Blank












Coddling Criminals: So Much for Iowa's "Death Sentence"

http://www.pardonmyenglish.com/archives/2005/11/coddling_crimin_14.html

For the umpteenth time in the past few months it seems, lifers or death row inmates
in maximum-security prisons have thwarted their "maximum security" surroundings and
escaped. This time it was from the supposedly maximum-security prison in Fort
Madison, Iowa.

Us enlightened folks in Iowa are far too sophisticated to put prisoners who deserve
it to death. So we have what our commie lib governor terms a "death sentence". Using
Tom Vilsack's definition, "death sentence" servers Martin Shane Moon and Robert
Joseph LeGendre are serving their "death sentence" cruising in a Pontiac Bonneville:
Shortly after the escape, a bicycle was stolen near the prison and it was found in
Fort Madison near a car that had been stolen, said Jim Saunders, a spokesman for the
Iowa Department of Public Safety. The 1995 gold Pontiac Bonneville with Iowa license
plates 776 NOW has not been recovered and the fugitives may be traveling in the
vehicle, he said.
The car had a half-tank of gasoline and $12 inside, Meyer said. "With no other
resources .... and $12 to buy a bit more gas, that can get you 250 miles pretty
quickly," he said.
Since these guys were sly enough to escape from a maximum-security prison, you can
bet they are too smart to be cruising around in a car that the cops have had a make
on for at least a day now. So I'm sure they are serving their "death sentence" in
some other vehicle by now.
How did THESE inmates escape?:
The two men used an improvised rope and a grappling hook to scale one of the walls
surrounding the prison's maximum-security unit, said Fred Scaletta, a spokesman for
the Iowa Department of Corrections.
Now there's a smart idea! Give violent felons access to tools they can use to scale
walls with.
You hear about violent prison escapees all over the country, but when those escapees
escape from a prison in your state and one of them has ties to a county 40 miles from
where you live in which he was convicted of first degree murder, it hits pretty close
to home -- far too close for comfort.
What's the excuse prison officials are giving for this escape:
Two dangerous convicts who escaped from the Iowa State Penitentiary at Fort Madison
on Monday night climbed over a limestone wall where a guard tower was vacant because
of state budget cuts.
Whose budget cuts? None other than Mr. "Iowa has a death sentence" himself:
The plan to reduce staffing in guard towers at Fort Madison, Anamosa and Mount
Pleasant was included in Gov. Tom Vilsack's budget package in 2002. The Legislature
approved the proposal, which saved $1.5 million annually by eliminating 38
correctional officers' positions at the three prisons. The action was criticized at
the time by state Sen. Eugene Fraise, a Fort Madison Democrat, who said Tuesday it's
obvious that lawmakers made a mistake.
"Well, right here it is. We told you so," Fraise said. Prison officials had contended
that all nine guard towers at Fort Madison didn't need to be staffed when there
wasn't activity in the prison yard.
I don't often find myself agreeing with Democrats, but this guy has a point. One of
the things the government IS authorized to do is to look out for the safety of its
citizens and when you are charged with looking out for the safety of your citizens,
making sure dangerous criminals who are serving a "death sentence" stay locked up is
of utmost importance. But Iowa is no different than any other state run by a rabid
socialist: We have plenty of money to spend $1.5 billion in the last six years to
bribe companies to come to the state or stay in the state and call that "economic
development". We have plenty of money to spend $500,000 on a "consultant" who writes
a report recommending that we spend ANOTHER $3 billion to bribe MORE businesses to
come to the state or stay in the state. (Not by reducing taxes, mind you; by creating
an "Iowa values" corporate welfare fund funded by the middle class taxpayer.) We even
have tens of millions of dollars to spend to build a rainforest in the middle of a
place where the average temperature four or five months out of the year is 40 degrees
or less. But do we have a measly $1.5 million to make sure our "maximum security"
prisons are adequately staffed and prison guards are paid a decent wage? Hell no.
Whether you're talking about liberal politicians at the federal level, state level or
even the local level, doing the things they are authorized to do, like assuring that
first degree murderers stay locked up, just isn't a priority for them. Squandering
our tax dollars on ridiculous pork, however, is right up their ally -- and I might
add that there are more than a few so-called conservative politicians who are more
than happy to squander our tax dollars as well. So here in Iowa, our "presidential
aspirant" governor demands an investigation into the cause of a prison break that he
may well have contributed to via his foolish budget cuts while two violent inmates
serve what the governor claims to be a "death sentence" driving around on the lam in
an old Pontiac Bonneville.

--
_____________________________________________________

I intend to last long enough to put out of business all *****-suckers
and other beneficiaries of the institutionalized slavery and genocide.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"The army that will defeat terrorism doesn't wear uniforms, or drive
Humvees, or calls in air-strikes. It doesn't have a high command, or
high security, or a high budget. The army that can defeat terrorism
does battle quietly, clearing minefields and vaccinating children. It
undermines military dictatorships and military lobbyists. It subverts
sweatshops and special interests.Where people feel powerless, it
helps them organize for change, and where people are powerful, it
reminds them of their responsibility." ~~~~ Author Unknown ~~~~
___________________________________________________