A 90-day sentence for killing a neighbor? We can do better on gun safety, prosecutions | Opinion

On Sept. 15, 2021, 20-year-old Texas State University student and Army officer hopeful Austin Salyer went to sleep and never woke up. The night before Sayler, a Denton County resident, was to embark on his first day of training with his new platoon via Texas State’s ROTC program, he was shot by a stray bullet, and he died.

The man who shot him, 21-year-old Gabriel Nathan Brown, pleaded guilty to negligent homicide. Though the maximum sentence is two years, Brown wound up getting just 90 days in jail, in increments, and a five-year probationary period. Brown had purchased his first gun ever and was putting a conversion kit on it when he claims a bullet “dislodged.”

There’s tragedy on both sides of this awful story. It’s clear Brown didn’t mean to fire the gun; he repeatedly tried to get in touch with Salyer when he thought a stray bullet might have hit the young man and turned himself in the next day when it was confirmed. However, an innocent young man on the cusp of a life of service died; his parents lost their only child. Understandably, they are devastated and think justice was not served with a mere 90-day sentence.

We need policies and actions that communicate how serious misuse of guns is, even when accidental. Responsible owners need to set an example, and gun laws need to be enforced in a serious way. As shootings and deaths seem on the rise, every tool available should be used to send the message that misusing guns is a sure way to a long prison sentence and a diminished life.

The instinct for compassion for someone like Brown is understandable. Accidents do happen. But gun ownership is high in Texas — there are more gun owners here than any other state in the union. That means responsible gun owners must do everything possible to secure their weapons and suffer the consequences when they don’t, to send a clear message.

Brown told law enforcement that he never pulled the trigger on the gun. “I honestly don’t know what happened because I am not very familiar with guns. I’m going to be completely honest with you, that was my first handgun purchase,” he said.

Guns don’t discharge on their own. People who aren’t familiar with firearms or who have not pursued the proper training about how to handle them cannot be cavalier about handling them. In this case, either Brown was installing a part on the gun while it was loaded and accidentally pulled the trigger, or he was mishandling the gun after he installed it and accidentally pulled the trigger.

Brown entered an open plea, in which the defendant waives the right to a jury trial and pleads guilty with sentencing to be determined by a judge in hopes of getting a better deal than the prosecution might offer. Brown’s sentence was probated by Hays County District Court Judge Sherri Tibbe. Inexplicably, a few weeks after the hearing, Tibbe submitted a docket entry amending the jail time from 180 days to 90 days. Brown now only has to serve nine days twice a year over a span of five years.

In Texas, criminally negligent homicide is a felony with a maximum sentence of two years in jail and a $10,000 fine. The minimum sentence is 180 days. Some states, such as Florida, are much tougher, with a maximum sentence is 15 years. It makes Texas look soft on gun crime.

It’s not clear why the judge reduced this sentence, and we can’t think of any compelling reason.

Second, it’s imperative in crimes like this, despite genuine confessions or what may seem like accidents, that punishment be strict. Statutes provide specific punishments for these very instances. Why didn’t the judge hold to it? Why the sudden reduction? Judges must take gun crime seriously.

Even in tragic but accidental circumstances, it’s important that gun laws are vigorously enforced to convey the weight of responsibility that gun owners have to store and use their weapons properly. If gun-related accidents are treated lightly, even lighter than the statute allows, this could indicate to future gun owners that preventable shootings will be treated with a slap on the wrist. It’s also dishonorable to the family who lost a loved one.

It’s time that Texas considers enforcing training laws for carrying handguns. The Legislature, by removing licensing requirements, has made it far too easy for someone to legally carry a gun without any kind of knowledge or training. Hunting accidents were reduced by more than 80% decades after Texas started to require hunter-education courses.

Training for handguns would decrease accidents, increase confidence of gun-owners and make all of us feel a little safer, especially in our own homes.

This story was originally published August 3, 2023 at 12:32 PM.