|
||||
|
Title: you don't want to go to jail here! Post by tanner on Mar 18th, 2006, 5:06pm TO THOSE OF YOU NOT FAMILIAR WITH JOE ARPAIO HE IS THE MARICOPA ARIZONA COUNTY SHERIFF AND HE KEEPS GETTING ELECTED OVER AND OVER. THIS IS ONE OF THE REASONS WHY: Sheriff Joe Arpaio (in Arizona) who created the "tent city jail": He has jail meals down to 40 cents a serving and charges the inmates for them. He stopped smoking and porno magazines in the jails. Took away their weights Cut off all but "G" movies. He started chain gangs so the inmates could do free work on county and city projects. Then he started chain gangs for women so he wouldn't get sued for discrimination. He took away cable TV until he found out there was a federal court order that required cable TV for jails. So he hooked! up the cable TV again only let in the Disney channel and the weather channel. When asked why the weather channel he replied, so they will know how hot it's gonna be while they are working on my chain gangs. He cut off coffee since it has zero nutritional value. When the inmates complained, he told them, "This isn't the Ritz/Carlton If you don't like it, don't come back." He bought Newt Gingrich' lecture series on videotape that he pipes into the jails. More on the Arizona Sheriff: With temperatures being even hotter than usual in Phoenix (116 degrees just set a new record), the Associated Press reports: About 2,000 inmates living in a barbed-wire-surrounded tent encampment at the Maricopa County Jail have been given permission to strip down to their government-issued pink boxer shorts. On Wednesday, hundreds of men wearing boxers were either curled up on their bunk beds or chatted in the tents, which reached 138 degrees inside the week before. Many were also swathed in wet, pink towels as sweat collected on their chests and dripped down to their pink socks. "It feels like we are in a furnace," said James Zanzot, an inmate who has lived in the tents for 1 year. "It's inhumane." Joe Arpaio, the tough-guy sheriff who created the tent city and long ago started making his prisoners wear pink, and eat bologna sandwiches, is not one bit sympathetic He said Wednesday that he told all of the inmates: "It's 120 degrees in Iraq and our soldiers are living in tents too, and they have to wear full battle gear, but they didn't commit any crimes, so shut your damned mouths!" Way to go, Sheriff! Maybe if all prisons were like this one there would be a lot less crime and/or repeat offenders. Criminals should be punished for their crimes - not live in luxury until it's time for their parole, only to go out and commit another crime so they can get back in to live on taxpayers money and enjoy things taxpayers can't afford to have for themselves. Sheriff Joe was just reelected Sheriff in Maricopa County, Arizona. |
||||
|
Title: Re: you don't want to go to jail here! Post by LeLimey on Mar 18th, 2006, 5:53pm We even have TV programmes about Sheriff Arpaio here.. I wish they would appoint him governor of our prison system. That man is sheer genius ;;D |
||||
|
Title: Re: you don't want to go to jail here! Post by chewy on Mar 18th, 2006, 6:24pm Quote:
No he's not. He's a politician. He knows what people want. I'd give him more credibilty if he wasn't a headline monger. |
||||
|
Title: Re: you don't want to go to jail here! Post by LeLimey on Mar 18th, 2006, 6:46pm Chewable you just contradicted yourself numpty! You said "He is a politician" then you said "He gives the people what they want" When has any flamin' politician done THAT?! ::) Sheesh! |
||||
|
Title: Re: you don't want to go to jail here! Post by chewy on Mar 18th, 2006, 6:51pm He can do it cause he has a captive audience (literally) to play with. |
||||
|
Title: Re: you don't want to go to jail here! Post by deltadarlin on Mar 18th, 2006, 6:59pm on 03/18/06 at 18:51:09, chewy wrote:
Ah, and there you have it. They are so captivated by him that most of them make it a point not to end up back in his *jail*, now don't they? There ought to be more like him, people might actually think that prison/jail is *punishment* and not some place they want to revisit any time soon. 'darlin |
||||
|
Title: Re: you don't want to go to jail here! Post by chewy on Mar 18th, 2006, 7:03pm I'mnot against his policies. I just don't like him. |
||||
|
Title: Re: you don't want to go to jail here! Post by nani on Mar 18th, 2006, 8:14pm on 03/18/06 at 19:03:00, chewy wrote:
I agree. :o He's a shameless self-promoter. I wouldn't be surprised to see that he has higher ambitions. |
||||
|
Title: Re: you don't want to go to jail here! Post by chewy on Mar 18th, 2006, 8:30pm Quote:
Couldn't have said it better. I saw on documentary awhile back that his recidivism rate is no better or worse than other countys of his size. So how well do his programs really work? Damn right he has higher ambitions. |
