16 years behind bars for an $11 robbery

[Vette73]

OP did you read the full story?

"Barbour's press secretary Dan Turner told ABCNews.com that the amount reportedly taken in the 1994 robbery, $11, was "an urban myth," and at least several hundred dollars was netted in the crime. "


And for all the calls about racism...

""The other thing to remember was the sentence was not handed out by a judge, but by a biracial jury of their peers,""

 

[dainthomas]

This.

Forceful taking or destroying another person's property is the most despicable thing you can do (note this includes rape and murder as your body is your property).

How much is irrelevant, it is the act that shows this person doesn't respect the most basic corner stone that all of human society and law and government is derived from.

So they deserved life for stealing a few hundred bucks? How much are any of the Wall Street clowns gonna get for stealing billions? Oh that's right, zip. Because they have cash and lawyers with nice suits.

If you think any half-decent lawyer couldn't have gotten them acquitted or pleaded them down to nothing, you're delusional.

 

[TallBill]

So they deserved life for stealing a few hundred bucks? How much are any of the Wall Street clowns gonna get for stealing billions? Oh that's right, zip. Because they have cash and lawyers with nice suits.

If you think any half-decent lawyer couldn't have gotten them acquitted or pleaded them down to nothing, you're delusional.

Armed robbery is a whole new ballgame. This story is missing a lot of facts though. My guess is that there really isn't much of a story here so we're getting an insanely twisted story.

 

[Vette73]

So they deserved life for stealing a few hundred bucks? How much are any of the Wall Street clowns gonna get for stealing billions? Oh that's right, zip. Because they have cash and lawyers with nice suits.

If you think any half-decent lawyer couldn't have gotten them acquitted or pleaded them down to nothing, you're delusional.

As the story has been posted the robbers, ones holding guns, did plea out. These girls fought it and did not plea first.
Most DAs will give a deal to those that don;t fight the charges and will go against the others. These girls held out to long. They rolled the dice and lost.

 

[weadjust]

Armed robbery is a whole new ballgame. This story is missing a lot of facts though. My guess is that there really isn't much of a story here so we're getting an insanely twisted story.

The main missing fact is the sisters were released so the state doesn't have to pay for a kidney transplant or a lifetime of dialysis. Once they are free it's on the federal governments dime. It's all about the money. Had one of the sister not been ill they would have served the rest of the sentence.

 

[Modelworks]

Bank robbery is one of the most stupid crimes someone can commit. Mandatory sentences of 15+ years with the average robber getting no more than $20K. That makes out the jail sentence to be less than $2k for every year in jail. no thanks

 

[rudder]

Well deserved

except when you consider these two wre kind of like tag a longs and the real perps only served like 3 years. I am all for punishing criminals... but giving these two ladies 16 years in prison was not really worth it to the state.

 

[TallBill]

The main missing fact is the sisters were released so the state doesn't have to pay for a kidney transplant or a lifetime of dialysis. Once they are free it's on the federal governments dime. It's all about the money. Had one of the sister not been ill they would have served the rest of the sentence.

Yeah, they mentioned that quickly in the video. That's pretty much the entire story right there.

 

[Vette73]

Bank robbery is one of the most stupid crimes someone can commit. Mandatory sentences of 15+ years with the average robber getting no more than $20K. That makes out the jail sentence to be less than $2k for every year in jail. no thanks

I did that math when I was a kid with my mom at a bank and saw the XX number of years in jail for robbing a bank.
I asked how much money does the bank have, as in the branch. She told me and I did the basic math and said "why would anyone rob this bank that only xyz money for each year of jail..." the person helping my mom only heard rob bank and looked at me.
Of course in the car I just said, better to be a con man, they get so little time but more money(think 80's S&L all over the news). Funny thing is with the internet and current banking standards its even more true today then ever.

 

[IceBergSLiM]

to be clear in the title it was ARMED robbery

 

[SandEagle]

Bank robbery is one of the most stupid crimes someone can commit. Mandatory sentences of 15+ years with the average robber getting no more than $20K. That makes out the jail sentence to be less than $2k for every year in jail. no thanks

Did you read the story? They didn't rob a bank. Just a couple of random dudes on the road.

 

[BoomerD]

Armed robbery sentences are rarely about the amount of money/goods taken...it's about the crime of robbing someone, usually with a gun or knife.
That makes it a "Violent Crime," and the sentence NEEDS to be harsh.

Hell, steal $100 at gun point, you're likely to get more than 10 years in a "hard-time facility...steal $100 MILLION dollars...you're gonna get 5 years in a plush country club...or get elected to Congress.

 

[AstroManLuca]

except when you consider these two wre kind of like tag a longs and the real perps only served like 3 years. I am all for punishing criminals... but giving these two ladies 16 years in prison was not really worth it to the state.

Yeah the legal system is fucked up with wealthier or simply more intelligent criminals being able to get a slap on the wrist thanks to making deals and having a good lawyer while others get the book thrown at them.

I'm not saying you should get off for armed robbery but still, let the punishment fit the crime. Armed robbery is a violent crime but you shouldn't get life in prison for having a gun with you while you rob someone. Especially when other people are getting just a couple years for the same thing.

 

[guyver01]

The case had drawn the attention of Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour who twice appealed to the Mississippi Parole Board

Wait.. .the Govenor is appealing to the Parole Board?

