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November 20, 2022 08:47 AM UTC
58 Comments
The shooter is identified as Anderson Lee Aldrich, who last year was arrested for threatened his own mother with a homemade bomb and several firearms.
Why on Earth was this man out of jail? And how did such a person get a weapon?
Thank God for the patrons who were able to subdue him before he killed more people! Would serve him right if he got his ass kicked by a drag queen!
I'm hoping there is a clear explanation of what happened after the June 2021 arrest and charges of 2 counts of Felony Menacing and 3 counts of First-Degree Kidnapping.
The charges from last year were reportedly sealed which means no charges actually filed in court or the charges were filed but then dismissed.
Here's hoping there is a detailed account about that incident, the announced charges, and what happened to them. I want to know (and for the community to know) if that was a decision of the DA, one imposed by a judge, or whoever else may have made the charges disappear. There ought to be consequences [beyond an internal sense of shame or dismay that the outcome of the decision is so awful].
In "'No way to prevent this,' says only nation where this regularly happens" news, we're over 600 mass shootings this year. So much freedom. So very, very much.
How can you hate someone you don’t even know enough to kill them? I think it is time to bring back the death penalty for these monsters. And hail to the brave! 18 injure d v. 5 dead implies the patrons got to him early,twisted the gun away while he fired aimlessly in the struggle.
Biden should give the medal of freedom to those who fought back.
I, too, am angry. But, the death penalty is barbaric.
I'm with you, Dave. Lock him in a cage and let him spend the rest of his life thinking about what he did. He's young. He'll have a very long time to think about it.
Sorry, Cookie. Men who bomb their mothers don't strike me as the philosophical sort.
No, but sine he is only 22, he'll have a looooong time to be Bubba's bitch. I can't think of a better punishment considering the crime.
Oh, the "Just-Don't-Drop-the-Soap-for-the-Next-50-Years" punishment, Dano?
I agree, there is a sense of poetic justice in that.
But I am more concerned about the $46,000 per year (as of 2022) which it costs to house an inmate in the Colorado DOC.
vs. the million$ in legal costs going thru all the appeals that come with a death sentence?
Aah…Bubba may save the taxpayer some money…
I’ve seen the figure for death vs. life as showing death litigation winding up costing as much as 20 times more than housing an inmate for life. Even at the ridiculously low rate of $90/hour for death penalty defense that the state pays, it’s still a large bill.
The cost of death penalty litigation makes imposition of the death penalty substantially more expensive than life in prison regardless of age.
Oh, so anal rape doesn't take place in the socialist, government-run prisons and jails?
I suppose you think killing defenseless LGBT is civilized, Dave… You are entitled to your religious views. But we separate church and state. Your view only encourages more mother bombers to escalate.
I too oppose the death penalty, and I'm an atheist so my opposition has nothing to do with religion. It has to to do with practicality.
Where the death penalty exists, it is easily abused by those in power (just look at Texas or any other state in the South). Furthermore, while in this case there is not a question of guilt, in many murder cases there is. When you kill someone who is convicted of murder, you can't bring them back if you later find out he was innocent after all. But you can release them from prison if they were still living there.
Well, at least you don’t argue that all human life is sacred. But let me get this straight. Unless you have absolute Cartesian certain of guilt, you oppose any death penalty. But you gleefully contemplate 50 years of gang rape.
I’m agnostic, by the way. logic tells me rxecution is a more humane punishment than lifelong gang rape.
Never said I was above being vicious to those who were vicious to others. (Yes, I am a Game of Thrones fan. Why do you ask?)
But you can't have the death penalty and then selectively use it. We tried that. What we got were executions for people essentially convicted of being black in some place while other, "more enlightened" jurisdictions, spent millions defending their use of a death penalty, only to end up commuting it to life in prison anyway.
It is simply easier (and cheaper) to do away with the death penalty in the first place.
Never saw game of thrones.
limiting dea th penslty is easy — make it an enhancement for hate crimes.
You have a great knowledge of the law, dano, and I respect you. But this is an area where the state of colorado spent millions educating me.
I was foreman of the jury in a death penalty case. It was a life changing event.
Thanks for the reminder! I have jury duty coming up next week.
I'm one of those people who are automatically dismissed from capital cases. It actually happened the last time I reported for duty. I was in the pool for a capital murder case, got immediately dismissed. In the end, the guy was given life without parole.
