Featured Image Credit: Facebook/Stephen Federico
Topics: Crime, US News, Gun Crime, North Carolina, South Carolina
Liv Bridge
Topics: Crime, US News, Gun Crime, North Carolina, South Carolina
The father of a young woman who was brutally murdered is demanding 'drastic changes' to the law.
Logan Federico, an aspiring teacher, was brutally shot dead on May 3 this year while visiting friends at the University of South Carolina in Columbia.
The 22-year-old was murdered in cold blood when Alexander Dickey, 30, allegedly broke into the fraternity house where she was staying, dragged her out of bed naked, 'forced' her to her knees, and shot her in the chest with a stolen 12-gauge shotgun.
He is further accused of fleeing in a stolen car and going on a spending spree with Logan's credit cards.
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Now, her grief-stricken father, Stephen Federico, has blasted lawmakers during a Congressional hearing in North Carolina on Monday (September 29) for what he claims are lax crime policies that led to Logan's suspected killer repeatedly being released before claiming his daughter's life.
Addressing federal lawmakers on the House judiciary subcommittee, he said: "How many of y'all have kids? When I tell you this story... think about your child.
"Think about your child coming home from a night out with their friends, laying down going to sleep, feeling somebody come into their room and wake them.
"And drag her out of bed, naked, force her on her knees with her hands over her head, begging for her life.
"She was 5-foot-3. She weighed 115 lbs… BANG! Dead. Gone. Why? Because Alexander Devonte Dickey - who was arrested 39 goddam times, 25 felonies - was on the street," he added.
Cops believe Dickey had broken into several homes over the years before allegedly murdering Logan.
According to the New York Post, Dickey's criminal record includes robbery, drug possession and larceny, amounting to almost 40 charges since 2013.
Federico highlighted Dickey's extensive criminal history in his emotional testimony, as he continued: "He should have been in jail for over 140 years for all the crimes he committed. You know how much time he spent in prison? A little over 600 days in 10 years.
"He's only 30 years old. He was committing 2.65 crimes a year since he was 15 years old. But nobody could figure out that he couldn't be rehabilitated.
"Isn't that the idea of prison? But no."
He argued the 'only one thing' that would have meant his daughter would be alive today was putting Dickey in prison.
Dickey has since been charged with murder, two counts of first-degree burglary, two counts of possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime and possession of a firearm by a prohibited person.
He has also been charged with two counts of grand larceny, grand larceny of a motor vehicle and three counts of financial transaction card theft.
Dickey is currently being held at Lexington County Detention Center without bail. If convicted, he could face a life sentence.
But for Federico, the sentence is far from the justice Logan's family deserve, and he is urging lawmakers to take action to prevent similar tragedies from happening again.
Federico continued to warn the hearing, which was arranged to tackle growing concerns over violent crime and repeat offenders in light of the killing of Ukrainian woman Iryna Zatutska, whose suspected killer was also reportedly released several times by cops before killing her, that they will be 'sick and tired of my face and my voice until this gets fixed'.
"I will fight until my last breath for my daughter," he continued. "You need to fight for the rest of our children, the rest of the innocents and stop protecting the people that keep taking them from us. Please.
"You have the power. We put you into power to do what you have to do. We’re asking you, we’re begging you all to stop this."