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This Speakout has not been edited.

By Tracey L. Fanning

I may be comparing apples to oranges, but I couldn’t help comparing Joe Nacchio and Carlos Becerra crimes and sentences.

Joe Nacchio was convicted and received 6 years in prison on 19 counts of insider trading. He has to payback 52 million dollars he made on the trade and a 19 million dollar fine. This is his 1st time he has been in trouble with the law and I guess the judge wanted to send a message to CEO’s they are not above the law and rightfully so.

Now we have Carlos Becerra. He is only 25 years old and has an extensive violent criminal record. His probation officer saw him as a danger to the community. He has arrests for assault, escape numerous times, auto theft, burglary, underage drinking, 2nd degree burglary, aggravated motor vehicle theft, attempted vehicular assault, motor vehicle theft again, at this point in his career he had only served one year in The Division of Youth Corrections, he walked out of that program was caught and sentenced to 6 months. He charged again after being released with motor vehicle theft and sentenced to 3 years intense supervision. He ditched his ankle braclet and ignored other provisions. In 2001 he went to prison on another burglary charge, in 2003 he walked away from a halfway house was caught and sent to prison in 2004, paroled again in Feb. 2006, violated parole again in April 2006 and a new warrant was issued.

Who knows what crimes he committed between April 2006 and the night of July 26th 2007, when he decided after a traffic stop in which he was a passenger, to try and kill as many police officers as he could. Luckily we won’t be seeing any police funerals this week. Thankfully this criminal has finally been taken off our streets forever.

Carlos Becerra has never paid his debt to society. Justice for him was lenient. While his many victims were never paid back. Was he ever made to pay back his victims? No. He spent less time in prison than Joe Nacchio will spend, even after his long criminal record.

Two things happened the night of the shootings.

One, the policemen that where shot will recover.

Two, justice was finally served for Carlos Becerra.

Thank you to the police officer who finally did what no judge would do, bring justice for the victims of Carlos Becerra.

Looking at both of these cases, in my opinion justice is lopsided.

Tracey L. Fanning is a resident of Thornton.

READER COMMENTS

Carlos Becerra is a career criminal. No I don't feel sorry for him being shot. I feel sorry for the policemen who put their lives on the line everyday to protect us. This moron Bacerra decide he was going to kill as many policemen as he could, What about their families? What do you think they go through day in and day out as they say goodbye to the father or mother that are police officers. They wonder everyday is this they day? Is this they day some career criminal feels like killing them?What about the police officers children is that the last hug they will ever get?
Police officers put their lives on the line everyday. They deal with scumbags like Bacerra everyday because our justice system keeps putting the scum of the earth who are to lazy to work for a living,instead the prey on innocent people and steal what they want.

Bacerra got his due.

Wow. It really amazes me how some people can be sooooo cruel. The facts are true, he committed many crimes and didn't serve his time, however to talk about a human extermination like that is just sickening. Did you ever stop to think about that mans family, or the fact that he had children that are very innocent in all of this. How would you feel if you were his mother, father, brother, sister, spouse, or child reading this after he was no longer alive? Your comments are very unfair! Shame on you for speaking of the deceased in such shame. He knows what he did and only god has the right to judge him! Remember, even though he wasn't a great guy, some people may remember some of his good moments and those innocent people are still here having to listen to the shame.

As for Nacchio, he is going to spend a few years behind bars and come out a still very rich man, so his suffering, I really don't think anyone is feeling too sorry for him.

I'm not sure many people understand the extent of the crimes that Nacchio commited.
Also, I'm not sure many people understand the amount of money he caused Quest's investors, retirees and pensioners. The amount is staggering. He did all of this with the knowledge of what he was doing. All in the name of GREED! All the while telling everyone that things at Quest were doing great WHILE HE WAS SELLING OFF HIS STOCK! Wasn't that just peachy? Now he and his lawyers are trying to muddy the reputation of the presiding judge in the desperate attempt for a mistrial.
In my opinion Nacchio should have been sentenced to at least one year in prison for every count he was found guilty of! That would be 19 years but with only a six year sentence he'll probably be out in two and a half and that is not nearly enough for the damage he caused people who trusted him.

