Life In Prison Sentences

[theinfiniteabyss84]

To go along with Steve's thread about injustices in the legal system. This article is about a killer that only spent 26 years in prison and was actually elligible for parole a few times. Its nauseating.


www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0701260176jan26,1,4673697.story?page=1

(it looks like you have to copy and paste it


~ia

[annaa]

This makes me think of an article I saw in the Daily Mail recently.
Because Britain's prisons are "over-crowded", some are being released early. That includes a paedophile convicted of several offenses who has openly admitted guilt.
Fantastic.

[airburst]

theinfiniteabyss84 said:

This article is about a killer that only spent 15 years in prison and was actually elligible for parole a few times. Its nauseating.

I wonder how many drug users were eligible for parole?

[dog]

There are many gaps in the law that need to be corrected, i agree. However, due to the immense complexity of our legal system and that 30,000 lawyers pouring out of the law schools every year in the US alone, I don't think any revision will come soon.

Our govt becomes more and more complex and complicated every year, with layer upon layer of bureaucracy added all the time.

Our choice is between A: Spending immense billions of dollars revising the US legal code, and maybe English Common Law while we're at it, or continue to construct more and more prisons.

Either way, i don't think it'll work.


I blame TV and music more than anything. Our society wouldn't have need for such a complex legal system and so many hundreds of thousands of lawyers if the popular media stopped condoning crime and making a criminal lifestyle seem so cool and glamorous.

[albetross]

I remember a story we had here where a guy was picked up by police 17 times in 18 months on different charges but still ended up back on the streets every time and now they are finally tring to put him away for good only because he shot and killed a police officer

[Sweet Pea]

we do the same thing with known corporate criminals...relatively small fine then they're right back in business doing things that hurt people and getting away with it.

[dog]

sweetpea said:

we do the same thing with known corporate criminals...relatively small fine then they're right back in business doing things that hurt people and getting away with it.

Hey, that's our justice system for you.

Cases get thrown out the window because of little bitty technicalities. I know it sucks, but that's that.

Besides, if criminals got thrown in jail the first time, then all the lawyers wouldn't have jobs and would have to actually do something productive in the economy besides wearing expensive suits and talk.

[mk2jettavr6]

i dont think life in prison is a good choice for everyone convicted to a life sentence. I have spent some time in prison (only 4 months but still) and i do believe with mental help and education, some of these people can turn there lives arround.
I myself believe also that prison isnt the right answer for all offenders, espically drug offenders, these people need help, they dont need to be locked away with people that are just going to influence them to use while in jail and not help themselves, i believe the goverment should develop more programs for drug offenders to both help them and help with overcrouding problems.

[unionjackattack86]

mk2jettavr6 said:

I myself believe also that prison isnt the right answer for all offenders, espically drug offenders, these people need help, they dont need to be locked away with people that are just going to influence them to use while in jail and not help themselves,

it was in the newspaper today that a prisoner escaped from an open gaol just so he would be transferred to a more secure gaol as he was a reformed drug addict and drugs were freely available in the open gaol hence his bid for a more secure one.

[unionjackattack86]

dog said:

I blame TV and music more than anything. Our society wouldn't have need for such a complex legal system and so many hundreds of thousands of lawyers if the popular media stopped condoning crime and making a criminal lifestyle seem so cool and glamorous.

crime has always been with us, I don't believe music nor television are responsible. In isolated incidents, it may be the cause/exacberate the situation but in general I don't think it has such an effect.