Stardate 20021024.1824

(On Screen): I've been holding off on commenting on the DC sniper case because I had little to say. Even after the arrest, I wanted to wait until it was certain they had the right guy.

It's now certain. They've proved that the rifle seized at the time of arrest was the weapon which killed all those people. The kind of ammunition being used often breaks up when it strikes (so I've read, though I'm far from an expert on such things) but with as many victims as there were, struck in as many parts of the body, it's completely believable that they have recovered at least one bullet sufficiently whole to permit a ballistics check. (Apparently they were able to match 11 of the 14 bullets. The others probably broke up too much on impact to permit any kind of test.)

They're going to throw the book at him, of course. Maryland has the death penalty, but for the moment the governor has declared a moritorium on executions. For this dude, however, I have no doubt they'll make an exception. Virginia also has the death penalty, and with two chances to try him on Capital Murder, it's certain they'll get at least one sentence of death. (I don't know if they get a third chance in DC.) Now that they've proved that the murder weapon was in his possession at time of arrest, it will be damned hard to not get a conviction unless they're unbelievably stupid and somehow managed to provide grounds for throwing out critical evidence.

The kid, on the other hand, should not be executed, but neither should he get off lightly. He'll be tried as an adult and I suspect he'll get a life sentence without parole. It's a shame that anyone's life will effectively end before it gets started, but he had plenty of opportunities to do the right thing and didn't, and he will pay for it.

There is no deep moral lesson here. There was nothing we as a society could have done to prevent this, nor is there anything we must do to prevent something like it happening again. All potential cures are worse than the disease. There are no perfect solutions, and this kind of thing is part of the price we pay for being in a free society. I would rather have this kind of thing happen than to live in a police state. It's sad; it's tragic; and it's also unavoidable.