How many time should someone be allowed a 2nd chance with lower crimes? (see example)

[Engineer]

With that question (thought up because of a discussion recently about holding violet criminals in jail for a long period of time and paying for it - one idea was to get lower crime people out of the jails)

I bring you this:

4 killed (5 including the guy I'm going to talk about below) when a man, who was charged 35 times in 7 years (including a December 5th driving on a suspended license) and driving on a suspended license while on parole, crossed the center line and hit this family head on. Now, the 4 are dead and the guy died too. Should this man have even been on the streets?

ATPN thoughts?

http://www.wsaz.com/home/headlines/Don-Robinsons-Son-Killed-in-Kentucky-Crash-184923501.html

The 31-year-old has faced roughly 35 charges in seven years. Most of them are theft related, but a few stand out like in 2006 he was charged with driving on a suspended license. In March of 2012, he was arrested for a felony theft charge where he was found guilty and sentenced to five years. He served only nine months.

"At the time he was sentenced, he had served about 180-some days. All people get credit for the time they have served, and under the current regulations a person is eligible to be paroled on a five year sentence after they have served nine months," explained Trimble.

WKYT also reports that on December 5, Vanderpool was arrested again, but this time it was in Lincoln County for driving on a suspended license. The next day he pleaded guilty, despite being on parole he was sentenced to just 30 days.

The station reports that he skipped past the sentencing after Lincoln County District Judge Janet Booth gave him a two year conditional discharge, or simply probation. A condition that Trimble says would've been unsupervised.

He was arrested just a few weeks ago while driving on a suspended license and simply let go on probation.........again.... SMH.....

 

[DaveSimmons]

I like Larry Niven's approach, though he considered it a dystopia:

Harvest his organs. Make something useful out of his life, and avoid the cost of lifetime incarceration.

If not that, there's always the Soylent option.

 

[werepossum]

I'm in favor of fairly draconian two strikes laws with serious felonies and DUI, but that seems a bit overkill for petty thievery or driving on a suspended license (depending on cause.) What we should have is truth in sentencing - if sentenced to five years, you should do at least 75% of it before being eligible for parole. If we need to build more prisons, so be it. Can't really expect criminals to take us seriously if we sentence them to five years and then release them for the 180 days they waited for trial.

 

[Engineer]

I'm in favor of fairly draconian two strikes laws with serious felonies and DUI, but that seems a bit overkill for petty thievery or driving on a suspended license (depending on cause.) What we should have is truth in sentencing - if sentenced to five years, you should do at least 75% of it before being eligible for parole. If we need to build more prisons, so be it. Can't really expect criminals to take us seriously if we sentence them to five years and then release them for the 180 days they waited for trial.

With even that, should there be something far less than 35 strikes?

 

[DaveSimmons]

Even for petty thievery some kind of "20 strikes you're out" law seems reasonable to me.

And by out I mean the organ banks of course

 

[werepossum]

With even that, should there be something far less than 35 strikes?

I wouldn't mind seeing a "Ten felonies and it's mandatory life without parole" law. I'd guess the resultant benefit to society would be well worth the cost. But then, if we had truth in sentencing then ten felonies with an average sentence of five years would be half a century, or at least forty years with good behavior.

 

[Doppel]

35 fucking times?!

A person like that is as much a threat to the public as a repeat violent offender and should be treated as such. Free room and board behind bars.

 

[Engineer]

I wouldn't mind seeing a "Ten felonies and it's mandatory life without parole" law. I'd guess the resultant benefit to society would be well worth the cost. But then, if we had truth in sentencing then ten felonies with an average sentence of five years would be half a century, or at least forty years with good behavior.

Most of this man's charges were misdemeanors but the pattern is still there and it finally caught up with an innocent family of 4 people (man, wife, daughter and daughter's husband). Sure, the 5 years might have helped but obviously, the man doesn't care about committing crimes. Maybe a longer sentence would have helped, but to me, it would have only slowed the rate, not the actual committing of the crimes.

I don't have a target number yet. I'm looking for a few opinions and comments before forming a target number (if at all).

 

[Engineer]

35 fucking times?!

A person like that is as much a threat to the public as a repeat violent offender and should be treated as such. Free room and board behind bars.

I don't know how many times he was arrested but he had 35 charges. I saw the rap sheet on the news this morning and couldn't believe what I was seeing vs what had happened.

 

[nehalem256]

35 fucking times?!

In 7 years.

How is that even possible? Not only is he apparently incapable of living in civilized society, but he is also grossly incompetent.

A person like that is as much a threat to the public as a repeat violent offender and should be treated as such. Free room and board behind bars.

Free room and board 6 feet underground.

