Student who shot classmate to graduate, no jail time

ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- About 500 students will graduate this weekend from Atlanta's prestigious Morehouse College. One person who won't be there is Rashad Johnson, shot three times by a fellow student. But the shooter will receive his diploma -- part of a plea deal that spared him up to 20 years in prison.

It's a puzzling case that raises a huge question: How can this be?

Even Atlanta's chief district attorney, Paul Howard, is outraged by the generous plea deal, an offer that was made by a prosecutor under his command.

"First of all, for the victim and his family, they deserved a better resolution," said Howard, a Morehouse graduate himself. "It seems like the wrong person got the right benefit."
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As for Johnson, he is attending Sacramento City College and plans to attend law school after he graduates in 2011. Johnson said he no longer wants to be a Morehouse man. The fact that Norris is graduating this weekend, he said, is an injustice.

"I really feel sick, like how could this happen," he said, fighting back tears.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/05/14/morehouse.justice/index.html

Just wait till this shooter goes to college and does a Virigina Tech assalut. The shooter was driving a Hummer too.

Just cross your fingers and hope he never gets installed as pResident.

He was never given a reason to change his behavior.

He's a typical spoiled rich kid with an iron clad sense of entitlement.

It will eventually land him in prison. The only question is how many other people will be hurt along the way.

Shouldn't show. Let him be the only one there.

arm and saved himself from a shot to the head. I'm amazed the shooter got probation

Being a Morehouse man used to mean something, but this certainly sullies it

sons of rich/influential parents can literally get away with murder (especially if they are the son of a rich/influential alum)...

I'm c/o '99 and knew plenty of his 'type'

made some of their own decisions?

Like suspending the shooter for breaking the law or some other reason, of which there would seem to be many to chose from, so that the victim could feel comfortable on campus and graduate with his peers, having done nothing wrong.

And one OT question: can you go to law school after going to community college? I thought Sac City was a CC...

What the heck is going on at Morehouse? You would think the students would be freaking out. I can't even imagine that the individual avoided hard time. Lets go through the chronology:

1. Norris gets thrown out of a club (at an official/unoffical Morehouse sanctioned event???)
2. Norris gets into an alteracation with an individual outside the club (whatever that may have been about it did not justify what followed).
3. Norris goes to his car, starts it up, and pulls to where the Johnson is standing.
4. Norris gets out of the car and puts a gun to the head of Johnson.
5. Johnson being a bright individual grabs the gun and pulls it away from his head.
6. Norris proceeds to shoot Johnson three times during the altercation.
7. Norris gets to graduate and only perform community service????????????????
8. The prosecuting attorney conveniently quits after the sweetheart deal. I sure would like to see him get an IRS audit and find out where he lands after the prosecutor's office.
9. On general principle I would get rid of the DA and is the judge subject to a vote? If so I would think folks there would campaign against him.