In August 2005, I was a victim of an attempted robbery by Brent Radabaugh on a Saturday afternoon in the south side Kroger parking lot. He was apprehended later that day after committing a robbery at the south side CVS, and I was called to the scene to positively identify him. I said at the time he needed to be locked up or one day he will kill someone. That day happened in April 2010.
While I'm sure the jury considered all the facts, granting him mercy and an opportunity to be paroled in 15 years, is a travesty of justice in my opinion. Where was his mercy with Rebecca Hoyer? Where does her family go to get "paroled" in 15 years from the horror of his crime? Where do those of us who were victims of his various crimes go in 15 years to be safe from his mayhem?
There is no excuse for his continued disrespect for the laws he's broken over and over again. There are plenty of us who have had the proverbial "rock in our shoes" too and we didn't resort to a life of crime. I will be 101 in 15 years, and if I'm still around, you can bet I will make it a point to attend the parole hearing to argue against it. He should spend the rest of his life in prison rather than on the streets to repeat his offenses.
Howard Deem
Rockport
