A 38-year-old Montana man who assaulted his ex-girlfriend and killed his uncle is freed from prison after a judge says that second-degree murder and assault are not considered “crimes of violence.”
In 2003, Quinton Birdinground Jr. was arrested for killing his uncle with a firearm after a night of drinking. He found his uncle with his ex-girlfriend and was not pleased.
U.S. District Judge Susan Watters told the murdered victim’s family, “‘How in the world could second-degree murder not be a crime of violence?’ I get that…[but] I have to follow the law.”
According to AP:
Watters threw out the firearm conviction last month, citing the 2015 ruling and saying the U.S. law behind the weapons charge was so vague as to be unconstitutional.
She had written that neither second-degree murder nor assault is itself considered a “crime of violence” under federal law. That’s because the assault and murder may have been committed recklessly rather than intentionally, as is required to be considered a violent crime.
Birdinground has served 15 of his 24-year sentence, but the “10 years for using a firearm during a violent crime” is no longer valid. He showed no remorse for his non-violent crimes.
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