Schwarzenegger Reduces Sentence of Former Assembly Speaker's Son

[101mpg]

http://www.ktla.com/news/landing/ktla-schwarzenegger-commutes-sentences,0,6977323.story

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger commuted the manslaughter sentence of the son of California's former Assembly speaker and also granted clemency to a woman who killed her former pimp in a motel room when she was 16.

Schwarzenegger commuted the manslaughter sentence of Esteban Nunez, the son of former Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez, saying that the 16-year prison sentence Nunez was serving is "excessive."

The governor reduced his sentence from 16 years to 7 years…

Wow nice one Arnold, don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out. I understand there have been good deeds done by the process of pardons but seriously this abuse is just sickening.

 

[William Gaatjes]

From the guy i do not know details but the story from the girl i find saddening.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sara_Kruzan

Kruzan grew up in Riverside, California with her drug addict mother, where she was an honor roll student at school. During her childhood she met her father only three times because he was serving long prison terms. Since the age of 9, Kruzan has suffered from severe depression, being hospitalized because of the condition on a number of occasions.

At the age of 11, she met 31 year old Howard, calling himself "G.G.", who, it is alleged, began grooming her for a life of prostitution. By the age of 13, Kruzan became a victim of human trafficking, forced to work as a child prostitute, and subjected to sexual abuse.[2]

Poor girl. What a life. Schwarzenegger is still an idiot. 25 years to life with maybe parole for killing a pedophile. She should be praised.

However, with such a life story i am afraid she will have a very difficult life in the free world without good people looking out for her.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qR7mno6p9iQ

 

[101mpg]

From the guy i do not know details but the story from the girl i find saddening.

For the girl I'm happy for, but it doesn't excuse the Nunez case who was commuted for no other reason than his dad was a powerful politician. He had already gotten a lighter sentence than someone who didn't have connections in the first place, there were no extenuating circumstances that could have possibly justified his sentence being shortened.

 

[William Gaatjes]

For the girl I'm happy for, but it doesn't excuse the Nunez case who was commuted for no other reason than his dad was a powerful politician. He had already gotten a lighter sentence than someone who didn't have connections in the first place, there were no extenuating circumstances that could have possibly justified his sentence being shortened.

You know what is not funny at all, if you compare the crimes :
# Forced child prostitute kills her abusive pimp :life sentence.

# 4 college guys looking for trouble and start a fight with a deadly end with a deadly weapon : 7 years.

That is no justice. That is the rule of having a big wallet.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/jun/25/maximum-term-for-man-in-fatal-sdsu-fight/

The men and two co-defendants, Rafael Garcia and Leshanor Thomas, were originally charged with murder and assault.

Garcia pleaded guilty last year to conspiracy to destroy evidence and faces a possible prison sentence of up to three years. Thomas faces up to four years and eight months in prison after pleaded guilty in February to assault with a deadly weapon and conspiracy to commit assault with a deadly weapon.

Prosecutors have said the four men became angry in the early morning hours of Oct. 4 after they were kicked out of a fraternity party. They roamed the SDSU campus “looking for trouble” and challenged Santos and his friends to a fight on 55th Street near Peterson Gym.

Santos was killed; three other young men were wounded.

Defense lawyers for Jett, Nuñez, Garcia and Thomas have argued that their clients were not the aggressors in the brawl and instead, acted in self-defense. One attorney has said others involved in the fight were armed with knives and Santos may have had a gun.

Prosecutors have said Santos was not armed.

After the fight, the men drove back to Sacramento. A witness testified at a previous hearing that Jett, Nuñez and Garcia drove to a spot near the Sacramento River where Nuñez placed a plastic bag on the ground containing clothing and what looked like a knife. Jett doused the bag with gasoline and set it on fire.

Jett has previous misdemeanor convictions for drunken driving and felony convictions for possessing an illegal weapon — a sawed-off shotgun — and ammunition. He was on probation at the time of the stabbing.

 

[JSt0rm]

I have a friend who did 4 years for manslaughter. Same thing. Drunken knife fight at a party. He got jumped and defended himself - still got 4 years.

