Walter's Perspective: A Particularly Un-American Crime
CHICAGO (CBS) -- I'm not very big on news about crime -- gangbangers and stalkers, break-ins, robberies and vandals that are in the news, I think, too much.
But there's a crime we've been reporting and a criminal on the loose who ought to be in the news for as long as it takes to catch him: the cold-blooded thug downstate who took aim at a baby eagle strolling along a riverbank, pumped 10 pellets into its chest and left it to die, which luckily -- and thankfully -- it did not do.
It's in a bird hospital and may recover.
What kind of a heartless person would do that? Why would anybody shoot an eagle, until recently on the endangered species list?
Especially a bald eagle, our national bird, our mascot. Not only is it cruel, but it's un-American and against the law. It's a federal crime to shoot an eagle, punishable by a year in prison and a $100,000 fine.
I say nab the guy and make it $200,000.
