posted on May 15, 2001 10:25:30 PM
I can't believe what I heard on TV tonite. Some guy was sent to prison (California) for 200 years. He'd already been convicted twice and his 3rd crime was Internet Fraud. Unbelieveable!
posted on May 15, 2001 10:35:22 PM
Sounds like a really loooong time. When is he up for parole? What were his other crimes.
This really sounds strange.
posted on May 15, 2001 10:48:46 PM
Hi zilvy!! They didn't say what his other two offenses were, but this "3 Strikes, You're Out" law means after 3 offenses, you're in prison forever.
Being from Canada, I haven't heard of this before. Is it only in California?
posted on May 15, 2001 10:58:00 PM
We have a three strikes law here in Washington too. It is too far reaching in my opinion. It should only be used in the most serious cases. Not someone selling pot.
posted on May 15, 2001 11:26:59 PM
We have the 3 strikes law in Texas, too-only here, we fry 'em.
Seriously, if someone is a habitual offender, and obviously has no intention of becoming a law abiding citizen, he needs to be put away-it saves the price of all those further crimes, at the least. Would you let you dog bite 10 people before you decided he was untrainable and needed to be penned? Or would you decide that after 3, and save 7 lawsuits?
posted on May 16, 2001 12:32:19 AMbearmom, Apparently you don't know how much it costs taxpayers to house prisoners every year. I'd rather take my chances that someone might get out in a couple of years and steal my car, then to have to pay $35,000 per year, per inmate for the rest of their lives. With over 1 million people incarcerated in this country, that cost far outweighs the cost of someone running bogus auctions on eBay. Besides, after a few run-ins with the law, most kids get their act together. I'd hate for them not to ever have that chance.
posted on May 16, 2001 01:34:41 AM
As of last June, 1,931,859 people were in federal, state and local facilities in the United States. At the rates during 2000, the number should easily exceed 2,000,000 by now.
We have the dubious honor of having 25% of the world's prisons but just 5% of the world's population.
posted on May 16, 2001 03:50:51 AM
That is why in Saudia Arabis they cut your hand off if you are a thief. You are immediatly released.
Not only does it make pickpocketing and so forth that much harder but when you are out and about it tells people to keep an eye on you when you are in their store.
It does provide some deterant because if they catch you again they will take the other one and it becomes obvious to everyone in public that you are a slow learner and you will definitly miss being able to scratch and clean your rear end after you do your business.
There are other crimes they do not treat that way. For example if the police get to a automobile crash and they haul you out smelling of booze they will simply take you over to the shoulder of the road and shot you in the back of the head with a pistol.
You can say what you want but there are no MADD chapters in the Kingdom grieving over their dead children.
posted on May 16, 2001 07:58:03 AM
The whole purpose of the three strike rule is to act as a deterrent. If a 'kid' knows he's going to get put up permanently on the third time, maybe he will think twice about doing the crime.
krs, I am not equating a biting dog with selling pot, and I think you know that. But at the same time, when you know someone is 'unredeemable', be it dog or criminal, you put them away.
Maybe you value the tax money to incarcerate drug dealers more than the lives of the children to whom they sell drugs. I don't-a kid's life is worth 35,000 per year, easily.
posted on May 16, 2001 08:07:45 AM
You know this drug thing always is bantered about with the saying " selling drugs to our kids".
Kids don't buy and use the vast majority of the drugs, adults do.
I have never seen a "drug dealer" out hunting down "kids" and making them take drugs either.
In any event, if the problem is that drugs are being used by kids, then drug shouldn't be illegal, only regulated to prevent use by minors, like booze and tobacco.
posted on May 16, 2001 10:05:37 AM
Has the government done any kind of follow-up with prisoners after they're released? How many re-offend? If the number is high, doesn't that tell someone that the system doesn't work?
How is keeping a person in jail for the rest of their lives a deterrant?
I wonder how many of those prisoners are in jail for drug crimes?
Who gives your governor's/states the right to make these laws up?
Maybe it's just me, but this kind of law-making scares me. What next??
posted on May 16, 2001 10:48:01 AM
Obviously the point I'm trying to make is that the three strike law does slow some criminals down. And if it doesn't, then probably nothing will, and they are 'nonredeemable' criminals who need to be locked up.
Reamond, you are living in a dream world-dealers DO hunt down kids and draw them into drugs, because it's so easy to do. As a teacher, I see it, and KNOW it happens regularly. And personally, I think they should be locked up permanently the FIRST time they're caught selling to kids.
I guess I'm too old fashioned, but my heart does not bleed for these poor criminals who 'will probably get their act together', and are just victims of society. It's time to quit making excuses for unacceptable behavior and start punishing it.
posted on May 16, 2001 11:00:57 AM
And before krs makes another comment trying to twist or ridicule my opinions-when I've seen what I suspect to be drug deals around campus, I do call the school police. Doesn't bother me a bit, and I could care less if that dealer is the product of a broken home.
posted on May 16, 2001 01:36:10 PM
I don't think anyone is trying to ridicule your opinion bearmom, I just think this new law is the stupidest thing I've ever heard of, because I can't understand who benefits (except the politicians).
IMO, every crime committed, in some way, has money to do with it, so I think the most important thing to teach a child is that material possessions mean squat. Tell them that some people will do anything for money, landing them in jail, but also tell them how unfortunate people in this world sometimes have to resort to selling drugs or stealing to survive. Also tell them that because of all the hardships in life, some people choose to take certain drugs to feel better - but that the government calls these people losers because of the way they've chosen to cope.
