For anyone who has been the victim of a crime, we often quickly learn that the justice system is devoted to anything but justice. Often, it is more concerned about making the suspects feel better and about the suspects' rights instead of doing right by victims and their families or protecting the community from further harm.
I could write a novel on all the criminals I've written about for Townhall who have long, violent rap sheets and are still set loose. This includes Decarlos Brown, Jr., who murdered Iryna Zartuska despite having more than a dozen prior arrests. Former North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper set him free as part of a COVID-era prison release and judges put him back on the streets. In Indiana, Courtney Boose was arrested 99 times before he tried to stab a man to death at the gas station. Despite his record and the violent nature of his most recent crime, Boose has never served a day in prison, and the attempted murder charge he faced was downgraded to "aggravated battery." Logan Federico was 22 years old and an aspiring teacher when she was murdered by Alexander Dickey during a home invasion. Dickey had been arrested 39 times, including 25 felony arrests. Last month, Damon Johnson was arrested in New York City after he set a man on fire on the subway. Johnson had 131 prior arrests. In Virginia, illegal immigrant Abdul Jalloh was such a violent repeat offender that police warned Fairfax County Commonwealth Attorney Steve Descano's office it was only a matter of time before he killed someone, and Jalloh would stab a mom, Stephanie Minter, to death at a bus stop just three months later.
The theme here is this: a small number of criminals commit repeated, violent offenses, but because of the color of their skin, Democrats refuse to lock them up where they belong. They call it "criminal justice reform." I call it insane, ridiculous, and evil.
I'm hoping such toxic empathy won't fly in Nebraska, where a teen who murdered a Navy veteran while he was "hunting people" just appealed his 87-year prison sentence on the grounds that he's young.
Teen who murdered Navy veteran while 'hunting people' appeals 87-year prison sentence - because he is young https://t.co/JBCXGXLYBZ pic.twitter.com/JY3jERahg3
— New York Post (@nypost) April 9, 2026
A teen convicted of murdering a Navy veteran while out “hunting people” in a rival gang’s territory has launched an appeal to slash his sentence — because he is young.
Dech Gach, from Sioux City, Iowa, was 15 when he heartlessly shot dead 59-year-old Larry Thompson on the stoop of his home in North Omaha, Nebraska, in March 2021.
In March 2025, Gach was sentenced to 87 years in prison and won’t be eligible for parole until 2060.
This week, he took his case to the Nebraska Court of Appeals.
His attorney argued that his client should have received a lighter sentence because of his age at the time — and called into question whether Gach even pulled the trigger.
Gach’s cellphone apparently disconnected from the Bluetooth in the vehicle his group was in before the shooting.
Spare me. Gach was old enough to be in a gang, to go out hunting people, and to murder Larry Thompson. A jury found Gach guilty and he was sentenced to prison.
That's where he belongs. If he's willing to kill a 59-year-old man for sport, he does not belong on the streets. It doesn't matter that he's young. He chose a life of crime and giving him a lighter prison sentence will only send a message to other thugs that they, too, can get away with such behavior.
Boose, Brown, Dickey, Johnson, and Jalloh are all proof of this. The so-called "justice" system kept giving them slaps on the wrist, and they all went on to hurt or murder innocent people. This behavior stops when we start putting criminals like Gach behind bars for decades, where they cannot hurt any more innocent people.
Nebraska's Court of Appeals has a chance to make such tough sentencing the norm again, and to protect prosecutors and judges who do their jobs in getting criminals off our streets.
The question is: will it?