Dravur, I agree with you. There are so many predatory criminals on our streets searching for their next victim or crime.
Story after story we here the person who was arrested has an extensive criminal history.
Alot of victims don't get their day in court,they get a funeral.

I just found out a little girl I knew from my neighborhood in Maryland was brutally murdered by her boyfriend. Her name was Samantha McQuillan and we knew her as Sammy. She was 19 and brutally murdered and dumped in a bath tub for her roomates to find her.

This murderer had an extensive criminal record and had been let out on probation time and time again my a Maryland Judge who needs to be removed from the bench.
Not just because of this case it turns out this judge has a long record of handing out lenient sentences.

One example: A man was convicted for raping his daughter for 7 years almost daily. He gave the man 4 months in prison.

Another example : two men were abusing ,molesting and doing vile and disgusting things to children as young as 6 months old and putting and selling the pictures on the internet. They were convicted and sentenced to 4 months in jail.

Our justice system is not set up to protect the victims. It is set up to protect the criminals.

Nacchio did wrong and was convicted,but he repaid the money and a 19 million fine.Did anyone in the Enron case pay back money?

Now look at Bacerra he has a career record and has done less time than Nacchio got. Bacerra was a violent criminal and allowed time and time again to victimize people over and over.

The officer that finally shot him should get an award for finally giving a person like Bacerra what he deserved ,a body bag.

As for the judges that keep letting these violent people out on the streets over and over again and the parole board members who keep paroling these people over and over again,there needs to be a public accounting of what is going on with these judges and parole boards. They have no common sense and can't get it through their thick heads,once a career criminal always a career crininal. Lock them up so they can't get to the point of killing someone,because their crimes often escalate.

Hey cotton, how come all of these victims are killing so many fellow victims and brothers?

"African-Americans are victims of nearly half the murders committed in the United States despite making up only 13 percent of the population, a report published Thursday showed.

Around 8,000 of nearly 16,500 murder victims in 2005, or 49 percent, were black Americans, according to the report released by the statistics bureau of the Department of Justice.

Young black men aged between 17 and 29 bore a disproportionately high burden in the grim statistics, making up 51 percent of African-American murder victims.

More than half the murders of blacks took place in densely populated urban areas like Newark, N.J., Washington, D.C. and Detroit, Michigan.

Most murder victims -- 93 percent of blacks-- were killed by someone of their own race. "

How about that, cotton? Any insights?

The white guy was correctly treated like a criminal and the brown guy was treated like a victim. This reminds me of the Duke lacrosse deal, etc..

Suprised?

awww, look, 40acres has a new name but no new diatribes. It is still all about how everyone from Mickey Mouse to those cute penguins in Antarctica are out to get the black vets.... Why aren't you spouting off about how Nacchio is responsible for the claimed 55% of all KIA in Vietnam were black. Ooops, that's right, you have been called on that falsehood several times allready.

Do you just post this same drivel to every letter to the editor? Does it ever have anything to do with the actual letter? Do you even read the letters? Do you know what a strawman argument is? Does it even matter to you?

Black Muslim Muhammad Ali, sought a NAM draft deferment and he was rewarded with a 5 year federal prison (overturned by Supreme Court). Mormon Mitt Romney "cut and ran" from NAM, via his Mormon mission and his supposedly high draft lottery number. The reality is, like "W"'s dad, Mitt's daddy (Nixon's cabinet member), carved out a NAM sanctuary for Mitt, in the SLC Mormon Church. Ali was banned from boxing by the Nixon administration. He lost hundreds of millions, while Mitt earned more than $300 million. Do Mitt owe black folks 5 years in federal prison too? Should Mitt pay restitution to Ali? Should Mitt toss a few 'benjamins" to black NAM vets, who served in his stead? Will Rev. Al Sharpton (Wal-Mart flunkie$$$) apologize for Mitt?

Well, to the Liberal bleeding heart, Nacchio was an evil white guy and Becerra was just a misunderstood minority youth.

Now, I for one, think Nacchio got what he deserved. But when thugs like Becerra get off with a slap on the wrist, the "justice" system needs to be overhauled.

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