Teen Is Sentenced to 20 Years for Fatally Beating Homeless Man

[Judi Lynn]

Teen Is Sentenced to 20 Years for Fatally Beating Homeless Man
The Associated Press
Published: Jul 12, 2003

BALTIMORE (AP) - A teenager has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for the beating death of a homeless man in an attack he and his friends called "bum stomping."

Daniel Ennis, 18, who was sentenced Friday, pleaded guilty in May to second-degree murder in the death of Gerald Joseph Holle, a 55-year-old transient living under a bridge.

Prosecutors said the attack was an effort by Ennis and his friends to "clean up" their neighborhood by beating homeless men until they died or left the area.

Michael Farmer, 20, pleaded guilty last year to first-degree murder in Holle's death, as well as the bludgeoning death of 46-year-old George Williams.

The deaths were among a series of attacks on homeless men in 2001 in which three were killed and five others were hospitalized. (snip/...)

http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGABOAP72ID.html

[Neutrino]

1. My hope for these "boys"

I hope that there is a "welcoming committee" waiting outside
the gates to greet these compassionate conservatives. After
all, they will be homeless themselves when they exit the
building, and it's only fair that the neighborhood rid
itself of these candidates by "bum stomping" them for about
2 hours.

[diamond14]

2. Clockwork Orange...people without conscience...following bush*

example of killing and maiming those least able to defend themselves, just for fun...

[DagmarK]

3. I can reasonably assume that this guy is WHITE!!!!!!!

Just by looking at the sentence.

This little murderer will do about 11 years.....the rest off fro good time.

Meanwhile.......there are men on deathrow who were convicted on circumstantial evidence... And which murders could never be considered as depraved, cold-blooded and absolutely warranting a death sentence......

UGH!

[bicentennial_baby]

4. Should have been longer

Those fucks should'nt see the light of day, imho.

[jobycom]

5. Ah, see the connection? Our leaders believe problems should be solved by

violence, and the people are thus given justification for doing the same, rather than being encouraged to reach for more ethical solutions. Ask not what you can do for humanity, ask only how you can get rid of people you don't want to consider human.

[Equinox]

14. Ahhhhh...

I was thinking the same thing! Don't like a country? Beat it senseless. Don't like a bum? Do the same.

This is an utterly pathetic way of behaving. I said in a post below that they should have gotten life! Anything less is too good. Death is too good for these guys.

Ahhh..this makes my blood boil. Don't these guys have a bad feeling when they do these things? I just can't understand this.

[sammythecat]

6. I really don't know what to say

but I feel I just have to acknowledge this post. This crime is so ugly words can't convey my feelings toward these sub-humans. Although I'd derive a great deal of satisfaction in personally delivering an "eye for an eye" to these creatures I'm still against the idea of a society with a death penalty. This kind of cruelty is beyond comprehension. Those poor victims were already living a life of mental and physical hell and then their miserable life ends by being savagely beaten to death. Even though I believe prison violence is shamefully tolerated in this country and I'm completely for prison reform I do hope they receive some revenge equally as savage and cruel, and I hope it's bad enough and often enough they no longer want to live. Now I feel tainted by their crime for writing this, but there isn't any other human monster in history whose heart would have been any more evil than that of these ....- I've been searching for a descriptive word and can't find one. I don't think there is a word to adequately describe them. I gotta go to the lounge for something lighter.

[BeHereNow]

9. There is a word to describe them:

The FUTURE.

These are the future brown shirts of our country.
They are increasing in numbers on a daily basis.

What is truly horrifying about this incident is the fact
that there is a collective psychosis manifesting in the U.S..
It is rapidly becoming a culture of hate, and more and more
people feel justified in this type of action.

Although the neo-cons scare the crap out of me-
these people scare me even more, and I see them everywhere.
They will be among the first in line to receive their homeland security
clubs and the first to whack the crap out of anybody they consider
unpatriotic.
THEY are the reason I want to leave the US.
We are not going to be able stop the neo-cons,
but we don't have to live in fear of their civilian thugs.
I'm thinking more and more about Ireland...

BHN

[laylah]

11. believe it!

"...I do hope they receive some revenge equally as savage..." Best case scenario is that these sub-humans will be vewwwwwwy, vewwwwwwwy afwaid of bending over in the shower! They, with any karmic payback at all, will be someone's "girlfriend" soon after entering into the penal (no pun intended :evilgrin:) system of this country. Worst case scenerio is not one that I care to envision. May they both endure long, healthy karmas. :mad:

jenn

[Equinox]

15. Yeah...this brings about conflicting emotions in me.

I'm against the death penalty, however, I think death would be too good for these guys. My problem would be the eye for an eye thing in the prisons. I think everyone should be treated with dignity and respect, however, I don't think these guys are worthy of it.

I'm having a lot of trouble with this particular story.


This reminds me of a "friend" I had in high school who moved to where I lived from New York. He told me that he and his buds would go and dump the bum's life possessions in the river. I remember thinking, "what is the purpose of such behavior." But I was too stupid to realize what kind of guy this "friend" was. Too much pot I guess.

[classics]

7. Sometimes its real hard to be anti death penalty.

n/t

[leesa]

8. But isn't this what we want as a country...beat up on the defenseless???

This is exactly what we are teaching our children in Afghanistan and Iraq

[maggrwaggr]

10. it's okay, it was a "pre-emptive" strike.

I mean, the guy was probably dangerous, right?

[raifield]

12. Defintely

I have a report right here that states the man had, at one time, carried a toothpick with him. That could've easily taken out an eye. God bless those staltwart patriots! *Eyes start to tear as 'Star Spangled Banner' is played*

Uh, wait. What?

[Equinox]

13. These guys are nothing but jerks....

They should have gotten life. I have no sympathy for someone who picks on someone who can't defend themselves. These assholes are the worst kind of people. This just makes me sick.

[TahitiNut]

16. But, but ... "might makes right!"

That's the message of this madministration. This teen is merely showing he's in tune with global policy.

Too bad his career aspiration of being a DoD policy advisor has been delayed. :shrug: