Somewhere there are two Texas parents mourning the loss of their daughter. They’re remembering her life minute by minute while their eyes hang heavy from crying and their breathing stutters from the uncontrollable attempt to mask the whimpers. They remember the last time they heard her voice, touched her hair, hugged her neck and smelt the essence of her being. They can remember the pictures she drew in grade school, her first steps, her graduation from high school, her tears, her laughter, and question why was she taken from us. Why didn’t this happen to me instead, they think to themselves. They are left with the emptiness and despair that is the worst fear of any parent; the loss of a child. No one should have to bury a child.

Adding more to the grief is the unknown horror their daughter experienced at the hands of her murderer. Assisting this person in their request she was rewarded with a violent death and her body desecrated by her assailants attempt to hide his identity associated with the crimes he just committed. He took her parent’s most precious daughter and scared her worldly vessel with a can of gasoline and a match. The last goodbyes and assurances of love were given through the walls of a casket. What did she see, what did she feel, and what terror did she experience in her last seconds on earth. 

Are these the thought of the bereaved parents associated with the UNT student that was murdered and burnt by Ernesto Reyes? Possibly. They are in fact the thoughts from my minds eye but I don’t think that they are too far off from what any loving parent would feel in this situation. My sympathy is for these parents of Melanie Goodwin and my vehement scorn and contempt is for Ernesto Reyes.

“Ernesto Piña Reyes, a 20-year-old legal Mexican immigrant who has had minor brushes with the law but no history of violent crimes,” is the description that WFAA and Dallas Morning News called this murderer while the Star Telegram get more specific and details, “Reyes has a criminal history that includes two 2005 convictions for burglary of a building, for which he was sentenced to six months in jail, and a possession of marijuana misdemeanor conviction from this year, according to court records.” 

ALIPAC reports, “According to court records, Reyes was indicted on a charge of burglary of a building in February 2006 in Denton County. He was sentenced to 30 days in jail, three years' probation and given deferred adjudication, meaning the conviction does not appear on his record as long as he completed terms of the probation.

Then, in early February, Reyes was arrested on a misdemeanor marijuana possession charge and was later released. A Denton County assistant district attorney filed a motion April 12 to revoke his probation and enter a guilty finding on the burglary.

That document says Reyes failed to fulfill the terms of his probation by not completing a drug education program ordered by the court, by failing to attend weekly counseling, by not completing four hours of community service weekly and by possessing marijuana. He was back in the Denton County Jail in late April.

While being held there, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement placed a hold on Reyes, who was born in Mexico but has U.S. permanent resident status, according to officials and police records. The agency took custody of him June 20, jail officials said.

Carl Rusnok, a spokesman for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said in a prepared statement Thursday that the agency eventually released Reyes because his crime was not a deportable offense for legal residents. 

Reyes returned to Denton County court Aug. 2 and was sentenced to 180 days in jail on the burglary charge. He was released Aug. 26, according to jail records.” 

What does it take to be a deportable offense? This mans flagrant disregard for the terms of his probation should have been enough to punch an e ticket to the border but as described above political correctness comes into play. Is burglary a minor infraction? Is a jail sentence a minor punishment? It must be if 6 months is compressed to 24 days of incarceration. They must deem his parole violations as an act of good behavior and gave him time off as a consideration.

I guess one could look at this as self deportation. Murdering someone and burning the evidence is a job that most Americans refuse to do. What is more ironic is the criminal acts this scum committed gets him back in this country at the full expense of the citizens of this nation and if the reports are true, we can’t terminate this vermin’s existence. The maximum penalty this monster can get is life in prison.  

When time passes most people won’t remember Ernesto Reyes and sadly Melanie Goodwin’s name will fade as well from our thoughts. The pro-amnesty crowd will try to spin this as a poor mistreated individual that lashed out at society because he was discriminated against in some far fetched capacity. MALDEF, La Raza, the ACLU and the Mexican government will petition for their version of mitigating circumstances in his defense while these parents suffer that much more.

There is plenty of blood on everyone’s hands in the death of poor Melanie. The Judicial system failed her, ICE failed her and you and I failed her by permitting her murderer any chance of committing this act by our complacency with immigration reform and enforcing our borders. It is a shame this didn’t happen to a 9^th circuit court of appeals judge or how about a relative of Judge Munley in Pennsylvania. Melanie will be just another example of collateral damage while this government puts corporate profits above the lives of its citizens!