10 years in prison for this guy but the cop walks...
Father Sentenced In Son’s Shooting Of 4-Year-Old Sister
Police: Then-5-Year-Old Boy Shot, Killed Sister
http://www.theindychannel.com/news/19263362/detail.html
INDIANAPOLIS — The father of a young boy who police said shot and killed his 4-year-old sister with a gun he found in the family’s home was sentenced Thursday.
James Booher, 27, pleaded guilty to one count of felony neglect of a dependent and was sentenced to 10 years in prison, with two years suspended, 6News’ Derrik Thomas reported.
“When there are children present that you have responsibility for keeping safe, you have an obligation to make sure they are kept safe from something so deadly,” Marion County Deputy Prosecutor Barb Crawford said outside court Thursday.
Except if you’re a cop...
Late getting back to this thread but the http://www.theindychannel.com/news/19263362/detail.html link offers support for freedomwarrior’s argument.
From his comment regarding the criminal code: “Sec. 7. A child’s parent or legal guardian who knowingly, intentionally, or recklessly permits the child to possess a firearm.”
From your article: “Police said the 2008 incident was not the first time that the boy had found a gun at home and fired it. Eight months prior, when the family was living at a different Indianapolis home, the boy used a chair to reach his father’s gun atop a refrigerator. On that day, he fired a bullet into a kitchen cupboard, police said.”
It can be argued that in light of the son’s history and his temperament (remember that he went looking for the gun and deliberately shot his sister after an argument - that kind of rage doesn’t just spring into being overnight), the father didn’t take the necessary gun safety precautions. I’m not saying that I think he needed the additional punishment of a jail sentence on top of losing his daughter but the DA did have LEGALLY reasonable cause for charging him according to Indiana criminal code.