Some Sense in the City of Brotherly Love

A retired Philadelphia Police officer takes the city politicians to task:

Yet Mayor Nutter repeats the usual sophistry about guns. Hizzoner said, “That officer was assassinated on the streets of Philadelphia. There was nothing that could have protected him – that weapon penetrates vehicles.”

His statement illustrates why our elected representatives are unable to reduce violent crime.

The mayor’s lack of knowledge of weaponry notwithstanding, there is one patently obvious policy that definitely would have protected the officer.

If Levon Warner had served his full sentence, he would’ve been in prison until 2012. He could not have committed any crime in 2008.

If Howard Cain had served his full sentence, he would’ve been in prison to 2052. He would not have murdered anyone in 2008.

If Eric Floyd had served his full sentence, he’d have been in jail, not robbing banks, in 2008.

But all three served less than the max and committed more violent crime. This time a cop ended up dead. Why isn’t the mayor addressing this more easily remedied and more salient issue?

Read the whole thing.  The Mayor isn’t addressing the issue because we can’t have a real, public discussion about the dreaded topic of personal and civic responsibility; something that’s sorely absent in many of the city’s worst neighborhoods.  It would take real leadership to address it, and the voters of that city aren’t going to get it from its Democratic machine.

4 thoughts on “Some Sense in the City of Brotherly Love”

  1. I sent an email to Ms. Porter

    Jill Porter,

    When are you going to stop anthromorphizing the gun? The gun used is only the tool. The 3 felons that killed Officer Liczbinski, already had many convictions, but justice is Philadelphia believes in releasing these criminals back onto the street to prey upon society. The SKS rifle is just like any other semi-automatic hunting rifle. There are more powerful rounds available for hunting. For many large game animals, there are many calibers designed to take down 1000- 3000 lb. animals. A rifle round that is meant to kill large game will do devasting damage to a human that is 180-300 lbs.

    Yet I have heard over and over that no one wants to take away hunting rifles, but as your article proves that is not true. You have just advocated for elimination of a hunting rifle since that was the weapon used to kill Officer Liczbinski. I regret Officer Liczbinski death, He was a good man that left a family behind.

    Eric Floyd had been convicted twice for burglary, yet was released to a halfway house and then he failed to show up. Why was this twice convicted thug not in jail? Because justice decided his crimes were not that severe or that he was not that dangerous. Well, he was dangerous and had a record to prove it. Yet you blame a rifle instead of the criminal that was twice convicted.

    Howard Cain, who shot Officer Liczbinski was convicted for multiple armed robberies and had been sentenced for 10 years each for 4 counts, but Philadelphia justice system had him out in the street. He should have been in prison for 40 years, instead he shot a police officer after robbing a bank. Why?, because justice failed again to keep these criminals in jail. And you want to blame the rifle and make hunters pay for Howard Cain’s crime. The hunters did not kill the police officer, only a criminal that was supposed to be in jail. You should direct your blame where it belongs.

    Levon Warner had been convicted of armed robbery in 1997 was sentence to 15 years. Why was he let out to rob and kill?

    The revolving door of justice is at fault; not hunters, not law abiding gun owners or rifles. The criminals and the failure of the justice system is at fault. Philadelphia needs to solve their justice systems and keep their criminals in jail, rather than trying to blame law abiding gun owners who are not doing any crimes.

  2. How many more must die before Philadelphians recognize that the catch-and-release policy applied to violent felons is slow suicide? Your elected officials are killing you, people. They persist in locking up the gun and releasing the killer, turning a blind eye on their own corruptions and failures while loudly attacking the character of others.
    The solution to your crime problem is obvious. You need to get rid of the dangerous tools that make it so easy for felons to assault and kill repeatedly and rapidly. No, not the guns – the pandering politicians who refuse to get and keep violent people off the streets.

  3. I can not believe any of these politicians
    can be so stupid.
    Does anyone -besides me-believe that
    drug money has an influence on Philly’s
    court system/city government?
    They have had a bad drug problem,
    now a bad drug gang problem for
    decades, and their solution is to
    add more anti gun laws, while not
    enforcing the ones that already exist
    and letting violent felons walk early.

    Anybody know how the money flows
    in Philly?

    mark

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