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Check this entry on Steven Stragner [above] from murderpedia.org . . .

Classification: Mass murderer
Characteristics: Shooting spree
Number of victims: 4
Date of murders: July 5, 2001
Date of arrest: Same day
Date of birth: 1959
Victims: Angelica Toscano, 19; Juan Manual Hernandez-Carrillo, 44; Melquiades Medrano-Velasquez, 23, and his brother, Juan Carlos Medrano-Velasquez, 22
Method of murder: Shooting (.38-caliber Charter Arms revolver)
Sentence: Found not guilty by reason of insanity. Sentenced to serve one day to life at the Colorado Mental Health Institute

According to sfgate.com, “witnesses say Stagner targeted Latinos at an RV park and made statements around the time of the July 2001 shootings that it was time for illegal immigrants to pay for ‘feeding off the system.'”

Regardless of how you feel about illegal immigrants using America’s social welfare system, none of the victims deserved to die at Stragner’s hands. And I don’t think many of you would agree that a judge should have ruled that Stagner can “go hiking and attend movies as part of his treatment.”

If I were one of the survivors of James Holmes’ spree killing at an Aurora Colorado cinema, or a bereaved family member, I would be beyond livid. Equally, WTF is this? “As part of the conditions of the outings, Stagner will not be allowed in areas where there are a large number of Latinos.”  

People who focus their attention on gun control should take a good hard look at what happens to criminals who use firearms when they enter America’s criminal justice system. And out of respect for the killers’ victims’ friends and family, this judge should be named and shamed.

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23 COMMENTS

  1. How do you “sentence” someone who is found not guilty?

    In truth, of course, he wasn’t “sentenced” at all, he was remanded to the State Hospital after being found not guilty by reason of insanity. From a legal perspective, he is a mental patient, not a criminal, and it is the doctors at the hospital who determine what level of freedom he is allowed (with the concurrence of the court), as it is for every other mental patient.

    I realize lots of people don’t like the insanity defense but as long as it exists in CO the judge is bound to follow the law. He can’t just unilaterally decide “I don’t like this person” and keep him confined if his doctors have determined that he’s not a threat.

    • Concur. Maybe Robert’s just pushing buttons, but it sounds like intolerance for mental illness–in this case an undisputed mental illness or illnesses to suggest that he should be locked up and the key thrown away. This man is not getting out of the hospital where he spent the last ten years any time soon. It is very difficult. legally speaking, to establish an insanity defense, and moreover, when it is established, the “penalty” of detention may last much longer than the sentence for the crime committed.

      • The man killed 4 people in cold blood. There is nothing about being mentally ill that makes this man deserving to be outside of the strict confines of a hospital or prison. He isn’t locked up because we (the law-abiding taxpayers of the US) want him to know or understand how bad his actions were, we want him locked up so that he does not have any opportunity to commit any more violent crimes.

        • So, fix the system that lets people with sufficiently good shrinkconsultants go free.

          Speaking as someone who knows that a rekindled Operation Dampishposterior would have solved many of America’s problems, including the late presidential Election, this prick should have fried long ago.

  2. Is treatment or rehabilitation just a farce in this country? It seems that majority opinion is always “eye for an eye”, or worse.

    There seems to be anger at the judge, but he’s just responding to the law and medical professionals who decided that this guy’s mental state is stable enough to outweigh the risks at a few supervised activities.

    • Yeah it is a farce in this country…first of all, there is no rehabilitation IMO for a 53 year old “drunk, manic-depressive and schizophrenic” mass-murdering scumbag, that has obviously done nothing good for our society/country. Rehabilitate this guy for what? So he has the pleasure of seeing 200 more movies and 100 more nature hikes? You go on a murderous shooting rampage, you should be fried. Period. Crazy in the moment or crazy indefinitely, it shouldn’t matter IMO. I’m sure all of you here to the contrary would be singing a different tune if he had murdered YOUR wife and kids.