Of course this was Cleveland Ohio. We were all expected to end up in prison, drugged up or both.

 

[werepossum]

You know what is not funny at all, if you compare the crimes :
# Forced child prostitute kills her abusive pimp :life sentence.

# 4 college guys looking for trouble and start a fight with a deadly end with a deadly weapon : 7 years.

That is no justice. That is the rule of having a big wallet.

Sometimes people forget we have a legal system, not a justice system. Girl should have gotten a freakin' medal.

 

[nick1985]

Girl should be given an award, and the Judge who sent her to jail should be lined up against a wall and shot.

 

[William Gaatjes]

Kruzan was arrested in Pomona on March 14 as a result, Defence Attorney, David Gunn, told the court, of information provided to the police by Hamilton. Neither Hamilton nor Otis were charged with the crime due to a lack of legally sufficient corroborating evidence to support Kruzan's statement.

After her arrest the District Attorney of Riverside County opted to ignore the pleas for extenuating circumstances surrounding Kruzan's actions, and sought to have her tried in an adult court for first degree murder. An evaluation by California Youth Authority concluded she was amenable to treatment in the juvenile justice system. However, a local judge, at the urging of the prosecutor, Tim Freer, transferred her to the adult court.[4] In his closing arguments at her trial, Freer cautioned jurors not to be swayed by the appearance of an attractive, petite teenager who may not fit their image of a murderer.

On Thursday May 11, 1995, a Riverside Superior Court jury of seven women and five men found her guilty of First-Degree murder affirming two special circumstances - that Howard was murdered during a robbery, and that Kruzan had been lying in wait to kill him - to justify a no-parole life term.[3] Judge J. Thompson Hanks described her crime as 'well thought out', stating that 'what is striking about this is the lack of moral scruple' before sentencing her to life without parole.

Is the prosecutor Tim Freer a client form the murdered pimp ?
Why was he so determined to get her to be trialled as an adult ?
Is the Juvenile system giving only minor prison sentences ?
Was it a special case where he hoped to make promotion ?

I have come to understand that the prison system in the US is a private corporation who wants to make profit and needs a lot of prisoners. Is this true ?

I fail to understand this.

 

[werepossum]

Is the prosecutor Tim Freer a client form the murdered pimp ?
Why was he so determined to get her to be trialled as an adult ?
Is the Juvenile system giving only minor prison sentences ?
Was it a special case where he hoped to make promotion ?

I have come to understand that the prison system in the US is a private corporation who wants to make profit and needs a lot of prisoners. Is this true ?

I fail to understand this.

Probably not.

Probably either believed she was a hardened criminal (which she may well have been), or had political aspirations and didn't want to appear soft on crime.

Our juvenile system is allowed only to detain until majority, which can be delayed to twenty-one but not beyond, so yes, juvie gives light sentences by definition.

See #2. Perhaps.

Some US prisons are run by private for-profit corporations, but none need a lot of prisoners. Our prisons are overrun with prisoners, to the point that judges often order mass releases to ease overcrowding.

 

[William Gaatjes]

Some US prisons are run by private for-profit corporations, but none need a lot of prisoners. Our prisons are overrun with prisoners, to the point that judges often order mass releases to ease overcrowding.

Is it not the case that most of the prisons in the US are filled with people who are caught with a little bit of weed / marijuana / pot ?

 

[MooseNSquirrel]

Actually US prisons are filled with folks who can't afford good lawyers.

 

[William Gaatjes]

Actually US prisons are filled with folks who can't afford good lawyers.

Although i do not believe all are innocent, i do question of the ratio of crime vs punishment is not a bit off. Especially when looking at the cases in the posts above. But i do not like the idea that some guilty person can get free because of an expensive lawyer. Imagine what it would be like if a lawyer had the legal requirement to come forward with that information if that lawyer finds undeniable evidence that the client has done the crime. An obligation to society. Dreams...

 

[werepossum]

Is it not the case that most of the prisons in the US are filled with people who are caught with a little bit of weed / marijuana / pot ?

