Fake or not?

[Lefty Scaevola]

So, you do not judge that the the peace and dignity of a human to be free of criminal force and violence/threat of it is a much higher value than keeping possession of money/investments/gold? That it is not one one worthy of higher priority and proctection in the law and more serious punishment when violated?

[Velociryx]

So, you do not judge that the the peace and dignity of a human to be free of criminal force and violence/threat of it is a much higher value than keeping possession of money/investments/gold? That it is not one one worthy of higher priority and proctection in the law and more serious punishment when violated?

I believe broadly that punishments should fit crimes.

IMO, this is not the case with either of the two examples compared.

I realize that there will be folks who disagree.

-=Vel=-

[Arrian]

Roy Brown has at least 8 prior arrests. These are everything from battery/assualt, DWI, criminal neglect of his family, fugtive status, parole violations and pot possesion.

Just for the sake of argument...

1. Assault/Battery - very bad. Conviction?
2. DWI. Bad. Relevant to the bank situation how?
3. criminal neglect of his family - what does that mean, exactly? Child endangerment or somesuch? Sounds bad... but I don't know what it is.
4. fugtive status - he ran from the cops?
5. parole violations and pot possesion - pfft.

He's no saint

No, clearly not. However, if the facts of this incident have been reported correctly, he comes across as a combination of desperate & pathetic.

I don't want this guy on the street, personally. It's pretty clear he's a mess, and has been at times a danger to others. That being said, I'm wondering if we might be able to do better than 15 yrs of prison for cases like this. Just a thought. I don't have a hard & fast position on this.

-Arrian

[rah]

Gradiations and sentencing in robbery offenses come for the type/level of threat/force/violence used, the amount stolen is irrelevant

Didn't read about much threat, no force and no violence, so based on those criterea, the punishment seems way out of line.

[-Jrabbit]

Maybe the guy just wanted a roof over his head and 3 squares a day...?

[Kuciwalker]

Guys, he ACCEPTED A PLEA DEAL. The prosecutor said "15 years?" and he said "OK".

[self biased]

yeah, who's the winner there? three hots and a cot, and he gets to tell his new friends he's in for bank robbery.

[GePap]

Any info on whether the guy was on parole at the time of the robbery?

Not knowing what the particulars of Mr. Brown's arrest were I think its hard for any of us to judge the lenght of the sentence he got, though in general, with mandatory guidelines and such too many sentences in this country are too long. The shame here is that the punishment of individuals who seriously damage the public trust by carrying out financial scams and frauds is so much more lenient than what is given to men who might commit acts that are more violent but whose effects are far less corrosive.

[MarkG]

apparently, the ammount matters...

http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/eousa/foia_reading_room/usam/title9/crm01349.htm

The maximum penalty for violation of this subsection is a fine and ten years imprisonment if the value of the property exceeds $100. The maximum penalty is a fine and one year imprisonment if the property's value is $100 or less.

[Arrian]

Guys, he ACCEPTED A PLEA DEAL. The prosecutor said "15 years?" and he said "OK".

Ah. Didn't notice that

I wonder if the public defender even bothered to suggest that he might be better off not taking the deal (and if the PD would've been wrong if he/she did that)?

-Arrian

[Velociryx]

The punishment still didn't fit the crime. Doesn't matter to me if he agreed to it (which, IMO, either says something about the quality of the legal advice he received, or his own soundness of mind, or both), or no. And he'd hardly be the first person to have been convinced to agree to a raw deal (one could argue that the war in Iraq and the current economic stimulous bill are examples of this on a national scale), and I still don't think justice was done any justice in this instance, or on the other cited in post 1 of this thread.

As Arrian hinted at in his first post on the matter...we could have done better.

-=Vel=-

[Ming]

Gee... the plea was for 15 years... what would he have gotten without the plea?

He's either crazy... or he's just tired of trying to survive on the outside and decided to give up.

[Lefty Scaevola]

Gee... the plea was for 15 years... what would he have gotten without the plea?

IF it was a third strike case, life without parole.

[BeBMan]

I expected this thread to be about boobs....

[Donegeal]

IF it was a third strike case, life without parole.

This is the key here. I think the harsh sentence is more a factor of repeat offender rather than he stole $100.

And yes, the amount taken makes a difference. Petty Theft and Larceny are determined by amount (my bad... I don't remember what the amounts are!!!).