Last time I actually served on a jury, the defendant skipped bail during the lunch break.
I am the only working journalist I knew who served on a death penalty case.
Even most death penalty foes make an exception for a man serving a life sentence who kills a peace officer in an escape attempt.
That was our case, people v. Vialpando.
Did I mention the poster listing 32 diagnosis, all by state supported psychologistss beginning at age nine , all saying something seriously wrong with this kid. Or his three-year stay in Pueblo beginning at age 12.
His mom was adjudicated clinically psychotic after murdering her boyfrieend.
While his mom was in jail hhe was living alone — at 13 – and was raped.
he is serving the first of five consecutive 40 year sentences.as we speak.
I was among the four who did not think aggravation outweighe ighed mitigation.
God, what a stinking world we live in.
'Fess up; you were smiling and nodding your head vigorously during the prosecutor's presentation of evidence, weren't ya?
NPR did a in-depth story on the impact of capital punishment on the staff, attorneys, chaplains, and others who carried out or witnessed the execution. Carrying out executions took a secret toll on workers — then changed their politics
My take: capital punishment for those who kill or conspire to kill while in the trial process or while incarcerated. Better care for those involved, equivalent to care available to military veterans who killed in combat.
Read my post above, JID. You say automatic for a guy on a life sentence who kills a guard in an escape attempt? That was exactly our case. After reading 32 diagnosis from state psychologists and psychiatrist beginning at age 9, 3 years in na mental hospital at12, etc. only eight off us still wanted to kill this kid. I was not one of them.
The death penalty belongs on the books but
should be sparingly applied.
I read it … and would agree with you — nothing "automatic" about the punishment.
I think of the situation as the only category of crime where there is a VERY clear justification for incapacitation and a strong possibility of a positive deterrent impact. In addition, the possibility of convicting an innocent person and discriminatory application of the punishment is substantially reduced.
Nothing is easy about imposing the death penalty, V. The litigation alone is extremely complex, unbelievably time-consuming, and takes decades. Setting aside the moral question, it is a colossal waste of resources to seek the death penalty and to attempt to litigate it to execution.
Amen on medals for the badasses who took the fucker down. I'd bring back the death penalty too, but only for vulture capitalists who buy up companies, run up massive debt to pay themselves bonuses, then shut the company down after stealing every last asset, ruining lives and plunging a region into economic chaos that taxpayers will be forced to clean up. Of course, you'd need to criminalize vulture capitalism first. GLWT.
As for manner of execution, either (1) firing squad, starting with the ankles and slowing working their way up; or (2) Inca style. The Incas used tall cliffs in the Andes Mountains, but we can shove the perps out of aircraft from a height of 3,000 meters or so. Either way, the perp has time to contemplate his crimes.
On your vulture capitalists, danos 50 years of gang rape plan is more appropriate.
Venture Capitalists have funded pretty much every high tech invention over the last 40 years. You're willing to give all that up going forward?
Yes there's people who buy & gut companies. A lot more often Investment Bankers that VCs. But there's also ones that bring us amazing improvements.
Don't kill the goose that lays the golden eggs.
I'll settle for fair capital gains taxes and the death penalty for carried interest.
Gee… if only Congress could do something about that…
And the fact that Congress doesn't – isn't Democracy wonderful?
I'm curious, Flim Flam. Who among us are you calling homophobic?
You’re full of shit, Druggie boy. I called for the death penalty on the shooter and Presidential medal of freedom for the people who disarmed him.
But you are very stupid and don’t read very well.
We all know that.
Beyond horrible. Best to the families of those murdered.
Not advocating for any type of punishment here, but going back to Dano's original post about the bomb/firearm threat – to me there is at least a moral problem with how this guy was so able to do what he did, after authorities knew what he had done. I'm wondering if there should be a legal problem.
If he was a black kid with weed before Amendment 64, he'd face the fullest allowable legal penalty plus maybe the risk of serious injury. But documented threats of bombing and shooting? Definitely not a lawyer, but to me this feels like there was some sort of negligence.
The system is so backed up it is almost useless. Thank you, doug bruce, the criminal’s friend.
Agreed in principle about the back-ups, but it still seems to me as if something like the threats he posed in 2021 should have risen to near the top of the priority list.
