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penultimate

(1,110 posts)

21. I can't think of any non-violent crime that justifies a life sentence

Fri Nov 15, 2013, 12:36 AM

Nov 2013

Not even corrupt bankers, sorry guys and gals. Not to come off as too bleeding heart, but wouldn't that money be better spent trying to give these habitual offenders better opportunities? I know you can't force people to change if they don't want to, and some people will continue to commit crimes even if they are offered the best rehabilitation program ever devised, but they still shouldn't get life. Longer sentences, I suppose, but not life.

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Father-of-two, 25, sentenced to life for stealing a POWER TOOL - Louisiana [View all] Liberal_in_LA Nov 2013 OP

That prison sentence spounds pretty "cruel and unusual" to me...nt GReedDiamond Nov 2013 #1

This is what happens in a society where many prison systems are "for profit"..... TheDebbieDee Nov 2013 #11

It is. A long enough stretch might get him off drugs, though Warpy Nov 2013 #27

Really? Up to TEN YEARS for a $750 fuckin dollar theft?... GReedDiamond Nov 2013 #28

It's a long string of petty thefts Warpy Nov 2013 #29

Over $500, theft is a Felony. AtheistCrusader Nov 2013 #30

hmm, yes. Niceguy1 Nov 2013 #32

yeah, that's the ticket. Life imprisonment as drug treatment. cali Nov 2013 #35

Drug policy in the US is one big circular argument Major Nikon Nov 2013 #81

I can see public service and forcing him to pay back the money over time, but bluestate10 Nov 2013 #2

I agree, nobody should ever be jailed for life for a non violent crime gopiscrap Nov 2013 #8

even for stealing and destroying Niceguy1 Nov 2013 #33

The punishment should be proportional. Putting someone in prison for life for bluestate10 Nov 2013 #52

Ridiculous... Decaffeinated Nov 2013 #36

Jail time, especially in US prisons, is ineffective when it comes to... eqfan592 Nov 2013 #82

"...with liberty and justice for all." silverweb Nov 2013 #3

These 32 People Are Spending Their Lives In Prison For Nonviolent Crimes Tx4obama Nov 2013 #4

thanks for the link Liberal_in_LA Nov 2013 #6

And yet people are getting nothing and next to nothing for rape. PeteSelman Nov 2013 #5

Well, when your culture glorifies violence, denigrates women, and regards property as holy... Scootaloo Nov 2013 #10

Too true. PeteSelman Nov 2013 #12

yep, that's about the size of things. BlancheSplanchnik Nov 2013 #20

yet in Alabama some scum bag raped a neighbor 2x when she was a child gopiscrap Nov 2013 #7

Man mins and three strikes laws should be ended everywhere. morningfog Nov 2013 #9

These are staples for the "for profit" systems... TheDebbieDee Nov 2013 #13

I've never understood those laws at all. polly7 Nov 2013 #19

Holy shit ! He's white. And he still got life ?? russspeakeasy Nov 2013 #14

He's also poor jmowreader Nov 2013 #23

Yes it is. russspeakeasy Nov 2013 #25

Louisiana's multiple offender law Sgent Nov 2013 #55

Insane A Little Weird Nov 2013 #15

YAY for the prison for profit industry in the 'land of the free and home of the brave'. SammyWinstonJack Nov 2013 #16

Medival 90-percent Nov 2013 #17

If there's any organization in America that needs our support, it's the ACLU. mountain grammy Nov 2013 #18

I can't think of any non-violent crime that justifies a life sentence penultimate Nov 2013 #21

Bernie Madoff? i think life is appropriate for him scheming daemons Nov 2013 #37

True, he stole from the wealthy, that is unconscionable n/t Fumesucker Nov 2013 #41

No. Not even for him. morningfog Nov 2013 #71

He was a public fall guy. defacto7 Nov 2013 #79

The problem is that many non-violent crimes are felonies to help those doing them get arrested... cascadiance Nov 2013 #42

This has not been the only white man in Louisiana to 35 years for committing the same Thinkingabout Nov 2013 #22

Bad decisions, sure. Deserving of life in prison? Absolutely not. morningfog Nov 2013 #26

A thief does not get high marks in my book, especially when they steal from hard working people and Thinkingabout Nov 2013 #43

