It isn’t the judge’s fault; he has to operate within the sentencing guidelines enacted by the legislature.
Adam Abelson (photo, left), 32, has had a rough life. He watched both his parents die from drug overdoses, according to his lawyer. But plenty of people suffer family tragedies, without inflicting tragedy on another family. Such traumas are a character test, and each individual is responsible for whether they pass or fail.
He failed miserably. He used drugs himself, and was high on cocaine and fentanyl when he drove on a Seattle city street at “highway speeds” and plowed into a city bus, injuring 11 passengers and killing a pedestrian, Amanda Taylor, 28 at the time.
Before this incident, Abelson “was the subject of 50 previous warrants in the state of Washington and had convictions for hit-and-run, vehicle prowling, theft, and eluding police” (see story here). That’s all the proof anyone needs that he’s a menace to society; and now he’s killed someone.
He pleaded guilty. The plea agreement called for 13 years in prison. The judge, taking his prior record into account, sentenced him to 15 years; in effect, he gets 2 extra years for an habitual criminal.
Fifteen long years isn’t a short sentence, but even without early release, he’ll be only 47 when he gets out. Amanda Taylor will never get out; she’s in the ground permanently. And why should anyone believe that Abelson, once released, won’t resume his old ways and hurt more people?
The law doesn’t have adequate answers for people like him.