 |
| It's raining today and the cherry tree is already dropping her petals. |
We were surprised but pleased to see a second article about the sentencing of Milo's murderer which appeared in the Idaho Statesman this morning (Monday, April 7). You can read it here.
Mike and I had to laugh about his red-rimmed eyes. We hadn't noticed, but we thought it was a nice touch.
We were pleased for the positive comments made about Milo during the court session. They said he had been a model inmate, keeping to himself. The defense said, if I heard correctly, that Milo understood his own mental illness and the effect that his medication had on his body, and he also understood his cellmate's mental illness. In fact, Milo had submitted a request for treatment for his cellmate which evidently went unheeded. While this is documented, this is the first we had heard.
The judge allowed the defendant to speak, and he rambled on mostly incoherently for 15 minutes, but even he said that he and Milo should not have been together. The defendant's counsel and the judge recommended treatment for him, and the judge also recommended that he be housed where he can't hurt others, but she also stated that jurisdiction over the prison is an executive function.
We have heard that infractions such as Milo committed (cheeking his medication) no longer result in such harsh punishment, and this is progress. I hope for more change. The sad thing is that someone, in our case Milo, had to die before the prison would even acknowledge the need for change. KW
No comments:
Post a Comment