The number of people in our prisons for a small amount of weed is small. A lot more are in for crack or meth, but those are revolving door crimes as well. Roughly half of our prison population is incarcerated for drug crimes, and about an eighth of those are in for marijuana, so including growers and major dealers about a sixteenth of our prison and jail population are in for marijuana. Although the line for "grower" can be blurred; I know a guy who was busted for six 10' plants (or ten 6' plants, I can't really remember) and the arrest gave the "street value" as $100,000 - which is roughly twice our median national household income and probably thrice the county's median household income - so your idea of "a little bit of weed" may differ considerably from the government's. But of the fairly large number of people I've known arrested for weed, none have done any serious jail time (i.e. more than thirty days). Meth heads I've known have done more hard time, but then they are more persistent; I don't think I've ever known anyone busted for cooking meth who wasn't busted for cooking at least once more while out on bond waiting for the original bust to be adjudicated. In fact the only reason Chattanooga has an EPA office at all is the very large number of meth operations busted, each of which requires a hazardous waste cleanup operation because meth is so toxic.

Amusingly, although one of the reasons to outlaw drugs is the crime caused by junkies stealing for drug money, your chances of going to prison for theft are not very high either, assuming you can raise the money for even a halfway decent lawyer. I know a DA who personally interrupted and arrested two young men robbing his house, armed with loaded (and stolen) revolvers and shotguns, who were implicated in more than a dozen robberies and found with merchandise stolen from a handful of other homes; they pleaded guilty and received probation. Unless you use a public defender, plead guilty without cutting a deal, AND are a repeat offender, it's amazingly difficult to actually get prison time short of major violent felonies. Unless of course you piss off the DA or judge.

 

[werepossum]

Is it not the case that most of the prisons in the US are filled with people who are caught with a little bit of weed / marijuana / pot ?

I had to do a bit of research to get a better than off-the-cuff answer to your question. Here is a 1997 Bureau of Justice Statistics paper on exactly how many people are incarcerated for ONLY marijuana possession: http://www.ncjrs.gov/ondcppubs/publications/pdf/whos_in_prison_for_marij.pdf

Turns out that only 1.7% of all state prisoners (1997) were incarcerated for ONLY marijuana possession, and only 0.3% were first offense. Federally 2.3% of prisoners in 1997 were sentenced to prison time for ONLY marijuana possession (of which 1% or less than half were first time offenders.) That 2.3% was 186 people; information could be found about only 174 of them, and only 63 of those actually served any prison time. So the number of people in our prison for being "caught with a little bit of weed" is vanishingly small. (I'll bet every one of them had a public defender too; as always, it helps to have some money.) The numbers of people incarcerated for marijuana and for drugs is artificially inflated because people sentenced for, say, murder, cannibalism, and marijuana possession are also listed as being incarcerated for marijuana. Another thing that causes the numbers to be inflated is the plea bargain; if the evidence for murder and cannibalism is lacking, and the marijuana possession is iron tight, the DA may agree to a plea deal just to get the guy off the street. And in most jurisdictions the judge CAN give up to a year (11/29 actually) for simple possession. (Another good reason to have the best lawyer you can afford and to NOT piss of the judge.) You can even get up to life in prison for simple possession in Texas and Nevada - IF you're convicted of possessing one ton and five tons respectively. But by and large, people doing actual jail or prison time for simple possession have some aggravating factor - busted near a school, busted IN a school, dating the judge's daughter, etc. Also amazing - the median amount of marijuana possessed by those federally sentenced for simple possession was a whopping 52 kilos! That's a big doobie!

Here's another interesting site: http://www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/publications/pdf/ncj181056.pdf

It shows the number of criminals for whom drugs were a factor. Over 22% of state and over 32% of federal inmates reported being under the influence of drugs at the time of their offense. (YMMV - I'm sure "I was high when I raped her" sounds better than "I'm a low life sumbitch and that's just how I roll" when being interviewed by the government behind bars.)

Of course, the intent of both papers is to dispute the idea that US prisons are full of innocent marijuana users. It could also be argued for the opposite, that since so very few marijuana users are being jailed, why not stop legalize it and concentrate on those more serious, non-victimless offenses perpetrated by a small minority of potheads? Anyway, hopefully this gives you a more accurate picture of our country and its legal system.