      • I don’t support the use of the death penalty, but I do otherwise agree with you. Anyone with a standing conviction or insanity-plea-deal for as horrible a crime as mass murder should remain in a prison or hospital indefinitely.

        Besides, the death row is so expensive (at least here in CA) that life in prison would cost me less as a taxpayer. It would kill (no pun intended) two birds with one stone.

        • Not a hard solution to this.. fix death row so the scumbag lawyers can’t make it more expensive to terminate their friends criminal careers than to delay them for a little while.

    • So, this guy is safe to be in public?

      (fine print: as long as there aren’t many latinos around him)

      oops.. guess not.

      Either you’re safe to be be in society or you’re not. If there has to be any qualifiers or conditions placed on the concept of being set free, then he shouldn’t be set free. Add to that, the fact that such conditions are beyond his control. “Mr. goes into a murderous rage at the sight of latinos” may find himself in a situation where his “triggers” (no pun) happen to be. Who is then liable?

      I submit that it would be the judge and his doctors.

  3. Um, excuse me… what social welfare system? When I was broke and unemployed the only thing I got were bills (student loans and medical debt), and I live in the alleged socialist capital of the US, California.

    I would love for someone to explain to me about this supposed social welfare system that can only be accessed if you have no documentation whatsoever.

    That said, the family of the victims might actually be very, very happy to hear that this guy will be hiking alone in the wilderness. He might enjoy nature so much that he stays indefinitely.

      • Chris,

        Go to a school in South Central LA and see kids who don’t speak English because they are the children of illegal immigrants, or an emergency room where the patients are undocumented, or in estigate hit and run crashes where the suspects are 90 % Hispanic. Investigate cases where known illegals murder someone, arrest them, and see them released by a liberal judge. The murderes subsequently flee the country and are never heard from again.

  4. WOW!!

    I’m sure that it will all be fine though. No doubt that the institution’s staff of professionals have given the matter the deepest consideration. We’re in the very best of hands, don’t you worry one little bit, not for a moment. Besides, he’s just misunderstood, it could have happened to anybody. He probably just didn’t get enough foot rubs or have “Goodnight Moon” read to him enough when he was a kid.

  5. The victims of this man’s crime are dead, as in still and always. Serves to reason that pipe dreams of his parole/pardon/probation/fill in the blank reason for him to go free for any reason are just null and void.
    This jerk off used malice and reason to commit crimes against those who were not willing participants. I have no fear of reprisal by offering similar sympathy towards him.
    Rot in prison, then in Hell.

  6. If he was actually insane at the time of the crime, then treatment is the appropriate response. But he still killed innocent human beings. Once he’s sane enough to be allowed excursions, he’s sane enough to spend the rest of his life in a supervised program of restitution. How much trash do we see on the sides of roads and in vacant lots? How many homeless veterans need housing that has to be built or renovated or cleaned? The list goes on and on. He could spend the rest of his life doing good deeds to assuage the guilt that any sane person would feel over killing innocents.

  7. Hey, I have an idea. Why don’t we send him on a hiking trip with the judge’s wife and kids? They can all go hiking in the mountains near Santa Cruz with David Carpenter and then go to the movies in Aurora with James Holmes. Then, since Stragner loves Hispanics, they can all go out for tacos. Just let me know when, ‘kay? ‘Cause I’m gonna be somewhere else.

  8. I’m not down with “not guilty by reasons of insanity.” If I were a judge, it would be “guilty, but also insane.” And the bad guy would still get the death penalty without appeal. Maybe my sensitivity training has failed me, but that’s how I would honor the victims, their faimilies, and society.

  9. this is now aug. 22 2017 , where is steve mike stagner now ? still in some sort of custody? I actually served in the army with him in the 70’s and 80’s . I just learned of his crimes after googleing his name (and other past people I knew during those years ) I was shocked at what I read . I’m still in disbelief . this is without doubt the same guy ,I seen a mug shot and the dates all line up. I’d be interested in a update ,if any one has any current information . thank you.

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