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New Orleans man locked up nearly 8 years awaiting trial, then case gets tossed

theadvocate.com

41–50 of 119 posts

Re: New Orleans man locked up nearly 8 years awaiting trial, then case gets tossed

#41
post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm pretty confident he's not suggesting a rapid death-penalty for drug-offenders

There is a middle ground here, folks. Legalize some less-addictive and -harmful drugs like marijuana. Legalize possession of small quantities of others. Get rid of three strikes laws. It's not easy, but we can work toward a compromise that recognizes both that drug use can cause harm to society, and that it often does not. We can punish people who push opioids, while leaving harmless users alone.

No matter which way you look at it, drug policy enforcement causes more harm and costs more dollars than the problem it purports to alleviate. Take a look at Portugal where all drug possession was decriminalized and drug-related crime went down.

This is not a complicated problem, the solution is clear and well documented. The only obstacle is multi billion dollar sector that exists only because of the prohibitive drug policy. That sector won't just dissolve without putting up a fight.

Re: New Orleans man locked up nearly 8 years awaiting trial, then case gets tossed

#42
post #15
post #5

While I agree it's unconstitutional to park someone in jail for eight years without bail or a trial, this particular guy is probably ecstatic at how it all worked out: >As a parolee with a previous drug charge to his name, Smith was looking at a sentence of 20 years to life if convicted as a habitual offender, according to one of his lawyers.

Uhhh what ever happened to Innocent until proven guilty? The case never went to trial so he was never even proved as guilty - for all you know he could be completely innocent regardless of his past convictions.

That's all true. I'm playing the odds here - it's likely he was guilty, and even if he was innocent it's always possible he would have been found guilty anyway. Especially on a drug charge.

Re: New Orleans man locked up nearly 8 years awaiting trial, then case gets tossed

#43
post #36
post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Even the most invasive surveillance system is more humane that the US prison system. They don't have the easy access to guns that we don't want to get rid of in the US. I've asked a few people this question: "If it could be so that you were allowed to kill anyone, anywhere. Nobody will stop you. You will face no legal consequences. You just have to produce a list of no fewer than five people you would definitely ki…

There are a few criminals who are completely out of reach. Whether that's physiatric lock up or prison depends I guess. But most criminals, even most murders aren't out of reach. Note: I'm not proposing that there need not be control initially. Merely that we need to be better at giving up control over time. And yes, you'll find exceptions.

I mostly agree with you. However, there is no incentive for justice reform. No politician has won any accolades for making prisons safer much less for reintroducing ex-convicts back into the mainstream society. However, if someone ran on that and (inevitably) when someone from a program like that goes off the rails then the politician risks their career. I'm not saying that makes it OK. I am just trying to analyze what the problem is...

I think the main problem is 1. most people just don't care about anything other than themselves and 2. they don't see of themselves in the same shoes as convicts

Re: New Orleans man locked up nearly 8 years awaiting trial, then case gets tossed

#45

There's an inmate in LA County jail who has been there 9 years awaiting trial on attempted murder. He is completely and totally institutionalized. A very nice guy but intimidating. Cops can arrest you for any reason, and if you can't make bail, then they place you in jails with convicted violent felons, some on murder trials. In LA jails, you have to be racist. Depending on your pod and program, you have special requ…

Hi, four-month felony pretrial inmate who is proudly defying recidivism here. I’m the kind of guy who thinks load balancing is a fun topic of discussion — ask anyone who knows me how incredibly unfit for jail I am — and I survived just fine. You seem to have had the shit scared out of you, and I wanted to clarify a few things for you. You don’t have to be racist to survive county. You simply stick with your race. The…

okay so woods means white people, kinsfolk means black people. But DO = ?

Re: New Orleans man locked up nearly 8 years awaiting trial, then case gets tossed

#46

There's an inmate in LA County jail who has been there 9 years awaiting trial on attempted murder. He is completely and totally institutionalized. A very nice guy but intimidating. Cops can arrest you for any reason, and if you can't make bail, then they place you in jails with convicted violent felons, some on murder trials. In LA jails, you have to be racist. Depending on your pod and program, you have special requ…

You may as well name these people, to save us the effort of digging it up

Re: New Orleans man locked up nearly 8 years awaiting trial, then case gets tossed

#48
post #44

The government should pay back-salary to anyone with a case dismissed in this manner. This would cause queue back-pressure that would focus the system on high-value targets at the front of the queue.

> The government should pay back-salary to anyone with a case dismissed in this manner.

The "government" is the taxpayers, basically. I'd rather have all folks involved in ruining that man's life being sued like they should, and having to repay him for the opportunity loss. Taxpayers represent an infinite pocket to steal from, but private citizens don't have as much resources and should be held responsible for their decisions.

Re: New Orleans man locked up nearly 8 years awaiting trial, then case gets tossed

#49
post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hi, four-month felony pretrial inmate who is proudly defying recidivism here. I’m the kind of guy who thinks load balancing is a fun topic of discussion — ask anyone who knows me how incredibly unfit for jail I am — and I survived just fine. You seem to have had the shit scared out of you, and I wanted to clarify a few things for you. You don’t have to be racist to survive county. You simply stick with your race. The…

okay so woods means white people, kinsfolk means black people. But DO = ?

Detention Officer, I think.

Re: New Orleans man locked up nearly 8 years awaiting trial, then case gets tossed

#50
Sadly, this is common in India. In India there are people in jail for decades, without even a trial[1].

There are just 15 judges per million people in India as compared to around 110 judges per million in US.

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[1] http://www.hindustantimes.com/india/38-years-in-jail-without...

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