Suspected Serial Killer Gets 438 Years

A suspected serial killer in Phoenix, AZ, received a sentence of 438 years for the sexual assault of two sisters! 43-year old Mark Goudeau, pleaded innocent to the charges of raping one of the women and sexually assaulting the other, one of which was 6 months pregnant. Both women identified Goudeau as their attacker and DNA evidence linked him to the crimes. Goudeau is also facing charges in connection with the murders of eight people which occurred between 2005 and 2006; he is one of three suspects arrested by Phoenix police believed to be the Baseline Killer, so named for a street in south Phoenix where many of the attacks took place.

It is unclear exactly what charges Goudeau faces in the other trial, as there appear to have been two serial killing sprees in the area at the same time, committed by three men... or something. It is most likely the police and legal system are using the cases as an excuse to "clean-up the streets" and remove as many of those they deem "trouble" from society.

438 years is an outrageous length of time for sexual assault, no matter how you slice it - that's a pretty ridiculous amount of time for any crime! Of course he deserves a harsh sentence - rape is one of the most heinous of all crimes - and I realize the sentence is meant to serve as an example to other would-be rapists, but the American justice system really needs to check itself. These outlandish prison terms when we're in the throes of a prison overcrowding epidemic is inexcusable; it's a big part of why there is an overcrowding problem to begin with. I mean, it's not as if the guy's going to get out before he dies, had he just been given a life sentence and although I would completely understand that, even that seems a but much for a rape case, given the current state of the penal system. The Deputy County Attorney was able to prove a previous violent criminal record which made him eligible for a higher sentence and they were obviously trying to make a point to the community in this election year, for which the entire tribe should be condemned and brought-up on charges of misconduct (though they won't be).

But my real concern is that I have a theory concerning these longer-than-life sentences: could it be that these sentences actually cause hauntings?

The Lord's Prayer contains the line, "...Thou will be done on Earth, as it is in Heaven," and the story of Cain and Abel tells us that Cain's sentence was to walk the Earth forever, where no man could touch him. Could it be that these sentences damn the guilty to do just that?

Of course, I'm relaying this theory from a Judaeo-Christian standpoint, but it needn't be so; I think the theory stand up just fine, divorced from Christianity - or any other religion - as it is only a theory.