 

[William Gaatjes]

Thank you for the big reply. I have to take more time to read the many subjects in your posts.

I see you also mention crystal meth. What horrible substance it is.
I had read and heard of it. But i need to dive into the matter again.
IIRC it was possible to buy some over the counter painkillers that could be turned into crystal meth ? I watched this video, if this is true it is horrible but exactly as i explained in my post where i was in discussion with 2 ATforum members spring/summer 2010 who like to see all drugs legalized and easy for sale. No hope for people and increased poverty is increasing the chance that people fall in the trap of drugs.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZnhpFvutxNk&feature=fvst

 

[William Gaatjes]

This is horrible.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDHlV2xzbl8&feature=channel

Crystal meth known as TIK here.

That stuff costs just 1 euro a hit. It is terrible...

 

[William Gaatjes]

I had to do a bit of research to get a better than off-the-cuff answer to your question. Here is a 1997 Bureau of Justice Statistics paper on exactly how many people are incarcerated for ONLY marijuana possession: http://www.ncjrs.gov/ondcppubs/publications/pdf/whos_in_prison_for_marij.pdf

Turns out that only 1.7% of all state prisoners (1997) were incarcerated for ONLY marijuana possession, and only 0.3% were first offense. Federally 2.3% of prisoners in 1997 were sentenced to prison time for ONLY marijuana possession (of which 1% or less than half were first time offenders.) That 2.3% was 186 people; information could be found about only 174 of them, and only 63 of those actually served any prison time. So the number of people in our prison for being "caught with a little bit of weed" is vanishingly small. (I'll bet every one of them had a public defender too; as always, it helps to have some money.) The numbers of people incarcerated for marijuana and for drugs is artificially inflated because people sentenced for, say, murder, cannibalism, and marijuana possession are also listed as being incarcerated for marijuana. Another thing that causes the numbers to be inflated is the plea bargain; if the evidence for murder and cannibalism is lacking, and the marijuana possession is iron tight, the DA may agree to a plea deal just to get the guy off the street. And in most jurisdictions the judge CAN give up to a year (11/29 actually) for simple possession. (Another good reason to have the best lawyer you can afford and to NOT piss of the judge.) You can even get up to life in prison for simple possession in Texas and Nevada - IF you're convicted of possessing one ton and five tons respectively. But by and large, people doing actual jail or prison time for simple possession have some aggravating factor - busted near a school, busted IN a school, dating the judge's daughter, etc. Also amazing - the median amount of marijuana possessed by those federally sentenced for simple possession was a whopping 52 kilos! That's a big doobie!

Here's another interesting site: http://www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/publications/pdf/ncj181056.pdf

It shows the number of criminals for whom drugs were a factor. Over 22% of state and over 32% of federal inmates reported being under the influence of drugs at the time of their offense. (YMMV - I'm sure "I was high when I raped her" sounds better than "I'm a low life sumbitch and that's just how I roll" when being interviewed by the government behind bars.)

Of course, the intent of both papers is to dispute the idea that US prisons are full of innocent marijuana users. It could also be argued for the opposite, that since so very few marijuana users are being jailed, why not stop legalize it and concentrate on those more serious, non-victimless offenses perpetrated by a small minority of potheads? Anyway, hopefully this gives you a more accurate picture of our country and its legal system.

I understand. Would it be fair to say that your legal system needs a fix up ?
I am not an advocate for weed. I have not smoked in years nor have i the desire. Just to clarify that i really do not have an hidden agenda. But it seems to me that if a law was made that allowed small amounts, for example you can have a plant or 2 only for own use and when there is no complaints from neighbors. You are not allowed to sell it. Then a lot of effort busting the meth and crack heads can be done. Afcourse people who are thinking of farming, for all i care lock them up , throw away the key. If it is only allowed for individual use, i think a lot of people are better of. There will always be people selling under the counter some of their stash, but that number will be small and usually not people who do crimes. It just amazes me that the USA has so much a karma problem. If the CIA from G Bush senior and Devil Rumsfeld had not actively been supporting the wrong people in south America, then the drugskartels would had not have had it so easy and grown so powerful. During the Vietnam war the CIA actively helped the people responsible for the opium production in Laos at the time. A large part of the heroine from that production ended up in the bloodstream of american soldiers.