Can't the govenor Commute the sentence?

 

[exdeath]

Armed robbery is a violent crime but you shouldn't get life in prison for having a gun with you while you rob someone.

Bullllllllshit. This is a person making an implied threat to kill you and producing the means to carry out that threat in the blink of an eye.

Though I suppose I have to agree to some extent... I'd prefer person be shot to death by the person he's trying to rob.

Maybe you should have someone walk up to you with a gun in their hand and see what goes through your mind, with no idea regarding the intentions of the person with the gun. It doesn't matter if they are just holding in their hand and not actually being violent, there is still the purposely implied threat and risk of great bodily harm or death. Your demeanor and fear for life is completely different based on whether the person robbing you has a gun or not, hence why they have one, and hence why robbery and armed robbery are two different things.

Taking property by stealing it from you is one thing, extorting you to give up that property voluntarily under threat of death takes it to a whole new level.

 

[alkemyst]

I was in jail with a guy who caught a felony for stealing a pillowcase. The prosecutor decided to use that to try him as habitual. 25 years for a pillowcase.

habitual doesn't just come from the first pillow case.

 

[classy]

I don't know how anyone can even possibly buy into these two young women getting life prison sentences. They had no prior records, they were not the ones with weapons, and they were teenagers. Guilty of some crime, yes, but certainly nothing that warranted life in prison.

 

[AstroManLuca]

Bullllllllshit. This is a person making an implied threat to kill you and producing the means to carry out that threat in the blink of an eye.

Though I suppose I have to agree to some extent... I'd prefer person be shot to death by the person he's trying to rob.

Maybe you should have someone walk up to you with a gun in their hand and see what goes through your mind, with no idea regarding the intentions of the person with the gun. It doesn't matter if they are just holding in their hand and not actually being violent, there is still the purposely implied threat and risk of great bodily harm or death. Your demeanor and fear for life is completely different based on whether the person robbing you has a gun or not, hence why they have one, and hence why robbery and armed robbery are two different things.

Taking property by stealing it from you is one thing, extorting you to give up that property voluntarily under threat of death takes it to a whole new level.

I understand and agree with you on everything. When I said the phrase "having a gun on you while you commit a robbery," it sounded like I was making an excuse for the behavior or saying the two things are incidental, which I'm not doing.

I still think you should get many years in prison for it. That's fair. What's not fair is:

1. Letting some people off with 2-3 years for armed robbery, and
2. Hitting some people with LIFE imprisonment for it.

At least be consistent. 15, 20 years, whatever. Life imprisonment should be for things like rape, murder, or attempted murder. Armed robbery is at least one tier down from that. If the robber actually fires their weapon then maybe you can get them for attempted murder but that's not what happened in this case.

 

[IceBergSLiM]

I don't know how anyone can even possibly buy into these two young women getting life prison sentences. They had no prior records, they were not the ones with weapons, and they were teenagers. Guilty of some crime, yes, but certainly nothing that warranted life in prison.

These are huge mitigating factors I did not know.

 

[Mike Gayner]

Some of the opinions in this thread are a demonstration of why America has such a high imprisonment rate (one of the highest in the world in fact). How's that working out for you BTW?

 

[IceBergSLiM]

Some of the opinions in this thread are a demonstration of why America has such a high imprisonment rate (one of the highest in the world in fact). How's that working out for you BTW?

it works out pretty well for most of the criminals. They get out almost as fast as they get in with a recidivism rate approaching 90% :thumbsup:

 

[Wordplay]

So they let them out for money reasons but at the end of the day tax payers will still get the bill. HAH!!

Life sentence is crazy though for armed robbery when some murderers get only 25 years.

 

[alkemyst]

I don't know how anyone can even possibly buy into these two young women getting life prison sentences. They had no prior records, they were not the ones with weapons, and they were teenagers. Guilty of some crime, yes, but certainly nothing that warranted life in prison.

then 19 and 21, that's pushing teenagers a bit.

In an armed robbery or in a crime that results in death of anyone, all members down to the get away driver are equally responsible.

These chicks were found guilty in a court of law. Now if there was coersion then they will figure that out hopefully.

The common game was to rob someone with a young teenager or younger and make them the 'triggerman' if caught. You get some parole and they get juvie and a fresh start at 18.

Rinse and repeat.

 

[classy]

then 19 and 21, that's pushing teenagers a bit.

In an armed robbery or in a crime that results in death of anyone, all members down to the get away driver are equally responsible.

These chicks were found guilty in a court of law. Now if there was coersion then they will figure that out hopefully.

The common game was to rob someone with a young teenager or younger and make them the 'triggerman' if caught. You get some parole and they get juvie and a fresh start at 18.

Rinse and repeat.

You are right they were a little older. But no matter what their participation level was, did it constitute a crime that warranted a life sentence. That just boggles the mind.

 

[alkemyst]

You are right they were a little older. But no matter what their participation level was, did it constitute a crime that warranted a life sentence. That just boggles the mind.

Well, whatever the law allowed for armed robbery was fair game...however; I think the 10-20-life plan is fair. 10 years is a life sentence and most don't realize that 10-20-life are minimum sentences.

On the limited insight we have on this crime, life does seem far too harsh.