OK, the justice business is hard. But it’s not that hard.
Why is it that so many sentences are too harsh or too lenient? How hard can it be to split the difference?
Exhibit A (I just love courtroom lingo) would be the Colorado judge who was fired after issuing an arrest warrant for a teenager with an overdue library DVD.
Wow. Put down the gavel and slowly back away.
You’d really have to be a charter member of the lock-’em-up-and-throw-away-the-key club to support something like that.
I’d hate to see what that judge would do to folks who spit on the sidewalk or parked too close to a hydrant.
Wait, let me guess: “Off with their heads!”
At the other end of the scale is the dirtbag who was arrested recently after cutting off his ankle monitor and busting parole.
This shouldn’t have been much of a surprise … because this charming fellow did the same thing in 2008 when he was on parole.
Uh, how many times do you get to cut off your ankle monitor before somebody figures out you don’t deserve parole?
And this creep was sentenced to 50 years for raping two children in 1986, so why was he even given parole in the first place?
I’d have kept him locked up until that sentence was served – in 2036.
If he wanted to cut off something else in his cell as the years went by, well, that would be his business.
Wednesday, April 07, 2010
Crime, punishment
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2 comments:
What punishment is there for, say, a president (I'm only speaking hypothetically, of course, for I'm sure this would never happen) who violated his oath to protect, oh, the Constitution or something?
Judges, juries, and parole boards need some common sense. There should be sentencing guidelines, and deviations up or down need to be clearly justified. Sometimes they are, but if the guidelines are fair and reasonable then usually they are not.
As far as the ankle-bracelet-cutting rapist goes, after 22 years anyone *could* be a changed man. If I were on the parole board I'd be looking at his life the last 5-10 years not what he did 22 years ago. However, once he exhibited poor judgment by cutting off the bracelet, he gets to wait another decade or two or until shortly before he maxes out on both the original and bracelet-cutting charges whichever comes first before I would even consider letting him go again. Fool me once....
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