The Maryland Gazette reports that Judge Paul Hackner has decided to ignore sentencing guidelines by giving an 18 month sentence to a man who should have received from five to sixteen years.
Marquis McKnight, 18, pleased guilty to first degree assault and several counts of second degree assault. Last summer, McKnight pistol whipped an elderly man and held a loaded handgun to a woman’s head during a robbery.
The Gazette quotes Hackner upon sentencing McKnight, “I don’t know whether you’re a ticking time bomb or whether you’re a guy who’s going to straighten up. I’m hoping it’s the latter.” The judicial system should be managed on more than the hopes of a judge for a man who has shown no respect for the law or the citizens of Anne Arundel County.
Hackner is no stranger to weak sentences and criticism from Eye On Annapolis. And McKnight is no stranger to the penal system. He has had four prior run-ins with the juvenile court system for robbery and drug possession.
Is Anne Arundel County becoming the preferred county for criminals? It certainly seems that the police department does all they can to take the bad guys off the street, yet the judiciary puts them right back on–and in the case of Judge Paul Hackner, he sometimes gives them money to boot!
When elections come up, the judicial races are of paramount importance. The terms are 15 and 20 years, depending on the bench and the judges, more than the politicians, have the ability to shape the lives of the citizens of Anne Arundel County.
What do you think? Please leave a comment!
