Not in MY town..

I am a bleeding heart liberal, queen of the second chance and champion of the falsely accused, but a blurb from my local news station tonight has me livid! 

On Feb. 14 1997 in Colorado Springs, CO, Andy Westbay (13) and his friend Scott Hawyrsiak (15) were gunned down in cold blood while walking home from a friends house.

Andy WestbayScott Hawyrsiak

 Police had no leads and no motive for the shotgun deaths of the boys, until a tip called in to Crimestoppers led them to 16 yr old Gary Flakes and 17 yr old Jeron Grant. *According to Flakes’ confession to police, he and Grant were heading to Fort Carson, where both boys lived, when they saw Andy and Scott. Grant told Flakes he wanted to kill someone “to get something off my chest.” He grabbed a 12-gauge shotgun out of the backseat, got out, said a few words to the boys and opened fire.The first blast hit Andy in the neck. Scott ran as the shotgun erupted two more times, hitting Scott in the back of the head.* The killers then drove home.

 Grant and Flakes were tried as adults, both charged with first degree murder although neither were fingered for pulling the trigger. Gary Flakes was convicted of criminally negligent homicide and accessory to murder, he was sentenced to 15 years in prison. Jeron Grant was convicted to accessory to second degree murder and accessory to manslaughter, he was sentenced to 12 years. 

Gary FlakesJeron Grant

End of story right? Not so much. Jeron Grant was paroled in 2008, but was caught with crack cocaine and sent back to prison for another 6 years. The subject of my outrage, Gary Flakes, was sent to a halfway house in 2010 and released as a free man in 2011.  

Today,(January 2,2013) Gary Flakes, convicted murder of 2 teenagers, announced that he is running for City Council here in Colorado Springs. He says he is "more mature now, I am an adult", and is asking for the citizens to forget his crime and instead concentrate on the whole year he has spent volunteering with Colorado Juvenile Defenders Coalition, assisting in their efforts to stop juveniles being tried as adults. Oh, and he also testified to Colorado lawmakers about the horrors of being in solitary confinement. Both of those selfless acts totally make up for cold blooded murder right?

While chances are decent that this "man" will never make it to the polls, the entire act smacks of scam. No one has a handle on why Flakes wants to run for Council. To be honest, it seems like he is setting up a lawsuit. Regardless of his true motive, the very act of announcing his intent is a slap in the face of his victims families. Flakes is essentially saying, "I killed your kids because I wanted to, but hey, look how great I'm doing!"

It is my fondest wish that Gary Flakes does not get the chance to flaunt himself in the public eye. I do not agree that criminals can't change, or that they should be held accountable for their crimes beyond their punishments, or even that they should not be allowed to hold office based on their past. My problem with Gary Flakes is this, go somewhere else to live out your political aspirations. Do not subject the families and friends of the boys you murdered to your bid for fame and fortune (even if it is podunk Colorado Springs fame) You want to make a difference, go do it in another town, leave this one alone.  

* Source- http://sidestreets.freedomblogging.com/tag/jeron-grant/