That may all be true, but life in prison for it is barbaric. morningfog Nov 2013 #56

Who decides who is hard working and who is not? defacto7 Nov 2013 #80

Would you assume the thief who took the welding machine to be hard working in stealing from others? Thinkingabout Nov 2013 #83

I agree with some of your statement... defacto7 Nov 2013 #84

Yes there are choices and some make the wrong choice. Being sentenced to prison is Thinkingabout Nov 2013 #85

A few questions.... defacto7 Nov 2013 #86

If I am not mistaken this guy was convicted under Habitual Offender, you have to be arrested Thinkingabout Nov 2013 #87

... defacto7 Nov 2013 #89

In three years in prison, he's completed his GED and a drug treatement program. AtheistCrusader Nov 2013 #31

Did he make the person he stole from whole and did the person he stole tools from lost wages from Thinkingabout Nov 2013 #44

Insufficient detail. AtheistCrusader Nov 2013 #45

Why should the general public be subject to life of having those who thinks stealing is okay, what Thinkingabout Nov 2013 #46

I'll start with the 8th amendment. Nevermind general human compassion/hope for AtheistCrusader Nov 2013 #48

We should start with not stealing in the first place, he did not learn the first time so Thinkingabout Nov 2013 #49

Sympathy != Compassion. AtheistCrusader Nov 2013 #50

Oh, are you thinking of sympathy and compassion of the person who was robbed? If you are thinking Thinkingabout Nov 2013 #51

Quite a bit. I take a very dim view of theft. AtheistCrusader Nov 2013 #53

Is the sentence strong? let's see if i can answer this again. There was a charge of theft, did he Thinkingabout Nov 2013 #59

Two of the charges occurred within minutes of each other. AtheistCrusader Nov 2013 #70

I think your "thinkingabout" is an act. morningfog Nov 2013 #58

Are you properly named, how do you find my name is an act if you are in a fog, my goodness. Thinkingabout Nov 2013 #60

HAHAHAHA. That is hilarious. morningfog Nov 2013 #57

yada, yada, yada Thinkingabout Nov 2013 #61

The tough on crime act is right wing bullshit and counterproductive. morningfog Nov 2013 #62

Your fog is showing through again, you don't know what you are talking about, in fact you are Thinkingabout Nov 2013 #63

You support a hardline extremist position. morningfog Nov 2013 #64

I can take the ridicule, that's nothing for me, it seems you might be a bit out of step. I don't Thinkingabout Nov 2013 #66

I am shocked at your lack of understanding. morningfog Nov 2013 #67

You think I have a lack of understanding, perhaps understanding there is a three strike Thinkingabout Nov 2013 #68

I find your positions abhorrent and antithetical to liberalism and human decency. morningfog Nov 2013 #69

So you think I have never visited in a prison, wrong again. Human decency, do you find a thief with Thinkingabout Nov 2013 #72

How do you feel about an eye for an eye? morningfog Nov 2013 #74

Perhaps if this guy had been more interested in working (laboring to some) rather than collecting Thinkingabout Nov 2013 #75

I have been robbed recently but I don't think a thief should spend life in prison for theft johnlucas Nov 2013 #24

You have to remember "fit the crime", the life sentence was not for a crime, it is for the habitual Thinkingabout Nov 2013 #54

You have to remember that habitual offender laws are arcane bullshit. morningfog Nov 2013 #65

What he does not deserve is some else's possessions. Thinkingabout Nov 2013 #76

I'm done with your tripe. Adios. morningfog Nov 2013 #77

Good Thinkingabout Nov 2013 #78

He should have stolen a few billion dollars. Then he'd be paid a bonus with taxpayer dollars. Scuba Nov 2013 #34

Amen. White collar crime pays. n/t Lodestar Nov 2013 #88

Tax payers should be outraged! B Calm Nov 2013 #38

I have low tolerance for unrepentant criminals... CFLDem Nov 2013 #39

In this day and age, it makes sense that the worst of us Rex Nov 2013 #40

Sure it has nothing to do with the prison-industrial complex here n/t MountainLaurel Nov 2013 #47

Private prison industry LOVES these "Habitual offender" laws davidn3600 Nov 2013 #73