By Scott Tibbs, February 5, 2009
Back in November, two brothers (Bennie Reed, 17, and Blade Reed, 13) committed a shocking series of crimes: home invasion, murder and attempted murder. When the older brother brandished a gun, Dude Voland attempted to defend his home and his wife and shot Bennie Reed, but Bennie Reed shot Mr. Voland in the head, killing him. Bennie Reed then shot Mary Voland in the abdomen, apparently for amusement, despite the fact that Mrs. Voland was tending to the injuries of the man who just murdered her husband. The older Reed then ordered Blade Reed to slit her throat.
The brutality and coldness of the murder and attempted murder shocked Brown County and the surrounding counties, and applications for gun permits in Brown County soared after the home invasion. Last month, a letter to the editor scolding Mr. Voland for acting in self-defense and whining that the "boys" needed "compassion" from Mr. Voland and the prosecutor sparked two letters to the editor and a guest column in response.
The idea that Mr. Voland should have shown "compassion" to two thugs who were threatening him with a deadly weapon is ludicrous and depraved. It is unfortunate that Mr. Voland's attempt at self-defense was not successful, because the world would be a better place today if Bennie and Blade Reed were dead. Unfortunately, a man's life has ended, an elderly woman was mutilated, and two worthless piles of human debris are using up oxygen that they have no right to breathe.
I simply do not care what kind of environment these thugs came from. No one needs "a kind word or maybe a little encouragement" to know that invading someone's home, murdering an elderly man and mutilating an elderly woman like a couple of savages is a demonic, evil act. Whether some hippies want to admit it or not, evil is real. These two "boys" are simply evil, a fact proven by their behavior. They deserve absolutely no compassion. The only thing they deserve is the death penalty.
