SC Serial Killer: Failure Of Correctional System

Discussion in 'Politics' started by AAAintheBeltway, Jul 8, 2009.

  1. Just how many chances does a violent, habitual criminal get?

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    SC serial killer shouldn’t have been free
    By Adam Fogle • July 8, 2009



    BURRIS HAD 25-PAGE RAP SHEET OVER 20-YEAR CRIMINAL CAREER

    The man who took five lives in six days in a small Cherokee County town should have been in jail, according to South Carolina officials who have examined his criminal record.

    Patrick Tracy Burris, who allegedly murdered five Gaffney residents ranging in age from 15 to 83, was a habitual felon with a 25-page rap sheet that included an eight year stint in North Carolina prison.

    Police say Burris should have never been released from prison, and now they are demanding answers.

    “When you have that many crimes you shouldn’t get parole,” said South Carolina Law Enforcement Chief Reggie Lloyd Tuesday. “I just think our entire system has to get serious about these types of offenders.”

    The long list of crimes for the intimidating 6-foot-5 inch, 250 pound Burris — who was killed by police Monday in Gastonia, N.C. — began with blackmail in 1989 and escalated to the tragic Gaffney murders.

    He was arrested more than 30 times in North Carolina alone with other convictions in Florida, Virginia, West Virginia and Maryland.

    He was well known to authorities as a bully; so fierce to his victims was he that one elderly man refused to testify against him in an extortion case for fear of retaliation.

    Records show that most of Burris’ convictions involved stealing from homes and businesses and forging checks. But over time, the crimes augmented to robbery and assault.

    The Gaffney killings began on June 27 when 63-year-old peach farmer Kline Cash was killed. Four days later, Hazel Linder, 83, and her daughter Gena Linder Parker, 50, were found dead. The next day, Stephen Tyler and his 15-year-old daughter Abby were killed while closing the family furniture store.

    Although Burris was paroled in North Carolina, the fact that the murders occurred in South Carolina has already renewed calls to abolish parole in the Palmetto State
     
  2. TGregg

    TGregg

    Heh, just like the question about how many licks does it take to get to the center of a tootsie-pop. The world may never know.