He's a good boy, he is!

(in the Courier-Journal)

This past Tuesday two young men (both 19, the Courier-Journal keeps calling them teens, which while technically correct belies the fact they are legal adults), one with a weapon, were shot by a homeowner after breaking into the man's home around 5pm. One died at the scene, and the other died several hours later.

There was a struggle. The homeowner was injured. No charges have been filed, but the case will be reviewed by the Commonwealth's Attorney.

Earl Springer, the man who died at the scene of the crime, had a record. Desmond Deshawn Turner apparently did not.

Jefferson County court records show that Springer was arrested May 23 on charges of trafficking in a controlled substance and tampering with physical evidence. He had been released on his own recognizance and had a court hearing set for June 16.

In May 2007, Springer was convicted of carrying a concealed deadly weapon and sentenced to 60 days in jail, which was conditionally discharged.

No records were found for Turner.

Turner's family members spent yesterday seeking answers about the incident, said Calvin Roach, Turner's uncle.

"It's just so far from his character," Roach said. "It's very disturbing, and we just want the true story. We just have a lot of questions."

When one is looking for the “true story”, the facts are a good place to start. Let’s list a few.

• Mr. Springer had a criminal record. Mr. Turner was in his company. One of them was armed.
• Mr. Springer and Mr. Turner were in a man’s home, and apparently, since the police are calling it a break-in, they were not invited.
• There was a struggle in which the homeowner was injured and Mr. Springer and Mr. Turner were shot.
• The homeowner has not been charged.

A reasonable person could come to some fairly solid conclusions from these facts.

The protestations of good character and intentions from the families of those slain while committing a crime are so familiar as to be past clichéd. This may have been Mr. Turner’s first involvement in crime, but the odds are against it.

“My child/grandchild/nephew, etc. could NEVER do that,” is something I heard often when I served as an EMT on a rural rescue squad. Even when a victim’s blood was spattered head to toe on a “suspect”, a parent had to be restrained from fighting a Kentucky State Trooper while yelling, “He’s a good boy! He didn’t do it!”

One thing is certain. Young men and women who have never had to stand responsible for their actions while a child are morally handicapped and poorly prepared for the real world, which occasionally insists upon it.