Three times does it?(US people)

[pallander]

Just a simple question to you people in US.
Is it true that if you for example steel in a shop and get caught three times you get life in prison?I have heard that but I dont know if it is true?Is it?

 

[Hubris]

I could be wrong, but I'm fairly sure the three strikes rule applies to felonies, and shoplifting is a misdemeanor.

 

[Jfur]

I wish.

 

[PrinceofWands]

Information


It varies from state to state, but in general it was supposed to put people who commit 3 or more felonies away for extended periods, since often people are 'career criminals'. It doesn't really work, as everyone with any intelligence already knew it wouldn't.

 

[HOWITIS]

i thought this was only in cali






<< least twenty-two states and the federal government have enacted three strikes laws since Washington State became the first state to adopt such a policy in 1993 >>



but i guess not. i guess its hard for some peeps from other countries to understand, but each state has diff laws (to an extent), and penalties for commiting them.

 

[pallander]

>It varies from state to state, but in general it was supposed to put people who commit 3 or more felonies away for extended periods, since often people are 'career criminals'. It doesn't really work, as everyone with any intelligence already knew it wouldn't>

Ok,cant see why it wouldnt work.I thought it would be rather tough to sit life in prison for shoplifting;-)
On the other hand,here in Sweden,you get 3 month at most in prison if you drive without a licence 5-80 times and that is little lame.

 

[Jimbo]

Jerry Dewayne Williams, at the age of 27, was sentenced to prison for 25-years-life for stealing a slice of pepperoni pizza. His crime was a petty theft, but, because of California state law and because of his prior record, Williams theft was classified as a "felony." Williams prior convictions were for robbery, attempted robbery, unauthorized use of a motor vehicle and possession of a controlled substance.

This is the case that scares the hell out of Europeans and Canadians, and some people here.

 

[gopunk]

<< Jerry Dewayne Williams, at the age of 27, was sentenced to prison for 25-years-life for stealing a slice of pepperoni pizza. His crime was a petty theft, but, because of California state law and because of his prior record, Williams theft was classified as a "felony." Williams prior convictions were for robbery, attempted robbery, unauthorized use of a motor vehicle and possession of a controlled substance.

This is the case that scares the hell out of Europeans and Canadians, and some people here. >>



not sure how it would scare anybody but the criminals

 

[Moonbeam]

Les Miserables

 

[Jimbo]

<< not sure how it would scare anybody but the criminals >>


True. I'm a pretty law and order guy, but the 25-Life on a pizza slice rap seems a bit over the top.

BTW: Do you actually ever sleep GoPunk?

 

[Linflas]

3 strikes was a typically stupid response to some peoples frustration with judicial leniency. Rather than reform the way judges are appointed the brainless route was taken.

 

[PrinceofWands]

<< Ok,cant see why it wouldnt work.I thought it would be rather tough to sit life in prison for shoplifting;-) >>



First of all, understand that laws differ from state to state, and from year to year. Then understand that the government, the people, the police, the judges...none of them are in charge of the criminal justice system. The LAWYERS are the ones running the show, and if crime was actually stopped, they'd be out of their nice jobs...can't have that. Lawyers invent new technicalities to get people off daily. Lastly, prison doesn't work. We don't have the space in the prisons, the people to staff them, or the money to keep them operational...especially not with population (and therefore crime) increasing.

As of june of this year about 1 out of 145 Americans was in prison. That's around 2 MILLION people in jail. That's more criminals than the total population of 17 of our states!

 

[Jimbo]

<< 3 strikes was a typically stupid response to some peoples frustration with judicial leniency. Rather than reform the way judges are appointed the brainless route was taken. >>

You have to keep in mind the climate when that law was passed. It was just after (within a year) of the Polly Klass kidnapping and murder. Richard Allan Davis (Polly's killer) was in and out of jail for much of his life for some pretty heinous crimes and kept getting cut lose by liberal judges. The idea was since judges were using such bad discretion the voters decided to take that discretion away from the judges.

 

[pallander]

>The LAWYERS are the ones running the show, and if crime was actually stopped, they'd be out of their nice jobs...can't have that. Lawyers invent new technicalities to get people off daily. Lastly, prison doesn't work. We don't have the space in the prisons, the people to staff them, or the money to keep them operational...especially not with population (and therefore crime) increasing.
>>>

Come to think of OJ.Simpsson?How could he get free,from what I heard it was no doubt he did it.....as you said,lawyers runs the show....

