Shocked yet? part 2

Almost everyone in Kansas City is familiar with the Curtis Mertensmeyer case. Curtis was the over privileged young cake and steak eater from Mission Hills Kansas. But just in case you forgot, I'll refresh your memory. Mertensmeyer admitted to being drunk, speeding on Ward Parkway, when he hit and killed a pedestrian, Daniel Reimann, 25. Mertensmeyer's mother is a lawyer, according to court documents, it was Mertensmeyer's mother, Attorney Jane Stafford's idea to evade arrest. The judge, John Torrence, said it would be unfair to punish Mertensmeyer for the acts of his mother. And as if blaming a 20 year old mans mother for his decision to leave his murder victim laying in the street wasn't enough, Torrence had more to say.
The judge also stated this unbelievable pile of horse shit, "Daniel Reimann’s blood alcohol level was three times the legal limit as he walked in the street, an extreme intoxication". The judge said this hindered his ability to avoid Curtis Mertensmeyer's speeding car. That's right, it was the victims fault. So the judge in his infinite wisdom sentenced young Mertensmeyer to 5 years, then he gave him 120 days shock time. Curtis Mertensmeyer is a free douche bag, drinking soy lattes and dining on hummingbird wings and gold infused vichy sous, or whatever the little prick eats, meanwhile Daniel Reimann is as dead as he can be. One life=120 days, seems a little out of whack doesn't it?

Curtis Mertensmeyer probably won't re-offend, unless they take the interlock off of his BMW, then he might tie one on and see if he can bag another pedestrian. That possibility isn't too far fetched, felony DUI offenders aren't always one and done. What is certain, 120 days locked up in a diagnostic center won't have a lasting effect. Being killed by Mertensmeyer on the other hand, is about as lasting an effect as there is.

Edward Tseona is currently under consideration for 120 day shock time, by,....wait.....here it comes....., Judge John Torrence. Tseona, who was 18 at the time of the offense, killed one of the founders of the Arabia Steamboat Museum, Greg Hawley, while Tseona was racing his car along 291 highway. Tseona already had racked up a string of speeding tickets prior to killing Hawley. Torrence gave Tseona only 3 years, and has left the door open for 120 day shock time. Even if he doesn't get called back by Torrence, as a first offender Tseona will be out in about 9 months. Hawley on the other hand received the death penalty for driving along minding his own business.

Lionel R Henderson violated his probation for the 4th time in July of 2009, he was reinstated on July 30th. He violated again in December. Before he could be picked up and most likely have his felony probation reinstated for a 5th time, a warrant was issued charging him with the murder of Ashley Thomas as she sat in her car on Armour road in front of her apartment. Ms. Thomas was 9 months pregnant at the time of her death. While Henderson is innocent until proven guilty, it's worth noting that had he been serving his sentence at the time of Ashley's death, she might be alive today, teaching her child to take it's first steps. Henderson has a lengthy rap sheet out of St. Louis. He violated the probation on his most recent case 3 times in 2009 alone.

The list goes on endlessly. Shock time, probation, violation, reinstatement.

120 day shock sentences, and felony probation have their place in the legal system. The kid that gets busted for some low level felony, might be able to turn things around. Sometimes you can scare someone straight. Roughly a little less than half of incarcerated felons re-offend in 5 years. Those same numbers also can be applied to 120 shock recipients. The probation numbers are a little better, but not by much. I don't have the time or resources to dig deeper, but it's a safe assumption that a large percentage of violent offenders are either currently on probation, or have been in the years leading up to their most recent offense. I'm not saying we should just lock everyone up and do away with probation, and 120 shock time. But is probation a good alternative for someone like Steven Wayne Burgess? The former Jackson County deputy who was sentenced to 14 years for Statutory Sodomy, child molestation and several other sex related crimes involving a 15 year old girl, then given probation. What kind of message does it send to the families who lost their loved ones to the hands of Mertensmeyer or Edward Tseona, when they are given light sentences, and even those sentences aren't carried out.


I ended a criminal career that spanned over 25 years. It wasn't because I had a spiritual awakening, there was no defining moment. The system wore me down, period, end of story. I watched guys who I grew up admiring, as they turned old and gray in prison. I was as wrong headed as a person could be. In the end, I knew that if I didn't hang it up, the system was going to break me off a slice of time that I couldn't possibly serve. So I walked away from the life. Once I'd removed myself from it all, I slowly came to grips with a life wasted and misspent. I turned it around slowly, and the end result was the opinionated, sanctimonious prick you waste your time reading today. Somewhere along the line I changed. So what was it that changed me? It's simple, nothing complex. Five years and several months behind walls and razor wire, and the knowledge that the system wasn't going to fuck around with me. They were serious, they weren't hardly bullshittin. While that may seem like a no brainer to most of you readers, when you are caught up in a particular life, it more often than not takes some drastic measures to give a guy a wake up. It takes years, not 120 days, or a revolving cycle of probation violations and reinstatement's.