Mom Goes After Gunman

"A Fort Collins mother is suing the man who held her son at gunpoint after the man was given a plea agreement she calls 'a slap on the hand.' Cherylynn Barber asked Chief District Court Judge James Hiatt on Thursday to reject the plea agreement offered to Kenrick Illidge, who was charged with felony menacing in the July 17 incident. 'The punishment does not fit the crime,' she told Hiatt. 'I'm furious that no action has been taken against him.' " This is something victims need to do more often. If the criminals knew they'd be saddled with suits by the victims seeking damages for their crimes, maybe they'd do something else for a living. It often isn't enough to have and use a stun gun or pepper spray to "fend off" an attacker because our court system often does "let him off with a wrist-slap" which tells him, "go forth and attack someone else and we won't put you away for a long time." (The Coloradoan, 11/9/07)