Political commentator and editor Daniel Horowitz argued that the only way to prevent murders similar to that of a child who was allegedly killed by his neighbor is to lock up violent criminals.
“This is the story of our justice system,” Horowitz wrote in the Conservative Review following reports that 5-year-old Cannon Hinnant was shot and killed execution-style in front of his two young sisters as he was playing outside of his North Carolina home this week.
Horowitz pointed out that Hinnant’s suspected killer, 25-year-old Darius Sessoms, had been convicted of multiple felonies, including drug charges, probation violations, and possession of a stolen firearm, but he spent little time in jail.
“Why aren’t Republican senators in North Carolina pushing endless legislation to toughen sentencing on gun and drug felons and parole violators who are almost always the sort of people who wind up committing these heinous acts?” Horowitz wrote. “Instead, both parties are obsessing about weakening our system even more under the guise of a racial inequality that is actually the other way around.”
Horowitz then pondered how many murders are carried out by suspects who were shown leniency and given little or no prison time. He cited data from Harris County, Texas, showing that 57 people have been killed there in the past two years by defendants “released on multiple felony bonds and personal recognizance bonds.”
While pointing out that race “should never matter” in a “sane America,” Horowitz wondered whether race was injected in the killing of George Floyd, which made him a “household name,” but he said Hinnant’s name won’t be known to nearly as many people.
“In the new America that is driven by racial politics rather than justice, what do you think would happen if a white man killed a 5-year-old black boy on his bike execution-style, regardless of racial motivations?” Horowitz asked.
He continued: “This happened in Wilson, North Carolina, except it was a black man and a white boy. Now there are crickets from the political class. No kneeling, foot-washing, renaming of American symbols, endless legislation to lock up career criminals like this alleged perpetrator, or frantic press releases from every organization known to man to mourn the loss of life. And most certainly, there seems to be no expectation of rioting. Why not?”
Police say they do not yet have a motive for the brutal murder, but one theory from the family suggests that Hinnant rode his bike through the suspect’s yard. A GoFundMe page has been set up to raise money for the family and has brought in more than $100,000.
