My life after 44 years in prison

Post by [deleted] » Wed, Nov 25, 2015, 8:43 PM UTC

badloginagain wrote: post #16

leftnode wrote: post #13

Everything about this is ridiculous, but this especially so: "Johnson’s release date was originally scheduled for earlier, but he ended up serving an additional eight months at the age of 69 for a juvenile shoplifting charge he received when he was 17." How in any reasonable society is this justifiable? I re-read the sentence probably five times because I simply couldn't believe it.

I'm surprised the sentences stack, I would have expected that if you have 5 jail-terms assigned to you, you would serve until the longest one. American law sure favours punishment.

Post by askafriend » Wed, Nov 25, 2015, 8:55 PM UTC

kazinator wrote: post #14

derekp7 wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What if you turn this around -- two people punch two identical twins in the face. One twin dies from his injuries, and the person who punched him now faces at least involuntary manslaughter, whereas the other person just has a light assault charge. Should both people get charged with involuntary manslaughter, or should they both just get the lighter assault charge?

They should be treated differently because a fist is not considered a priori a deadly weapon. Punching someone isn't the use of lethal force. Death is almost certainly an unintended consequence of a punch. Whereas, by contrast, the absence of death is the unintended consequence of, say, a shooting or stabbing (in any vital area of the body). We can't go easy on an attempted murdered just because, luckily, the victim…

Post by tosseraccount » Wed, Nov 25, 2015, 8:57 PM UTC

lemevi wrote: post #10

cstross wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

His time served is actually twice as long as the average life sentence served for actual murder in the UK. (Some murderers are in for a "whole life" tariff -- ineligible for release on license -- but in general most are eligible for parole hearings after between 8 and 12 years and on average they serve roughly 20 years.) Just in case anyone was thinking that 44 years for attempted murder is a light sentence.

In Crime & Punishment Rodya only has to serve 8 years for the double axe murder of two women in the commission of a robbery. It's a fictional tale about justice in 19th century Russia, but still an interesting comparison I think of when reading about modern sentencing.

Post by newjersey » Wed, Nov 25, 2015, 9:05 PM UTC

mrec wrote: post #19

badloginagain wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm surprised the sentences stack, I would have expected that if you have 5 jail-terms assigned to you, you would serve until the longest one. American law sure favours punishment.

Once you'd committed one crime, that would remove the primary deterrent against committing more (as long as they were no more serious than the first).

Post by jlarocco » Wed, Nov 25, 2015, 9:08 PM UTC

staunch wrote: post #18

leftnode wrote: post #13

Everything about this is ridiculous, but this especially so: "Johnson’s release date was originally scheduled for earlier, but he ended up serving an additional eight months at the age of 69 for a juvenile shoplifting charge he received when he was 17." How in any reasonable society is this justifiable? I re-read the sentence probably five times because I simply couldn't believe it.

Don't forget the possibility that the reporting might be inaccurate. Did he shoot harmlessly in the air during a robbery, and then get 44 years for "attempted murder" because he's black? Or did he leave a police officer in a coma for life after torturing him for days? Or did he get 8 years for attempted murder and then commit additional crimes while in prison? We don't have enough information to know.