As always, a society problem is not made up of 1 issue, but several issue's.
Poverty. Low education. No hope. No work. Frustrated people. Fragmented government. Flawed laws. An increase of toxins. No coherence in nation wide law. No coherence in nation wide tackling of the same problems all states have to cope with. Parasites disguised as humans thriving on the misery of others ( They are just humans but don't behave like humans. ) .

 

[William Gaatjes]

Those meth and crack heads need to be helped. Putting them in jail only is not going to solve the issues they have. There needs to be a heavy disciplined rehab structure to help those people.

I assume they where usually people with low chance of a job before the use of the filth ? Low eduction ? Probably not had the money to solve possible mental issues ? I know from looking around here in the Netherlands, there is always a certain group more vulnerable. People that where abused as child and lived in an abusive environment. Parent usually drug addicts or drunks, low educated. Then there are the people who need psychological help. Usually people who had trouble on school but that does not mean they are dumb, just need a little more effort. In large classes on school this does not happen. Aspergers, ADHD, sufferers of schizoprenia of depression. Bipolar disorder. As always it is a combination of genetics and environment. And when the environment is bad for people who do not have any of these problems, imagine how these people will have problems dealing with that environment. It is almost inevitable.

 

[werepossum]

I understand. Would it be fair to say that your legal system needs a fix up ?
I am not an advocate for weed. I have not smoked in years nor have i the desire. Just to clarify that i really do not have an hidden agenda. But it seems to me that if a law was made that allowed small amounts, for example you can have a plant or 2 only for own use and when there is no complaints from neighbors. You are not allowed to sell it. Then a lot of effort busting the meth and crack heads can be done. Afcourse people who are thinking of farming, for all i care lock them up , throw away the key. If it is only allowed for individual use, i think a lot of people are better of. There will always be people selling under the counter some of their stash, but that number will be small and usually not people who do crimes. It just amazes me that the USA has so much a karma problem. If the CIA from G Bush senior and Devil Rumsfeld had not actively been supporting the wrong people in south America, then the drugskartels would had not have had it so easy and grown so powerful. During the Vietnam war the CIA actively helped the people responsible for the opium production in Laos at the time. A large part of the heroine from that production ended up in the bloodstream of american soldiers.

As always, a society problem is not made up of 1 issue, but several issue's.
Poverty. Low education. No hope. No work. Frustrated people. Fragmented government. Flawed laws. An increase of toxins. No coherence in nation wide law. No coherence in nation wide tackling of the same problems all states have to cope with. Parasites disguised as humans thriving on the misery of others ( They are just humans but don't behave like humans. ) .

Our legal system could certainly use some reform. Personally I'd like to see weed legalized and those caught cooking/selling/using meth held in jail without bond with expedited trials, plus hard prison time for those convicted. While a fair number of criminals are positive for weed at the time of the crime, very few people commit crimes to get weed. On the other hand, many people commit crimes to fund meth and crack habits, and meth production in particular requires clean-up by a HAZMAT team.

 

[William Gaatjes]

Our legal system could certainly use some reform. Personally I'd like to see weed legalized and those caught cooking/selling/using meth held in jail without bond with expedited trials, plus hard prison time for those convicted. While a fair number of criminals are positive for weed at the time of the crime, very few people commit crimes to get weed. On the other hand, many people commit crimes to fund meth and crack habits, and meth production in particular requires clean-up by a HAZMAT team.

Yes indeed. If i had anything to say about it, i would put the death penalty on the production of drugs as crack and meth. Not on the addicts, the addicts need to be helped. But on those who produce it large scale. The big boys. They shall receive their penalty by the following way : All the stuff they produced shall be pumped into their own bodies at once until their bodies fall apart. HAZMAT teams, incredible... Pure chemical danger.

To put it poetically :

"People giving a blowjob to the glass dick and ending with the seed of the devil in their mouths and minds."