I'm sure Randall Colbrunn is an otherwise saintly man driven to evil by that demon methamphetamine. Can't you see that this Jeckyll and Hyde defense is a cyncial ploy by Colbrunn to divert blame for his horrendous crime? He thought they were bugs ... sure Randall, very Kafka-esque, and awfully convenient as well.
Do I want meth on the streets? Hell no. But while it's a terribly addictive and destructive drug, let's not lay all the blame on the substance rather than the individual. Colbrunn may try to cop out with his "bug" defense, but he shouldn't get off with a suspended sentence and rehab. He's apparently an out-of-control jackass with violent tendancies, and deserves to be locked up.
If you want to deal with the social costs of drug abuse, the first step is cracking down on violent thugs like Colbrunn who truly endanger others with their lack of control, made worse by drug abuse.
I would like to see the whole matter handled in the medical community. It is a medical problem.
No reason to ignore it, it is likely this guy had many prior incidents and was allowed to slither through the system. Now he will be sentenced and hopefully hung. But there is already a $100 billion drug trade, that means millions of users, and you have cops spending their time going after non-violent offenders when the money would be better spent "profiling" the real nut jobs.
The burden of proof you have to fill is to show even if we spend the entire GDP on the drug war, we won't still have wacked out psychos (some not even on drugs) preying on the innocent.
Terrorist threats???!!!! Our laws make no sense.
First this guy beats someone to the point of suffering brain damage and he has a chance of skating in 7 years. He should be put away permanently - and if it is in a hole in the ground tomorrow that is not soon enough.
But he is convicted on charges of attempted murder? I mean that is ok, but sounds like I hired a hitman and he took my money and then squeled to the police. There ought to be another law for when you beat someone to an inch of his life.
Our laws are really perverted, however when loosers like this are charged with making terrorist threats - and this is what scares a lot of us about new found authorities given to the FBI. A terrorist is someone who builds a bomb to blow up a building or threatens to do so - or someone who takes down a planeload of folks or otherwise commits an act against national security.
What this guy committed was a horrible, really horrible personal crime. I have no time for him. But he ain't no terrorist. It is important to be clear on that because next it could be you or me for voicing outrate to a meter maid for giving us a parking ticket when the meter still had time on it.