Convicted Killers Set Free

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Child Killers Walk Free in Washington By GENE JOHNSON SEATTLE (AP) - Yvonne Roberts used to take comfort in knowing that the killer of her 3-year-old son was behind bars. That was before two recent state Supreme Court decisions let him out - four decades early. And that man, David Crane, isn't alone. Noreen Erlandson served 12 years instead of 40 for killing her own 2-year-old daughter. Keith Whitling was supposed to serve another 15 for his infant's death in 1992. In all, at least two dozen child killers could end up walking after the court found they were improperly convicted. ``I'll never accept it,'' Roberts said. ``These justices need to go. They didn't just create a loophole; they opened the cell door to these killers.'' The court's rulings concerned Washington's law on felony murder, defined as a homicide that occurs - even by accident - during or ``in furtherance of'' another felony, such as robbery. For decades, prosecutors charged defendants with second-degree felony murder if an assault led to someone's death. In 2003, the court decided the law did not allow for felony murder charges in assault cases. In a 5-4 ruling, justices reasoned that in such cases, the assault and homicide are the same act: The homicide does not occur ``in furtherance of'' assault, it is the assault. Full Story: http://cnn.netscape.cnn.com/news/sto...48.htm&sc=1110 What sort of legal nonsense is this? When you commit a felony like robbery, you take the risk that death might result and you should be held responsible for it if and when it occurs. That's my common sense view of the situation. What do you think folks?