American Justice

[Topspin]

Makes one stop complaining about Canadian justice for a moment...

[bmc]

"A man with a briefcase can steal more money than any man with a gun"
- Don Henley (Gimme what you got)

[dashx]

He's not homeless anymore.

[Icebound]

Makes one stop complaining about Canadian justice for a moment...

It's coming.... that's the sort of thing that minimum sentencing laws produce.

[Nark]

More like three strikes.

I'll bet STL's ocean view home that this wasn't his first felony...



(STL won't mind because he has moved on to a four-side ocean view home for a few weeks..)

[The Old Fogducker]

And I just have a feeling a firearm might be involved too.

As much as some might like to leave you with the impression of "Oh, look at this poor young man of colour, starving, steals a loaf of bread from the big greedy corporate interests, and the fat-bellied Sheriff acting on behalf of an illegitimate government slams his butt in the Big House for 1/3 of his life just because he was hungry ... what more could the white bigots do to strip this young man of hope?"

I bet there is a lot more going on behind the scenes than this headline would indicate. Could someone be guilty of ... (heaven forbid) ... "Fear Mongering?"

OFD

[Wilbur]

Turned himself in after after his picture appeared on the evening news and he heard on the street that people were going to turn him in?

Robbed somebody at gun point at the ATM and only got $100?

Left his victim permanently disabled?

33rd time he's been in court telling a judge, "My momma didn't raise me this way"?

or

Elected judge trying to make sure he gets re-elected?

[niss]

http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/265402

Wesawthat.blogspot.com
Roy Brown sentenced to 15 years in prison
Vote up this image!
A homeless man robbed a Louisiana bank and took a $100 bill. After feeling remorseful, he surrendered to police the next day. The judge sentenced him to 15 years in prison.
Roy Brown, 54, robbed the Capital One bank in Shreveport, Louisiana in December 2007. He approached the teller with one of his hands under his jacket and told her that it was a robbery.
The teller handed Brown three stacks of bill but he only took a single $100 bill and returned the remaining money back to her. He said that he was homeless and hungry and left the bank.
The next day he surrendered to the police voluntarily and told them that his mother didn’t raise him that way.
Brown told the police he needed the money to stay at the detox center and had no other place to stay and was hungry.
In Caddo District Court, he pleaded guilty. The judge sentenced him to 15 years in prison for first degree robbery.

Justice indeed.... I weep for humanity.

[Driving Rain]

The Yanks build more prisons than schools. Private Prison is the fastest growing industry in the US.
I wish I owned a private prison. I wouldn't have to worry about strikes or paying unemployment insurance, vacations or comp time. All of their workers are full-time, and never arrive late or are absent because of family problems; moreover, if they don't like the pay of 25 cents an hour and refuse to work, they are locked up in isolation cells. Now thats incentive! The best part is it's all paid for by tax dollars. Sure you got to grease a few judges to give the kind of sentences like this bloke but that's it.
They got losts of money for this stuff down there. Are they any safer ...well no, but lets not tell them.

[Wilbur]

The land of the free imprisons a greater percentage of their population then any other country on the planet. About 20% of Americans will find themselves in jail at some point in their lives. Elected sheriffs and judges, unprofessional (private) corrections systems, corruption, etc all feed that stat.

[Nark]

I'm confused with the last two post's.

So a fellow breaks a law and is sentenced to a term in prison/jail. Whats the issue?

It cost's between $55-75,000 per year to imprison somebody. (State average about $67,000)
The issue at hand is: 1) Make the idea of going to prison a deterrent to commit said crime.
2) Prevent recidivism.


Restorative Justice is a joke. Mental health (not guilty by reason of insanity) grounds are very rarely used.
It's been a while since I studied "corrections", however private prison's offer confinement at a reduced cost.


So like my friend, Till from Rammstein sang in their recent single, "Whats the problem?"

[Rockie]

The sheer number of people incarcerated in the United States blows a pretty large hole in the "deterrent" argument. The same could be said for the death penalty given the murder rate down there. However I am all for good old punishment and getting criminals off the street to protect the rest of us.

[Driving Rain]

I'm confused with the last two post's.

So a fellow breaks a law and is sentenced to a term in prison/jail. Whats the issue?

I don't have an issue. You guys should start putting even more of your citizens in prison. If 100 dollar theft nets someone 15 years than a $50 theft should merit 7.5 years, a $25 theft 3.75 years and so on.

It cost's between $55-75,000 per year to imprison somebody. (State average about $67,000)
The issue at hand is: 1) Make the idea of going to prison a deterrent to commit said crime.
2) Prevent recidivism.

I guess you Yanks are pretty thick because the IDEA isn't getting throught because your prison population is ever increasing..
Keep em dumb and keep in Jail. There's plenty of money to be made. Heck, it's the American way.

What ever you Yanks want to spend your money on is OK with me. It's your money flush it down the toilet for all I care.

Restorative Justice is a joke

Yes it is, there is no profit margin that's for sure.