A grieving father’s anguished words in Washington have put a spotlight on a tragedy that many Americans say reflects their worst fears: a justice system that repeatedly frees dangerous repeat offenders until it’s too late.

Stephen Federico’s daughter, Logan, 22, was murdered in her sleep in May while staying overnight at a friend’s house in Columbia, South Carolina. Police say the suspect, Alexander Devonte Dickey, 30, broke into the home, shot Logan, and then went on a shopping spree with her stolen credit and debit cards.

But what has shocked and outraged many is not only the brutality of the crime, but court documents revealing Dickey’s 39 arrests, and 25 felony charges before Logan’s murder. Yet he had spent barely 600 days in jail over the past decade. 

“He should have been in jail for over 140 years for all of the crimes he committed,” Federico told Fox News Digital. “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? Well, you’d have to put him in prison to see if he could be rehabilitated. Isn’t that the idea of prison?”

“There are more people … fighting for the rights of a career criminal than fighting for the right for my daughter to be safe.”

— Stephen Federico

Anthony Dickey is the suspected killer of 22-year-old Logan Federico during a home invasion in Columbia, South Carolina on May 3.  (Columbia Police Department | handout)

Federico described his daughter Logan’s personality as “electric … outgoing, personable, infectious.” (Adam Eugene Willis for Fox News Digital)

He admitted that part of his drive comes from a sense of personal guilt. 

“Nothing will change the fact that I think I failed her,” Federico said. “But I think what I’m doing now is helping … maybe Logan will forgive me.”

‘They have no idea what’s coming’

Logan, who stood just 5’3″ and weighed 115 pounds, was shot and killed in the off-campus housing near the University of South Carolina campus. Stephen pointed blame at a justice system that, in his eyes, failed his daughter and many others. For Federico, the fight is only beginning. He says his daughter’s death has awakened him to a mission larger than his own family’s grief.

“If we get to the bottom of why Alexander Dickey was out on the street, I’m going to turn the state of South Carolina on its head,” he vowed. “They have no idea what’s coming their way.”