A deputy U.S. marshal is dead — gunned down by a registered sex offender who skipped his rape trial — and the national press that saturates coverage of every police use-of-force case barely blinked.

When a criminal dies during a police encounter, the story dominates headlines for weeks. When a federal officer is killed executing a warrant on a rape suspect, it earns a few paragraphs on the wire. That double standard tells working Americans exactly whose lives the establishment media values.

Clarence A. Frazier Jr., 48, of Alexandria, Louisiana, has been charged with murder of a federal officer in the killing of Deputy U.S. Marshal Drew Hanson, according to the Associated Press. The crime carries a sentence of life in prison or death.

Frazier was scheduled to stand trial Monday in Rapides Parish District Court on one count of third-degree rape — punishable by up to 25 years — and one count of sexual battery on a person with infirmities — punishable by up to 20 years, court records show. He didn't show up. U.S. marshals and sheriff's deputies obtained a search warrant, identified themselves at the door, and forced entry, the Guardian reported. They found Frazier barricaded in a bedroom. He opened fire, mortally wounding Hanson. Frazier was arrested after a standoff, during which he was injured and hospitalized.

Acting U.S. Attorney Todd Blanche said Frazier would be "held accountable to the fullest extent of the law" and added that Hanson "paid the ultimate price while protecting our communities. His sacrifice will never be forgotten."

The AP noted that Frazier was already a registered sex offender before this latest round of charges. A man with a documented history of sexual crimes, facing decades in prison, was free to skip his trial day and arm himself behind a barricaded door. The system that's supposed to monitor these offenders failed long before Hanson walked through that door.

Hanson is among more than 200 U.S. marshals, deputy marshals, special deputy marshals, and marshal guards who have died in the line of duty since 1794, according to the agency's roll call of honor. Over two centuries of officers who walked into danger so the rest of us wouldn't have to.

The Guardian covered the institutional response — Blanche's statement, the death penalty possibility, the circumstances of the warrant service. The AP kept it procedural: complaint filed, FBI affidavit cited, public defender didn't return calls. Both outlets reported the basic facts. Neither asked the only question that matters: why does a fallen marshal get a brief on the wire while a suspect shot by police gets a multi-week media event complete with town halls and congressional hearings?

A federal public defender representing Frazier did not respond to telephone and email messages seeking comment, the AP reported.

Frazier will face federal charges. Hanson's family will face a funeral. And the press will move on — until the next time a criminal dies at police hands, and they'll suddenly rediscover their outrage.