Saturday, January 30, 2016

Slow Saturday Special: Do You Remember Mariano Malave?

"Man convicted of murder sentenced to life in prison" by Peter Schworm Globe Staff  January 29, 2016

Mariano Malave was 25 when he was fatally shot in April 2012 during a drug deal in Jamaica Plain.

His killer, Charles Reddicks, 21, was sentenced to life in prison Friday.

He will be out sooner than you think.

Malave had been dealing drugs but had told family members he was about to give it up. He had gotten a job at Home Depot, had enrolled in school, and seemed to be headed in the right direction, his relatives said.

“He had a purpose,” said his cousin, Vladimir Manigat. “He said the drug-dealing was just paying the bills, and he wasn’t going to do it much longer.”

Ummmm.... what kind of drugs where they? 

On the day he died, Malave had visited his probation officer, who had urged Malave to straighten out his life, to thank her for standing by him, the Globe reported in 2012.

After Reddicks and Malave had negotiated the sale of a pound of marijuana, Reddicks shot him several times, prosecutors say. Reddicks, who was out on bail on assault charges, was arrested three weeks later.

I'm opposed to legal and regret my vote for medical; however, someone getting killed for a bag of weed? 

Maybe I wrong. 

Also see: Drug traffickers seek safe haven amid legal marijuana in Colo.

Then again, maybe not.

With a wistful smile, Manigat recalled Malave’s big grin and giving nature. It was terrible, he said, that drug disputes could cause so much damage.

“It’s a senseless way to have someone taken away from you,” he said. “It’s got to stop.”

Conrad Meneide, Malave’s brother, said he was proud of the progress Malave was making. He had been meaning to call and tell him that, he said, but hadn’t found the time.

Before imposing the sentence, Superior Court Judge Linda Giles said the family’s impact statements were the most poignant she had ever heard, capturing their profound loss without a trace of vengeance. She assured the family that while Reddicks would be eligible for parole after 15 years, he would probably not have an opportunity to be released for “many years after that.”

Why not? 

States and federal governments are pretty much emptying all jails right now. 

That means law enforcement will need more money as crime and chaos propel calls for order from citizens to authority -- which is just what authority wants to advance this thing into a full-blown military dictatorship (we just won't call it that and we will have the charade of $elections every 2-4 years).

--more--"

Sadly, he's already forgotten here.