Man who tried to crash plane gets NO prison time!

By Taxpayers Association of Oregon
OregonWatchdog.com

Joseph Emerson was given no prison time for his crime of twice attempting to down an Alaska airplane with over 80 passengers flying over Oregon.  Emerson was despondent over a recent friend’s death.  He hadn’t slept for 40 hours. He was taking drugs.  He was in a trance.  Yet, as an off-duty pilot, he was given a spare seat in the cockpit.  He tried to pull the levers that would have cut ties to the engine and doomed the plane.  He was removed from the cabin and placed in the back of the plane where he again tried to interfere with the plane.  My goodness!  Someone please stop this man and make his endangerment of trying to kill 80+ people an example of strong punishment so no one in the future would even dare to think of trying to down a passenger plane.   Instead, he gets no prison time — except for a short period already served in jail.

Thanks to liberal judges, there is no consequence for putting people’s lives at risk.  Being intoxicated is not an escape card for crime.  If you are suffering mentally or intoxicated, DO NOT BOARD a plane.  DO NOT SIT in the extra passenger seat in the cockpit.  It is a crime to put people’s lives in danger just by boarding the plane under these circumstances.

I wish Joseph Emerson a second chance at a better life, but I also do not wish for his near-consequence-free verdict to make it easier for more troubled and intoxicated people in the future to board planes and put human lives at risk.

Furthermore, this incident came at the same time as another Alaska Airline trouble occurred with their mid-flight door breach.  Both tragedies at the same time contributed to Alaska Airlines losing customers and tens of millions of dollars.  Alaska has dropped routes and laid off hundreds.  Emerson’s defenders may say that at least no one was hurt, when in reality everyone was hurt.  People lost their jobs.