Plea agreement reached in Whitis shooting

16 years please! And that’s not enough…grrr

I am speaking as a mother and resident of Putnam Countywhen i say our justice system is so messed up and outdated!! you ard talking about a young girls life being taken and your going to offer a plea agreement that he MIGHT serve 3-16 yr. But what is not shared with the parents or the residents is that he more then likely will be out within 3 1/2 years if he has good behavior, takes drug courses, gets his diploma (if he doesnt have it), and depending what other "good" things he does. Yes thats right they reward those that commit crimes moreso then those that dont and could use the help. Maybelike this young ladies family... no i dont know either family but i know when my sonwas killed what arrangement was made with him and he was out in shy of four years.

The parents of this young girl will never be able to see her get married, have children and so.many other firsts that we parents get robbed out of when ouR children are taken from us in senseless acts.

But he'll be free shortly to be oug on ghe stredts again and who knows it might be youfdaughter next time or it maybe a situation like my friend Melissa Attkison!! we all remember That murder on berry street right? where that murderer was let out of prison in error??

ThUmbs up to our justice system!

Devils Advocate: I would think that Bookwalter had the girls' family's permission to offer that plea. Or at least he discussed it with them. (And believe me, I am no fan of Bookwalter or the kangaroo courts of Putnam County.)

While you may believe that you know the facts well enough to judge him, he is still afforded his day in court.

And given he was the only other person in the room, it would be a he-said / they-said where the prosecution would have to make their case - beyond a REASONABLE doubt - on forensics... which is NOT so cut/dry and infallible as they might portray on TV.

Honestly, this is probably the best.

You want justice? You won't find it in the legal system.

The charge of Level 3 felony aggravated battery posing a substantial risk of death doesn't make sense to me. I am not a lawyer but it would seem that charge would have been correct had Hailey survived . It seems to me the charge should have been Murder2 or Manslaughter. While I don't know all the details it just seems this case has been mishandled from the beginning.

I agree. No plea agreement. Today's legal system is too busy protecting the criminals and forgetting about the victims.

The fact that he lied initially about how she got shot and the fact that there are no witnesses to attest to his new story is enough reason to charge him with first degree murder. He shouldn’t get a plea deal!

Many people that are saying "No Plea Agreement" would be the first to complain when taxes increase to pay for the costs of a trial. Plea deals are made both to save the taxpayers money and to make sure the perpetrator serves time. It takes a LOT of evidence to convict someone and, no matter what the arm-chair lawyers say, a guilty verdict is not guaranteed. The fact that there are no witnesses is a reason to NOT charge him with first degree murder. A bird in the hand, etc. etc.

unbiased, are you serious? We'd be the first to complain about the rising tax costs to pay for his trial?? Seriously? You think money is more important than justice for the young girl who lost her life to this lying POS? The evidence they do have currently is that he LIED, AND they have a confession. It wouldn't be that hard to charge him.

How "generous" of him to accept a plea bargain. He took the life of a young woman. He deserves the death penalty. What an obvious liar and murderer. Too much time spent on making sure the criminal is getting all the breaks. It's time the justice system started caring about the victim.