responsibility for what he did

Yeah, right, and he's no doubt really sincere about that too. After all, he didn't really mean to stick a loaded gun in the back of the boy's head and pull the trigger, it was all just a joke that went wrong somehow.

He also loved his sick mother, brought flowers to his crippled kid sister when she was feeling bad, donated time and money to the neighborhood boys club, and was trying hard to turn his formerly troubled life around to please his ailing mother. (insert tearful sobs and moans of sorrow HERE)

I hope he also accepts the treatment he will get as a fresh young slab of meat by the older and more seasoned prisoners. If there's any justice in this world he will wind up as the "wife" of a lusty 270 lb weight lifter with a 60 IQ and a catastrophic body odor problem. After a few months spent in that cozy arrangement the death penalty might not look all that bad from his POV.

[goldstategop]

I'd have strangled the murderous SOB with my bare hands too. What is he going to get- a lifetime behind bars? I don't think that is justice. I have to admire what the father tried to do.

"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus

[lowbridge]

The sheriff said he held Mike Sweat’s hand until other deputies could assist in restraining the father. “All we wanted to do was restrain him,” the sheriff said.

Spoilsport.

[Ptarmigan]

The perps should be infected with the Ebola virus.

[Jimknox]

Mike Sweat belongs in jail, period. He tried to grab the sheriff’s gun—supposing he had accidentally shot an innocent person?

And if one of the defendant’s family members attacks Sweat, you’d be screaming for HIM to die.

The sheriff is a coward for not filing charges.

[t_skoz]

This is a good example of why we should discuss legalizing drugs. Buying drugs is not a criminal act, it is only temporarily illegal. Harmful to the user, absolutely. But criminal in itself, certainly not.

The victim was trying to enter into a contractual agreement, as an adult and with other adults, to purchase (I will presume with his own hard-earned money) a substance that will probably hurt nobody except himself (if at all).

Drugs are available everywhere. They are available in our schools, in our prisons, even in the military. They are available in back alleys. Millions (probably billions) of dollars in black money changes hands every day by people who live their entire lives outside of the law, completely unregulated and sold to anyone of any age.

We need to discuss establishing some way to regulate and control the trade of substances that are everywhere. Jail time is not a deterrent against selling or buying these substances. Even the possibility of death is obviously not enough of a deterrent for sellers and users. We need to reschedule drugs such as marijuana and “magic” mushrooms immediately so that these substances are no longer for sale next to much more dangerous drugs like cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamines.

We need to recognize that the drug war can never be won by fighting it from the supply side, and that by doing so enlarges and empowers government while eroding many of the Constitutional liberties enjoyed by citizens not involved in any capacity of the drug trade.

It is my prayer that this man’s family can find peace and justice, and that Americans can begin a dialog that will help our young people make positive life choices and end the harm caused both by substance abuse, and the temporary illegality of these substances.

[primeval patriot]

She said Joshua Sweat was a two-time national motocross champion.

Joshua Ryan Sweat, 28, of 123 Sherwood Road, Weirton, came to Steubenville on July 29, 2006, looking to buy drugs, county Assistant Prosecutor Jane Keenan said.

Analysis.

Hotshot motocross star attempts to buy narcotics at some dive bar and gets his head blown off.

Whoops, made the wrong choice.

[Leftism is Mentally Deranged]

Politicians, are you listening? The public perceives that our “criminal justice” system is too lenient! Do you get that? Shape up or there will be more morally justified instances of the public doing what the “criminal justice” system doesn’t do.

[Paved Paradise]

I’m surprised this kind of stuff doesn’t happen more often. I think I’d have a hard time controlling myself in this situation. Can’t help being fiery, feisty me.