Tell them, once you've been to jail, nobody will want to have you as a neighbour because the prison system does nothing to rehabilitate anyone. Tell them they are cast-offs of what society deems correct.
If there are 2,000,000 people in jail, the U.S. should be pretty much free of bad people, so everyone should be feel pretty safe by now. Maybe that's why no one teaches their kids any of the above. (?????)
(bad grammar)
[ edited by kraftdinner on May 16, 2001 01:40 PM ]
posted on May 16, 2001 01:36:27 PM
One problem I have with the current legal system in the US is that it's so easy to break laws ... and most people have no idea that they break laws every day.
Oh, I know ... you'd never break the law, and you have no reason to ever fear going to jail. But are you absolutely sure you've never broken the law?? Here's a list of some of the things that it's illegal to do in the US:
Alabama
It is illegal for a driver to be blindfolded while operating a vehicle.
California
It is illegal for anyone to try and stop a child from playfully jumping over puddles of water.
Colorado
In Denver, it is unlawful to lend your vacuum cleaner to your next door neighbor.
Connecticut
You can be stopped by the police for biking over 65 miles per hour.
You are not allowed to cross the street on your hands.
In Devon, it is unlawful to walk backwards after sunset.
Florida
Women may be fined for falling asleep under a hair dryer, as can the salon owner.
A special law prohibits unmarried women from parachuting on Sunday or she shall risk arrest, fine, and/or jailing.
If an elephant is left tied to a parking meter, the parking fee has to be paid just as it would for a vehicle.
In Sarasota, it is illegal to sing in a public place while attired in a swim suit.
Men may not be seen publicly in any kind of a strapless gown.
Georgia
It is illegal to say "Oh, Boy" in Jonesboro, Georgia.
Idaho
State law makes it illegal for a man to give his sweetheart a box of candy weighing less than fifty pounds.
In Pocatello, the law provides that "The carrying of concealed weapons is forbidden, unless same are exhibited to public view."
Illinois
It is illegal for anyone to give lighted cigars to dogs, cats, and other domesticated animals kept as pets.
Indiana
Bathing is prohibited during the winter.
Citizens are not allowed to attend a movie house or theater nor ride in a public streetcar within at least four hours after eating garlic.
Iowa
Kisses may last for as much as, but no more than, five minutes.
Kansas
No one may catch fish with his bare hands in Kansas.
Kentucky
By law, anyone who has been drinking is "sober" until he or she "cannot hold onto the ground."
It is illegal to transport an ice cream cone in your pocket.
Louisiana
It is illegal to rob a bank and then shoot at the bank teller with a water pistol.
Biting someone with your natural teeth is "simple assault", while biting someone with your false teeth is "aggravated assault."
Massachusetts
Mourners at a wake may not eat more than three sandwiches.
Snoring is prohibited unless all bedroom windows are closed and securely locked.
Wearing a goatee is illegal unless you first pay a special license fee for the privilege of wearing one in public.
Nebraska
A parent can be arrested if his child cannot hold back a burp during a church service.
New Mexico
Females are strictly forbidden to appear unshaven in public.
New York
A fine of $25 can be levied for flirting. This old law specifically prohibits men from turning around on any city street and looking "at a woman in that way." A second conviction for a crime of this magnitude calls for the violating male to be forced to wear a "pair of horse-blinders" wherever and whenever he goes outside for a stroll.
North Dakota
Beer and pretzels can't be served at the same time in any bar or restaurant.
Ohio
Women are prohibited from wearing patent leather shoes in public.
Oklahoma
Violators can be fined, arrested or jailed for making ugly faces at a dog.
Females are forbidden from doing their own hair without being licensed by the state.
Dogs must have a permit signed by the mayor in order to congregate in groups of three or more on private property.
Pennsylvania
A special cleaning ordinance bans housewives from hiding dirt and dust under a rug in a dwelling.
No man may purchase alcohol without written consent from his wife.
Tennessee
In Memphis it is illegal for a woman to drive a car unless there is a man either running or walking in front of it waving a red flag to warn approaching motorists and pedestrians.
Texas
A city ordinance states that a person cannot go barefoot without first obtaining a special five-dollar permit.
It is illegal to take more than three sips of beer at a time while standing.
Utah
It is against the law to fish from horseback.
Vermont
Lawmakers made it obligatory for everybody to take at least one bath each week - on Saturday night.
Washington
All lollipops are banned.
A law to reduce crime states: "It is mandatory for a motorist with criminal intentions to stop at the city limits and telephone the chief of police as he is entering the town."
West Virginia
No children may attend school with their breath smelling of "wild onions."
posted on May 16, 2001 01:59:31 PMketzel-I can honestly say I have never broken any of those laws
Of course in Texas it is still illegal to not properly hitch you horse on main street. I am guilty of breaking that one. They have taken down all the hitching post, so I have to use a tree! Luckily we are a small town and our Police Chief is a personal friend...he look's the other way!
I did have a friend get a ticket for riding his mule to the end of one of our city peirs (we are surrounded on two sides by a big bay)
There was a sign that clearly states-No Vehicles Allowed. He argued that his mule was really NOT a vehicle. The judge agreed. The sign now reads: No Vehicles or 4 Legged Animals. This has lots of folks upset because they like to walk their dogs on the pier and they now fall under this rule! LOL
posted on May 17, 2001 04:50:31 AM
they should freeze this guy cryogenically, wake him up every 100 years and give him the good news and the bad news. you're still alive but you're still in jail! this way he can be a deterrent to future generations as well!
posted on May 17, 2001 05:04:42 AM
stusi - They could finally use those sentances for life +20 years!!
Freeze them for 20 wake them up and let them add the life part.
