Last September, I published an article here on The Hayride about the “super-predator” issue in Louisiana. For many years, repeat criminal offenders in Louisiana’s major metro areas have victimized the law-abiding citizens of Louisiana. Even though the overall crime rate has subsided in most areas of our state recently, Louisiana residents still are seeing the consequences of a broken justice system where dangerous criminals are allowed to get away with crimes time and time again.

Last week reminded all of Louisiana that our state is still at the mercy of dangerous “super-predators” with little regard for human life.

Last Sunday, April 19th, the community of Shreveport was shocked to find out that a felon named Sharmar Elkins allegedly executed seven of his own children in the early hours of the morning. Unsurprisingly, Elkins previously possessed a criminal record—which included a felony offense of shooting a gun on school property.

Then, just four days after the mass shooting in Shreveport, a seventeen-year-old young woman named Martha Odum died at the hands of criminal juveniles who started shooting up the Mall of Louisiana in Baton Rouge. Multiple other high school students were injured during this horrific shooting.

One of the suspects in this shooting a seventeen-year-old male named Markel Lee. Per the Baton Rouge Police Department, Lee turned himself in to the police and is now facing a first-degree murder charge. Unsurprisingly, Lee had a “extensive history in the juvenile crime system” according to Baton Rouge Police Chief T.J. Morse.

Louisiana patriots must demand accountability from our elected officials when it comes punishing violent criminals. When local officials fail to protect their citizens, then the state government must step in to protect law-abiding citizens.

The mass shootings in Baton Rouge and Shreveport last week were not anomalies. They are the result of a dysfunctional justice system that fails to properly punish our state’s most dangerous, hardened offenders.