A trooper is dead; repeat felons deserve maximum bonds
LINDA CHUDEIJ

Re: DPS trooper James Scott Burns, 39, was shot and killed April 29 in Marion County by Brandon Wayne Robertson, 37.

Judge Forrest Phifer should review his criteria for what constitutes "information that would have indicated that Robertson posed a risk that justified a higher bond."

Robertson was a convicted felon in possession of a firearm. That is against the law.

Robertson was a convicted felon in possession of a controlled substance. That is against the law.

How much more blatant does a convicted felon have to be to receive the full measure of the law?

Robertson, having a gun and possession of a controlled substance, indicated that he posed a risk that justified a higher bond.

Now a DPS trooper is dead. It could possibly have been prevented if Judge Phifer had correctly interpreted the law and recognized what a "risk" is.