Sentenced to life imprisonment for trying to steal hedge clippers.

[wunksta]

There seems to be an inference that simply imprisonment for any crime is wrong and jail cells should be gotten rid of.

If that's what you've gotten from these replies, you need to go back and reread.

[Edge-]

There seems to be an inference that simply imprisonment for any crime is wrong and jail cells should be gotten rid of.

There literally isn't this "inference" anywhere. Nobody has suggested this that I've seen, just that prison sentences should reflect the nature of the crimes committed and that Bryant's prior history and his attempt to steal a pair of hedge trimmers doesn't warrant life in prison.

[Egomaniac]

There seems to be an inference that simply imprisonment for any crime is wrong and jail cells should be gotten rid of.

Yes, some people are inferring that. But its not something that is being implied by anyone.

No one is saying criminals should not be punished.

What is being said is that life in prison over garden tools is a tad bit on the excessive side.

[Volatilis]

There literally isn't this "inference" anywhere. Nobody has suggested this that I've seen, just that prison sentences should reflect the nature of the crimes committed and that Bryant's prior history and his attempt to steal a pair of hedge trimmers doesn't warrant life in prison.

And repeat offending shouldnt be incluced in the sentencing?

I'd consider armed robbery and forgery big crimes myself.

[wunksta]

And repeat offending shouldnt be incluced in the sentencing?

Most countries would not consider petty theft as a repeat offense that would warrant life in prison, no.

[Egomaniac]

And repeat offending shouldnt be incluced in the sentencing?

I'd consider armed robbery and forgery big crimes myself.

Sure. And he was already convicted and sentenced for both of those crimes.

And I'll say it again. If all of his felonies were violent...we would all be having a different conversation now. 3 strikes on violent offenses is something that a lot of us can at least understand.

Factoring in previous crimes into sentencing is even something I can live with. But even if you were to add the sentence for each of his prior convictions to the normal sentence for petty theft...he would have served that sentence almost twice by now.

[Mihalik]

I'd consider forgery big crimes myself.

You do understand that not all forgery is the same. Because if it were, about 80% of American teenagers should have felony records for fake IDs and forging their parent's signatures on permission slips and school reports.

150$ is not something we should imprison someone over. Ever.

[Volatilis]

You do understand that not all forgery is the same. Because if it were, about 80% of American teenagers should have felony records for fake IDs and forging their parent's signatures on permission slips and school reports.

150$ is not something we should imprison someone over. Ever.

Yeah yeah Ive heard people saying "its only 150" he did small amounts so it wouldnt be caught. You think if they didnt notice the 150 and charge him he would have stopped at one and not kept doing it??

[Edge-]

And repeat offending shouldnt be incluced in the sentencing?

I'd consider armed robbery and forgery big crimes myself.

Again, nobody argued that prior criminal history shouldn't be a factor. Just that his prior history combined with his last offense don't justify life in prison.

[Egomaniac]

Yeah yeah Ive heard people saying "its only 150" he did small amounts so it wouldnt be caught. You think if they didnt notice the 150 and charge him he would have stopped at one and not kept doing it??

Last I heard innocent until proven guilty was still a thing. Sending someone to jail for the rest of his life because you think he might commit more crimes kinda goes against that.

[Volatilis]

Last I heard innocent until proven guilty was still a thing. Sending someone to jail for the rest of his life because you think he might commit more crimes kinda goes against that.

No need to think about it, he does continue to commit crimes until caught

I guess by the 10th time he will learn his lesson?

[Egomaniac]

No need to think about it, he does continue to commit crimes until caught

I guess by the 10th time he will learn his lesson?

That is how the law works. You can only convict someone of a crime after they have committed it. It gets problematic when you try to do it the other way around.

[Volatilis]

That is how the law works. You can only convict someone of a crime after they have committed it. It gets problematic when you try to do it the other way around.

I dont see any imaginary charges being thrown at him.

This isnt minority report. He got caught doing a lot of bad shit.

[Mihalik]

No need to think about it, he does continue to commit crimes until caught

I guess by the 10th time he will learn his lesson?

1. You are assuming there is a lesson that's being taught here. There isn't. That's not the purpose of the American justice/prison system.


2. No aggregate number of crimes that would individually amount to a few years imprisonment should ever accumulate into something as dumb as life imprisonment for stealing something that costs 35 to 45 dollars at Walmart.

3. Sentencing in the US is absurd. People are overcharged and over sentenced for nonsense.

4. One more fucking time... You can't bitch and moan about giving too many second chances to someone WHEN THEY NEVER GAVE THEM A SINGLE ONE IN THE FIRST PLACE.

5. The dude is not fucking Charles Manson. He won't go on a Helter Skelter rampage. Why the shit fuck do you want to spend millions on keep him jailed? You could stick him in assisted living for less!!!!!!!!!

[Egomaniac]

I dont see any imaginary charges being thrown at him.

This isnt minority report. He got caught doing a lot of bad shit.

But you are talking about keeping him in prison because of "future crimes"

That is minority report. Yes, he got caught doing bad shit. And he served his sentence for each incident of "bad shit". And, as I have said...even if you were to stack all his previous crimes together and add it to what a normal sentence would be for the petty theft...he has already served that time and more. The punishment outweighs the severity of his crimes.

[Themius]

Sentenced to life for a life of crime. The cost is huge, but the solution is not to release him; we should reduce the cost of keeping people locked up. I'm shocked it costs that much to keep criminals locked up.

Solution is clearly mental help...

[Egomaniac]

Well slave owners are there in China now with millions forced to free labor and no one is giving a shit. On topic, we can build jails in cheap countries and ship the criminals there to serve their time. Save tax payer money ... we can even build better quality prisons with better facilities, food and healthcare. It would be a win-win.

So, now all these inmates are denied the right to see their families unless said families can afford to travel to another country?

Seems like that might have an adverse effect on mental health...not just for the prisoners but their families as well.

Doesn't really seem like a "win/win"

Not sure why you'd bring China in to this. Generally speaking, I think any country should hold itself to a standard higher than China when it comes to any kind of human rights issue.

[Saltysquidoon]

So lets' see the right-wing nonsense arguments so far;
-Insane disproportional government spending on a private corporation is only ok when it's to protect my hedge clippers

-Constitutional rights don't apply to them

-China does worse things and if we can't stop the 'bad' super power's human rights abuses there's no reason to stop the 'good' super power's human rights abuses.

-I don't care that tough on crime policies have been proven not to work on every conceivable level, Daddy Murdoch told me they are coming to do crimes at me.

[Egomaniac]

Ignoring slavery and concentration camps is not acceptable. It's not enough to "hold your self to a higher standard" while watch millions get enslaved or forced into genocidal birth control rates.

Once again, China has nothing to do with this discussion. Make a thread about how China handles it's prisons if that's what you want to discuss.

China does worse is not an argument for why America can't do better.

Anyways you bring a good point regarding visits; that's probably the only disadvantage for such prisons. So it's kinda of a trade off that you have to weigh in.

It isn't a trade off. It's a violation of their rights.

[zhero]

That is how the law works. You can only convict someone of a crime after they have committed it. It gets problematic when you try to do it the other way around.

the law also said he can get life on his third strike, and he got 5.

Last I heard innocent until proven guilty was still a thing. Sending someone to jail for the rest of his life because you think he might commit more crimes kinda goes against that.

problem is, he is still a repeat offender, a career criminal, with no expectations of stopping. his argument to the court isn't that he will stop and try to live crime free, its essentially 'life imprisonment is cruel, i want to be free'.