What law school did the judges in Anne Arundel County go to? Each time a nefarious or notorious crime happens it seems that our justice system feels that a slap on the wrist is the most prudent solution to a problem that likely will not go away.
In the past, a judge released a sex offender back to the home where his victim lived! Another judge exonerated a violent inmate for stabbing another inmate to death because she felt “he had the right to defend himself”–apparently it did not cross her mind that knives are against the rules in prison.
So now we have Tryon McGowan. Currently 19, McGowan was the man responsible for the shooting death of Annapolis High School student Kwame Johnson. The murder sparked outrage in our communities for this senseless death.
In what appeared to be a just and right sentence, Judge Michael Loney sentenced McGowan to life in prison. Loney cited the repeated offenses dating back to when McGowan was 9 years old. Yes, that is correct, 9 years old. The judge noted that the teen simply “did not want to change.”
But then Loney suspended all but 30 years of the sentence making McGowan eligible for parole when he is 34 years old. It appears that McGowan will serve slightly more years behind bars than Kwame Johnson lived.
I think of all the events that Johnson will not be able to see since his life was snuffed out so early, and all the events that McGowan will be allowed due to the leniency of our judges. Hardly seems like justice is being served does it?