 

[Jimbo]

<< Come to think of OJ.Simpsson?How could he get free,from what I heard it was no doubt he did it.....as you said,lawyers runs the show.... >>



Ahh... OJ

A few reasons:
1. Incompetent prosecution
2. Very competent defense team
3. A mostly black jury that ignored a lot of evidence because they were never going to convict a famous black man
4. A judge that cared more about looking good in front of a camera rather than running his courtroom

 

[Linflas]

<< You have to keep in mind the climate when that law was passed. It was just after (within a year) of the Polly Klass kidnapping and murder. Richard Allan Davis (Polly's killer) was in and out of jail for much of his life for some pretty heinous crimes and kept getting cut lose by liberal judges. The idea was since judges were using such bad discretion the voters decided to take that discretion away from the judges. >>


Laws made in the heat of the moment are often the worst. The sad thing is that the entire system that has evolved in the US over the past 100 years seems rigged to not get much of anything done. We allow open manipulation of the jury pool by both sides so as to ensure that 12 dunder heads are chosen. Plea bargaining is routine to speed the system up. Prosecutors and defense attorneys see high profile cases as a way to make a name for themselves and justice be damned. I suspect even with the 3 strike rule in place carreer criminals like Richard Davis can still manipilate the system and get back on the street.

 

[Amused]

<<

<< Come to think of OJ.Simpsson?How could he get free,from what I heard it was no doubt he did it.....as you said,lawyers runs the show.... >>



Ahh... OJ

A few reasons:
1. Incompetent prosecution
2. Very competent defense team
3. A mostly black jury that ignored a lot of evidence because they were never going to convict a famous black man
4. A judge that cared more about looking good in front of a camera rather than running his courtroom >>



The first and fatal error made by the DA was to move the trial out of Santa Monica. Every error after that was just icing on the cake for the defense.

 

[Jimbo]

<< I suspect even with the 3 strike rule in place carreer criminals like Richard Davis can still manipilate the system and get back on the street. >>

If you are a hard core bad boy like Richard A. Davis, you're going down these days in California. It's the people that got poped twice for burglary twenty years ago then get a misdemeanor, like stealing a hammer at the hardware store, that also suck on the full weight of the statute.

 

[Jimbo]

<< The first and fatal error made by the DA was to move the trial out of Santa Monica. >>


I heard that too. I recently heard from a lawyer that practices in that area that was a legitimate procedural reason for it being downtown. I forget what that reason was though.

EDIT: spelling

 

[pallander]

>The LAWYERS are the ones running the show, and if crime was actually stopped, they'd be out of their nice jobs...can't have that. Lawyers invent new technicalities to get people off daily. Lastly, prison doesn't work. We don't have the space in the prisons, the people to staff them, or the money to keep them operational...especially not with population (and therefore crime) increasing.
>
Whats wrong with soceity when crimes increasing all the time.Unemployment and drugs might be one good reason.

 

[Hubris]

<< True. I'm a pretty law and order guy, but the 25-Life on a pizza slice rap seems a bit over the top. >>



Man, that's one way to impress your fellow inmates. Nothing says back off, I'm a badass than pizza thievery.

 

[flavio]

Do you think that they picked the number 3 so it would fit the baseball analogy more than any real reason?

 

[pallander]

>Do you think that they picked the number 3 so it would fit the baseball analogy more than any real reason?
>>
hehe maybe..or they though.
1umb
2umber
3umbest and shouldnt move freely..

 

[Jimbo]

<< Unemployment and drugs might be one good reason. >>

Recently there seems to be some good evidence that somewhat dissociates the connections between crime and poverty. I will find some links later but basically it comes down to an association between education level (not dropping out before high school) and how bad a job your parents did in raising you. In short, you have generational poverty mostly due to the fact your family is a piece of sh*t and their resulting offspring are of poor moral character as well, and go off to commit crimes just like mom and dad. Most poor people are NOT criminals. Most scumbags ARE poor. They same flawed decision-making skills that make you poor are the same ones that make you commit crime. It seems that crime is swinging back to being viewed as a moral issue and not so much as a process of being victimized by society.

 

[mastertech01]

I know here in Oklahoma, I see people released from prison often after only serving 2 years of 10... OFTEN. Prisons are so overcrowded that they get out easy a great many times. I believe that was the main reason for the 3 strikes rule. Often a prisoner is released early only to commit another crime sometimes far worse than the first. And again and again. Simply because there isnt enough prison space for all the criminals. Granted, some people are given harsh sentences that do not match the crime, but usually the actual time served is negligable in comparison to the actual sentence.