A House Judiciary field hearing in Charlotte convened this week to put a spotlight on victims of violent crime, and the room fell silent when grieving families told their stories directly to lawmakers who have been asleep at the wheel. Lawmakers traveled to Charlotte to face the human cost of policies that too often protect repeat offenders instead of innocent citizens.
One of the families was that of 22-year-old Logan Federico, who was shot and killed during a home invasion in Columbia on May 3, 2025, while visiting friends — a bright young woman taken in her sleep. Authorities say the suspect, identified as Alexander Dickey, allegedly broke into multiple homes, stole cards and a vehicle, and then fled after the killing before being captured.
The facts that came out at the hearing are terrifying and routine: Dickey’s criminal history is long, and officials later acknowledged that incomplete records likely led to weaker prosecutions and shorter sentences than the community deserved. State investigators found that missing records meant prosecutors treated serious repeat offenses as first-time crimes, a bureaucratic failure with lethal consequences.
Logan’s father, Stephen Federico, delivered the kind of raw, unfiltered testimony that should shame every politician who has called for “reform” while failing to protect families. He told Congress he will not be quiet until his daughter’s case forces real change, and his plea for public safety resonated because it came from a father who lost his child to someone the system should have kept off the streets.
Republicans at the hearing rightly hammered the point that lenient pretrial release policies and a culture of soft-on-crime prosecution have real victims — and that these policy failures are concentrated in cities with weak leadership on public safety. This isn’t abstract rhetoric; it’s the reason grieving parents like Federico stand before Congress demanding lawmakers choose citizens over criminals.
Conservatives should stop apologizing for insisting on basic public safety: tougher sentencing for violent repeat offenders, mandatory improvements in record-sharing between jurisdictions, and honest accountability for prosecutors who let dangerous people walk. These are common-sense measures that respect the sanctity of life and the rights of law-abiding Americans to live without fear.
If politicians in both parties truly care about justice, they will act now — not with press conferences and platitudes, but with laws that close loopholes, fund prosecutors’ offices properly, and restore common-sense bail practices so violent criminals face consequences. Law-abiding Americans have a duty to demand candidates who put public safety first; if they fail to do that, voters will remember at the ballot box.
Logan Federico’s death should harden our resolve, not our hearts. In memory of her and every victim of repeat offenders, we must fight for a justice system that protects families and punishes repeat violent crime swiftly and without excuse. Hardworking Americans deserve nothing less.
