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Proof of aphorism "no good deed goes unpunished"?

By Douglas A. Berman

Here is another notable example of how gun laws prohibiting felons from possessing guns can lead to strange developments in the federal criminal justice system.  This local story, headined "Felon aided woman but kept gun and gets jail: Man not faulted for stopping suicide, but keeping weapon," starts and ends this way:A man who stopped a woman from harming herself with a handgun was sentenced to 12 months in prison this week by a federal judge.  Bryant K. Ervin ended up with prison time not because he stopped a potential suicide, but because he was a convicted felon and was barred from possessing a firearm. In court, Assistant U.S. Attorney Shawn Weede said the government was seeking jail time because Ervin kept the weapon for more than a week afterward, not because of the way he came to possess the silver handgun...continue to full post

Full post as published by Sentencing Law and Policy on September 18, 2008 (boomark / email).