Consecutive justice

A thoughtless killer by the name of Jorge Arellano was sentenced to four life terms in prison on Thursday in Brownsville. It was true justice.

What makes this case noteworthy is that finally, a judge has correctly employed the use of consecutive sentences — not concurrent ones.

The background: In March 2006, Arellano was drunk and driving, and he ran a stop sign. That’s bad, but what happened next was incredibly appalling.

Arellano killed three people in the Ford Mustang he plowed into — U.S. Customs and Border Protection Officer Cynthia Carreon; her husband, Jorge Carreon; and Mario Gonzalez, a U.S. Border Patrol agent.

Just like that, three fine members of law enforcement wiped out by a drunk driver.

(And why is it that the boozer usually survives these wrecks while killing other people?)

Arellano was found guilty last month of three counts of intoxication manslaughter.

State district Judge Leonel Alejandro sentenced Arellano to four life terms. And again, here’s the key point: Those terms are consecutive, not concurrent.

In other words, this 28-year-old slug is not eligible for parole for … 120 years!

To which I say two things:

A) Hallelujah! and

B) Why does state law allow such nonsense as concurrent terms?

When a criminal gets two sentences stacked concurrently on top of each other, the concept of punishment is rendered meaningless.

If someone breaks two laws and gets, say, two concurrent five-year sentences, who is fooled?

He will serve only five years, just as if he broke one law and got sentenced to one five-year term.

Concurrent sentences should be abolished. Anyone convicted of multiple offenses should serve consecutive terms.

Arellano, for example, killed three human beings. Justice demands that he be punished for every single one of those monstrous crimes.

Anything else, like meaningless-but-feel-good concurrent sentences, makes a mockery of the law.

Judge Alejandro gets my vote for Judge of the Year in Brownsville.

The member of the Texas Legislature who gets a bill passed banning concurrent sentences will get my vote for Lawmaker of the Year.

Any takers in Austin?