Another Senseless Shooting

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This particular example had so many holes and gaps in time, it was almost impossible to examine and establish anything that identified the strongest and weakest links, in this case. The problem wasn’t the details offered, but what was not said. After doing considerable research, I found a lot of information that was almost identical. The sources indicated John Burke was sentenced between 18 and 20 years for killing Joe Ronan, and given another four or five for possession of the gun. I wasn’t able to find any follow up information that mentioned what happened since he was sentenced. Did he appeal? Was he possibly released?

Nevertheless, can we blame it on the criminal justice system, or the media?

Pros or Strongest Links in Process

As stated above, it was difficult to determine the strongest and weakest practices in the US criminal justice system, because there was so much information left out. However, from the information I had, the following are the factors I believe to be strongest links:

- Police got right on it and didn’t drop the ball. They found the suspect within days of the shooting.

- Obviously the police had gathered enough evidence to arrest, book, and arraign John Burke for first degree murder charges.

Cons or Weakest Links in Process

Strangely, I could only find two concrete facts I felt were strong in this process. It is very likely because so much information was omitted and too many holes exist. The following are examples:

- Obviously, we don’t know what really happened, other than John Burke shot and killed Joe Ronan, in August of 2011, at Ronan’s home in Reading, MA. The shooting was allegedly over some type of drug dispute. [Essentially, this is the extent of the case. Other than a few tidbits, we know little more.)

- How and why were they looking for John Burke almost from the beginning? There were no witnesses, other than Ronan’s elderly grandfather who only heard the shots, but did not see the shooter. There was no mention of interviewing neighbors or friends of Ronan’s to learn if anyone saw anything, or knew why someone would want to kill Ronan.

- There was talk about an argument over drugs, and something about Burke being victim to a robbery Ronan was involved in. None of this was discussed in further detail, as it would have merit in why the shooting occurred.

- We were told a little about Joe Ronan. He was a hockey start, going into the Marines. This seemed to be the only factors of any consequence, as they continued to bring it up. There must have been more to him than this!

- What about John Burke? We know nothing about him. Did he have a police record? Was he a troublemaker? Did he have friends and what were the general feelings about him? Nothing was stated, which could have influenced the cases somewhat.

- Was he remorseful? We know nothing about his demeanor or actions after the shooting. Why did he say he did it?

- What about the families? We only knew Ronan’s family was going to miss him, which is a ridiculous thing to say after their son was just killed. Of course they’d miss him.

- How did the families feel about each other? How did Ronan’s family feel about Burke, and vice versa? Were they sorry, sympathetic, hateful, etc?

- Why was Burke held for two years without bail, before he went to trial?

- Why did he the plea change from murder to manslaughter? Did Burke do this on the advice of an attorney? Who represented him? A court appointed attorney, or his own?

- What was his demeanor like in court?

Surely, there were many more issues like the above, but these are the ones that come to mind at this time. I realize there is a fine line here between what may be the fault of the media and what may be a flaw in the system. Even so, whatever is portrayed in the news can only be as good or bad, thorough or lacking, suitable or inadequate as what is provided to news reporters.

This sort of problem is rampant. I constantly hear or see news articles, with very volatile or controversial topics, sensationalized all over the media. Then, as sudden as they appear, they are gone and never to be heard about again. I can’t even tell you how many murders, kidnappings, people who’ve gone missing, and other violent crimes have attracted the attention of the nation. We see shows like 60 Minutes, 48 Hours, and others like them. They present us with a shocking, scandalous, devastating or disturbing real life story, but there is usually no ending or closure, and they rarely do a follow up piece to fill in those missing blanks.

Conclusion?

Why the question mark? Because, do we really know what happened? Is there a definitive culmination of this case? After conducting exhaustive research and then doing more, the only conclusive pieces of information were Joe Ronan was shot and killed, and John Burke was the perpetrator.

One particular article got a lot of people stirred up, as there were seven pages of comments. It was apparent than most of the people who spoke up were close friends of Ronan, and/or Burke. I had to read the comments several times, but eventually realized these statements put most everything into perspective. (Casey, 2011).

The assistant D.A. revealed in court that drugs and $20K were stolen from Burke’s apartment. Whether true or not, it was alleged John Burke was convinced that Joe Ronan was the one who robbed him. So, to get revenge, Burke goes to Ronan’s home, shoot and kills him in broad daylight.

There was nothing about Burke to ever suggest he was violent, had a police record, got into trouble, etc. This is why the lack of information might have presented a different perspective to the public than what was the real truth. Since we virtually know nothing about Burke it’s difficult to believe he would go to Ronan’s home, in the middle of the day, shoot him several times, practically in the doorway, and then stroll away like nothing happened.

Logic dictates that a 25-year-old who has his whole life ahead of him would throw it all away in this manner. No, it doesn’t make sense, and the only conclusion I draw is no conclusion. There had to be more to this story than we heard, and maybe we’ll never know what really happened, other than one more senseless shooting.

References

Casey, M. (2011). (Open Post) Prosecutor: Ronan murder