Sounds like the Feds - at least the Justice Department - has done this correctly
Why the big-crime cities themselves do not treat gun crimes this way is beyond understanding. I suspect it has to do with politics and money, what else?
Louis of PA
Two Philadelphia Men Charged in Attempted Armed Robbery (Federal Case?)
Department of Justice ^| May 19, 2009 | United States Attorney's Office Eastern District of Pennsylvania
Posted on Saturday, May 23, 2009 1:01:37 PM
United States Attorney Laurie Magid today announced the filing of an indictment against Kendall Jamal McGill and Richard Rivera Jr., charging then with conspiring to interfere with interstate commerce by robbery, attempted interference with interstate commerce by robbery, and with using and carrying a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.
These offenses arise from the defendants’ participation in the October 9, 2008 attempted armed robbery of the Denim Blue Store, located at 6910 Torresdale Avenue in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, during which a store employee was shot in the leg.
If convicted of all charges, each defendant faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment, including a mandatory minimum sentence of ten years imprisonment, five years supervised release, a $750,000 fine, and a $300 special assessment.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, a federal initiative designed to identify and prosecute firearms offenders in federal court, where the defendants are likely to receive a substantial sentence upon conviction. The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”) and the Philadelphia Police Department and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Joan E. Burnes.
Did Federal intrusion into state's affairs begin during the civil rights struggles?
Or did it start in the 1930s under Roosevelt?
In the fifties and sixties, some states were doing next to nothing to protect civil rights of blacks, or deliberately withholding legal protections for blacks. The abuse of blacks was open and rampant.
The Feds under Jack Kennedy sent in federal lawyers, and the national guard.
Today, I know of no state that is guilty of trampling on minority rights. Yet here we see the Fed taking an active role in these purely criminal cases.
Are state or city governments so inept and corrupt that they cannot properly enforce laws, and punish the guilty?
Or is it simply money? The states shift the cost of prosecution and imprisonment off the taxpayers of the entire country? That sounds like small-minded behavior on the part of a state, but I find it's almost impossible to under rate some of those folks.
I support state's rights - to a reasonable degree - and I think it's a disgrace that they don't take care of the mess within their borders. It's called "being responsible", a concept that seems lost on much of our society.
Regards,
Louis of PA