"to me there is at least a moral problem with how this guy was so able to do what he did, after authorities knew what he had done"
I'm surprised that Negev hasn't graced us with his presence to tell us that if only we had better "Bomb Control" last year, this never would have happened.
Negev is preparing his argument that the only defense against a bad guy with a bomb is a good guy with a bomb.
I expect that Negev is compiling the latest RWNJ rumors about the young murderer being a Democrat, or a least a dirty hippie.
Like that makes any difference – to his victims most of all. He was clearly disturbed and should never have had access to firearms. He’s a poster child for the red flag law.
Little too soon guys, but hats off to the people who stopped the shooter. Whoever this guy was I can agree with mamma that he was disturbed and should never have access to firearms. I get V's dig ie bomb defense however I think based on his medal recommendation he and I can agree that overwhelming opposing force prevented more death where more civil/legal alternatives failed, once again.
And political affiliation makes no difference mama. What happened here was wrong. I don't think you will be able to maintain your nonpartisan position upon discovering information that suits your needs, but for now, good on ya for playing the role.
Right. Political affiliation makes no difference to the victims.
However, the elephant in the room is that certain far right groups would encourage and cheer on this violence, because it was aimed at queer and trans people. Certain evangelicals might even claim that the lunatic was used by God to clean up the trash. The mass murderer* may have even believed that himself.
It's the same reasoning that blamed Paul Pelosi for getting attacked, and joked about it afterwards.
*I refuse to use the sanitized terms "shooter" and "shooting" as though it were a sporting event in the same class as a swim meet.
Or a nudist who makes hemp artwork.
You mean MAGA nudist who makes hemp artwork….
Dan Savage:
Dan Savage is brilliant. Ever read his advice column, Savage Love?
It does have the appropriate title, “Savage Love”, simply because it can get savage in its responses.
Comments on the Washington Post comment page argue that the shooter is the grandson of a MAGA state Representative in California. No citations. We need to know a whole more about the shooter. Where can we get ACCURATE information?
Don't count on accurate information from comments — especially unmoderated comment streams. it could be right … but there's no easy way to tell.
I expect we will learn a great deal more about the shooter, his family of birth and his upbringing, his recent social connections, his reading and recreational habits, his income and expenses, and even more — as people try to tie this event to some explanation or another. if it comes from corporate news programs or papers, chances are they will have the proof of whatever they are asserting.
I do not expect accurate information from WP comments, quite the contrary. I spend a lot of time correcting what is said about Colorado. For example, commentators thought Colorado was a red state and hated gays. I explained that our governor, who just won a second term in a landslide, was gay and married. Also, Colorado is a bright blue state.
Back east, some people evidently believe that Lauren Boebert is the face of Colorado and was elected statewide or something.
I ran out of patceints several years ago when crying and condeming mass killings in these United States which are the direct consequence of republican (white supremacist/phony christian) action. Allowing weapons of war and the destruction of the Second Amendment means hundreds and thousands of innocent lives be turned into bloody meat on the floors, walls and ceilings.
Most of you know I am a transgender person. I dealt with threats when I ran for office. I dealt with threats when I was not a politician. It is how we have to live. Every day we have to consider which path to take. We need to consider which store, gas station, bus stop are less dangerous. Will the clerk check me out? Will I get a seat in the restaurant? Can I go to the public restroom and not be attacked?
And, if you are young and not thinking, going to the club should be good. Yup. Been going for a year and only a few drunk issues, but overall nothing bad.
Then a hate filled idiot shows up with an AK-47, which should not be allowed in the country, and he starts to empty a magazine into the crowd. The morning of the Transgender Day of Remembrance. Yup. republicans have blood on them, all over them. I would hope they choke on how much blood is in their cereal. I would hope they slip on the blood in their shower and knock themselves out. I would hope they sit in blood for the rest of their horrible lives.
I can understand the desire for retribution through a death penalty or to suggest prison rape is a form of justice. I can understand it. Its born from anger and frustration. There is no devine retribution or a mystical force to bind our wounds and heal the brokenharted. Rather let your tears flow to harden steel.
We have a fight on our hands for Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. This last election they called children names: furry to faggot. This next election is school boards and local offices that often go unlooked. Lets open some eyes.
Looks like the maga does not fall from the maga tree.
How is it that the Colorado red flag law could still be argued against? As in – a sheriff argues for non enforcement; the AG can't bring action; etc
NYT