John Albert Gardner III was charged with the murder of 17 year old Chelsea King with the added allegation of rape which could lead to the death penalty. This animal had a history of violence stemming back to a 2000 attempted rape of a 13 year old girl.
Due to the lack of a violent criminal history at the time, prosecutors allowed Gardner to plead guilty and receive a reduced sentence of 6 years despite the objections of the Mission Valley psychiatrist that recommended that he receive the maximum sentence allowed by law. That sentence would have had Gardner in jail at the time of Chelsea's disappearance. Gardner is also a person of interest in the 2009 disappearance of Amber DuBois and linked to a December 27th assault on a 22 year old in a Rancho Bernardo Community Park.
We can play Monday morning quarterback all day when cases like this come along but when it comes to violent sex offenders that attack children there should be no plea bargains. As a society we must not give the benefit of the doubt to child predators but unfortunately we have a system that is imperfect.
This imperfection is the very reason why you must not rely on the system to protect you. No teenage girl should be allowed to go jogging through the woods or parks by herself without at least two friends and a can of pepper spray. Personally I prefer it if she be trained in martial arts and carry a machine gun but it is a lot to carry.
I am less concerned with the gun owner that illegally carries his or her fire arm while out alone minding their own business than the sexual predator or serial killer looking for their next victim. I am not advocating breaking the law (wink, wink) but remember it is better to be judged by twelve than carried by six.
Stay Sharp!
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