 

[werepossum]

Most of this man's charges were misdemeanors but the pattern is still there and it finally caught up with an innocent family of 4 people (man, wife, daughter and daughter's husband). Sure, the 5 years might have helped but obviously, the man doesn't care about committing crimes. Maybe a longer sentence would have helped, but to me, it would have only slowed the rate, not the actual committing of the crimes.

I don't have a target number yet. I'm looking for a few opinions and comments before forming a target number (if at all).

One thing that might greatly help would be a law that if one is awaiting trial for a felony and is arrested and charged with yet another felony, one goes before a judge immediately and if the charges are credible, bail is denied until both charges are adjudicated. I dislike the concept of imprisoning people for charges not yet proven, but at some points it becomes a matter of public safety. If the accused is guilty and knows he is about to be sent to prison, he has a grace period to commit as much crime as possible since he's going to prison anyway - sort of how someone who is arrested for cooking meth immediately gets out and cooks a LOT of meth to afford a good attorney.

EDIT: Longer sentences raise the consequences of committing crime. A man who doesn't mind risking 180 days of his life for the rewards of his crime might well hesitate if he knew the penalty would instead be five years.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

With that question (thought up because of a discussion recently about holding violet criminals in jail for a long period of time and paying for it - one idea was to get lower crime people out of the jails)

I bring you this:

4 killed (5 including the guy I'm going to talk about below) when a man, who was charged 35 times in 7 years (including a December 5th driving on a suspended license) and driving on a suspended license while on parole, crossed the center line and hit this family head on. Now, the 4 are dead and the guy died too. Should this man have even been on the streets?

ATPN thoughts?

http://www.wsaz.com/home/headlines/Don-Robinsons-Son-Killed-in-Kentucky-Crash-184923501.html



He was arrested just a few weeks ago while driving on a suspended license and simply let go on probation.........again.... SMH.....

I'm concerned about keeping those lavender criminals behind bars longer too.

 

[TastesLikeChicken]

The problem is that Kentucky has no habitual offender laws. Maybe this case will prompt the adoption of such a law?

 

[TallBill]

35 fucking times?!

A person like that is as much a threat to the public as a repeat violent offender and should be treated as such. Free room and board behind bars.

I'd be OK with a public hanging after 3 times. 2 for certain felonies, and 1 for manslaughter or murder.

 

[dmcowen674]

The problem is that Kentucky has no habitual offender laws.

Maybe this case will prompt the adoption of such a law?

I doubt it.

Do you or anyone know why?

I doubt it again so I will spell it out.

How much money do you think this guy generated getting arrested, paying bails, lawyers, courts and everything else involved in the money making sham?

A lot. They are not going to cut off the gravy train.

 

[TastesLikeChicken]

I doubt it.

Do you or anyone know why?

I doubt it again so I will spell it out.

How much money do you think this guy generated getting arrested, paying bails, lawyers, courts and everything else involved in the money making sham?

A lot. They are not going to cut off the gravy train.

The guy spent 5 years in jail and had 35 tours through the court system. Since he's a thief he's probably a broke-ass sob and doesn't have any money, so when a lawyer was required a public defender was assigned. There is no way the fines levied on him generated income for the State. More likely he cost Kentucky money, a lot of money, money that comes from the State coffers and ultimately the tax payer.

 

[Jaskalas]

How did this man drive without a license? If he repeat offends, seize his vehicle(s).

 

[piasabird]

In Illinois they use supervision. When you get a ticket you can make it go away with supervision. You pay a higher amount for the ticket and it goes away. Basically it is a legal form of Bribery. They give you a period of time that if you get no more additional tickets they will take it off your record. So dont believe the figures on the tickets. How many times did they get away with no record of a ticket or a charge or had a lesser charge in leiu of the actual crime they committed.

 

[s0me0nesmind1]

I like Larry Niven's approach, though he considered it a dystopia:

Harvest his organs. Make something useful out of his life, and avoid the cost of lifetime incarceration.

If not that, there's always the Soylent option.

This x5000. Goodluck getting libtards to go for anything useful. Is it useful? Than discard it. Pretty much the standards they live by. Probably a framed quote in the locker room.

 

[Jadow]

There's a guy who's a lifelong loser, petty crimes left and right, dui, fighting, poaching, etc.. fine here, jail there, his court case search has about 24 items going back 16 years.

Keeps getting his wrist slapped, even though he does nothing for society. well he just killed a a really sweet lady drunk driving.

imo punishment should be cumulative, a repeat offender add-on for each subsequent crime. and after say your 6th seperate conviction, life no parole. (I personally would be in favor of death penalty, but that wouldnt fly. China does at least one thing better than us.)

 

[cybrsage]

Welcome to liberal America.