Americans are distressed - and angered - all too regularly by cases in which vicious criminals are slapped on the wrists for brutal crimes, then released to do more evil. This week, Michigan authorities charged a man with murder in just such a situation.
Nolan R. George, 67, was charged with first-degree murder in the 1968 death of a Pontiac, Mich. woman. Part of the case against George involves his bragging while in prison that he had killed five to eight women.
George, an Ohio native, murdered a 23-year-old Michigan woman in 1968. He strangled her with her own underwear, was caught and sent to prison. He served just 12 years for the killing.
He moved to Hamilton, Ohio, where - despite his record - he was convicted only of manslaughter in the death of another woman in 1982. George used her pantyhose to suffocate her. His sentence for his second murder: 10 years.
Police in Michigan and Kentucky are investigating George in similar murders, dating back to the 1960s. Again, he bragged in prison about killing women - and enjoying it.
How is it that a clear danger to society served a total of only 22 years in prison for murdering two women? Especially outrageous is the sentence George received for his second killing. Did no prosecutors or judges involved in the two, separate cases worry that George, if released, might kill again?
Apparently not. That leads to the question of why people like George - and yes, the infamous Eugene Blake who killed two local residents - got such breaks from the court system.
Finally, it leads to this question: How many other vicious killers have been set free to murder again?
