This morning in Atlanta a defendant (Brian Nicholls) heading to trail managed to thwart security, get his hands on a gun, kill 3 people, wound another, and assault others as he car jacked vehicles. As I write this he's still on the loose and lots of people are grieving. Officials, media & reporters are investigating what went wrong. Surely life in our court system is about to change.
I've been in many government buildings over the past few years. On a few occasions I've ventured into a court room. About 10 years ago I went to court because I had not attached the registration renewal sticker to my car tag & got a ticket. I had to physically show up with proof that I had renewed my registration. Fair enough. I showed up, and had a 2 inch pocket knife confiscated as I walked into the building. Over 30 years ago I visited the Atlanta Federal prison to play a tennis match. As I went through various doors the security checks were overwhelming and intimidating. Since 9/11 I can't board a plane without a full body screen because of the metal implanted in my left hip. From my perspective security in America seems pretty damn intense. But it's never going to be perfect.
What went wrong in Atlanta today? Ask the person who allowed a 6' 1" 200 lb male who had weapons found on his person (while in custody) the day before to be in the custody of one female deputy sheriff. I do think that defendants have the right to face a jury in street clothes without shackles. If they pull the stunt Brian Nicholls did, they deserve one clean shot in the back of their head. I guess we could keep a SWAT sniper in the background to react after the fact. I would prefer a dose of common sense. More than one deputy sheriff assigned to defendants like Brian Nickolls would cost us a lot less than the grief and the man hunt now going on.
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