Readers respond to the story of a mother in New Orleans being tried for murder because her daughter shot herself:
You wrote, “There’s negligence and then there’s murder.” That’s incorrect. There’s negligence, then there’s recklessness, and then there’s intent. Adding each one to a homicide results in a different legal definition. But “recklessness” can be substituted for “intent” in many jurisdictions when it comes to murder. If the authorities determined that Smith was reckless, rather than simply negligent, then second-degree murder is the appropriate charge.
Another reader:
This reminds me of the woman in Georgia who was given a three-year sentence for walking with her daughter across a road with no crosswalks. Her daughter was hit, and she was charged with negligent homicide. (The driver of the car, who had previous hit-and-runs on his record, was charged with a lesser offense.) The charges were recently dropped, but it still, for a period of time, was looking like a gross miscarriage of justice.
Another:
Given the number of kids we hear about daily who are shot because their stupid parents left a gun out or let them play with their kid-sized gun, maybe it’s time we start prosecuting them for negligent homicide if their gun is used.
Maybe if we have a strict, no-tolerance rule in effect, that people will be more responsible for the deadly weapons they keep in the house. Why was this five year old “playing with” his kid-sized gun when he shot and killed his two-year-old sister? From all the rhetoric we hear from the gun lobby, gun owners are the most responsible people ever. So, again, why was this child allowed to “play with” a gun?
“Trooper Billy Gregory told the Lexington-Herald Leader that the gun used in the incident was kept in a corner of the house and the family did not realize that a shell had been left in it.” Did not realize a shell had been left in it. Did. Not. Realize. Fuck these people and their irresponsibility. They deserve jail time. If we’re gonna throw some kid in juvie or prison for having a joint, then we sure as hell better be tossing idiot parents who are too stupid to ensure no loaded weapons are in the house in prison. Let them grieve in jail and then maybe they’ll come around and start advocating for better laws and protections for such a deadly piece of equipment.
Another:
Megan McArdle is full of it. The research on accidental shootings and safe-storage laws for firearms has been done: “Laws that make gun owners responsible for storing firearms in a manner that makes them inaccessible to children were in effect for at least 1 year in 12 states from 1990 through 1994. Among children younger than 15 years, unintentional shooting deaths were reduced by 23% (95% confidence interval, 6%-37%) during the years covered by these laws.”
Another:
Here in Minnesota we have a relatively high-profile case of a four-year-old who found a loaded gun in his father’s bed, and shot his 2-year-old brother while playing with the gun. The father was just sentenced to 30 days for second-degree manslaughter and child endangerment. The County Attorney wanted to send a message in prosecuting this case: ““We need to send messages,” Freeman said. “We’re not looking for profound penalties for these people. We’re looking for messages: Don’t keep loaded handguns accessible to kids.”
I agree that murder is not the appropriate charge in these cases, but severe punishment is warranted nevertheless. And I disagree with McArdle that there is no deterrent effect. Most people have guns in their house because they believe that the potential for protection is greater than the risks. That is the same reason why they keep them loaded and accessible. I remember early in the press coverage, this father was quoted saying that he kept the gun ready to take with him when he went jogging or to the store for self-protection. He wanted it to be easy to get and use the gun if absolutely necessary.
Statistics demonstrate, over and over, that this belief is wrong, and the gun is much more likely to be a danger to you or your household, especially if it is not stored properly – unloaded, in a safe. But people don’t assess that risk properly. And they won’t, unless the media covers these accidental shooting stories as thoroughly and constantly as they cover home invasion stories, or kidnappings, or other things that terrify people. I don’t doubt that this father is heart-broken. But other parents who own guns and believe they are protecting their children by keeping one in the house are more likely to evaluate the risks of gun ownership properly if they hear his story.
The Dish 