||||
|
Title: Re: you don't want to go to jail here! Post by mynm156 on Mar 18th, 2006, 9:54pm WOW, I wish Joe was as tough as things like this make him out to be. Unfortunatly most of what was there was exagerated. Joe has done a lot to toughin up the system and make Jail a place that you dont want to go back to. Yes he loves the lime light and takes advantage of his position. However, because of how he approaches crime he keeps getting voted into office. I have voted for him myself. MYNM156 |
||||
|
Title: Re: you don't want to go to jail here! Post by floridian on Mar 19th, 2006, 4:45am Federal law does not require that prisons have cable. In fact, the law Prohibits spending federal funds on cable, videocassettes, and other entertainment products in prisons. http://tinyurl.com/o3s8p The idea that our prisons should be without temperature controls (138 degrees F) is not tough, it is sadistic. Meals that cost only 40 cents a day is not a brilliant idea, unless you think that prisoners should be malnourished as part of their incarceration. Is your goal to beat the Turks and North Koreans and make 'American Prison' The international term for a place you don't want to be?. Frostbite and gangrene from unheated barracks and one bowl of cabbage soup a day may have been good enough for the Nazi prisons, but I'm not sure it meets the requirements of the US Constitution, which prohibits cruel and unusual punishment. Here's news from Florida's get-tough program: Quote:
|
||||
|
Title: Re: you don't want to go to jail here! Post by Jonny on Mar 19th, 2006, 4:55am on 03/19/06 at 04:45:14, floridian wrote:
And that question is directed at whom? |
||||
|
Title: Re: you don't want to go to jail here! Post by chewy on Mar 19th, 2006, 4:57am Can't smoke. Thats enough for me to stay out. |
||||
|
Title: Re: you don't want to go to jail here! Post by floridian on Mar 19th, 2006, 5:08am on 03/19/06 at 04:55:45, Jonny wrote:
Anyone who thinks that Arpaio's plan is a good idea, and people that start threads by quoting lengthy emails designed to catapult the propaganda. 8) |
||||
|
Title: Re: you don't want to go to jail here! Post by BarbaraD on Mar 19th, 2006, 10:25am Personally, I like his idea and think all prisons should be designed along this order. Prisons should be for PUNISHMENT not PAMPERING.... I think they should be self-supporting If the guy wants to be governor - let him - I don't care what his politics is... I just like his style... Of course, I'm for hanging at high noon on the public square..... Hugs BD |
||||
|
Title: Re: you don't want to go to jail here! Post by Jonny on Mar 19th, 2006, 11:19am on 03/19/06 at 05:08:43, floridian wrote:
Dont do the crime if you cant do the time. (Dont do it ;;D ) |
||||
|
Title: Re: you don't want to go to jail here! Post by medic1852 on Mar 19th, 2006, 11:22am Well the prison system is nothing more than a country club any more. The inmates have better health care than you or I. They can continue their education and get a college degree at my expense. Along with three hots and a cot. A prison should be someplace you don't want to go. Not a country club. Rodger |
||||
|
Title: Re: you don't want to go to jail here! Post by chewy on Mar 19th, 2006, 2:25pm Quote:
Really? Come on up to Mass and join the Walpole Country Club. Your perspective will change quick. I understand Rahway has a good educational system. if you can stay alive long enough to get to class. Country Clubs? Maybe the Federal system but not the state systems. |
||||
|
Title: Re: you don't want to go to jail here! Post by mynm156 on Mar 19th, 2006, 3:13pm Why shouldnt people in prison be miserable? They most likely did something to make someone else that way. There are places that are much harder on criminals than we are. I read that in Bulgaria and El Salvidor they will execute you for DUI. I wonder what their DUI rates are like?? Anway, I look past the fact that Joe basically gave the commisary and veding machines contract to his Brother and that he has rehired retired officers to civilian positons paying them HUGE amounts of money from the county while they are collecting thier county retirement. Why? Because I agree with his running of the jail. Now the Live cam from the womens facility was a mistake. You see it was found that the cam caught women inmates changing clothes. DUH! Oh well GO JOE!! KEEP IT UP! |
||||
|
Title: Re: you don't want to go to jail here! Post by chewy on Mar 19th, 2006, 3:21pm I'm wondering how many of you who think that prison, or jail, is such a wonderful place have ever lived, visited, or worked in one ? |
||||
|
Title: Re: you don't want to go to jail here! Post by medic1852 on Mar 19th, 2006, 3:30pm on 03/19/06 at 15:21:33, chewy wrote:
Well if picking up prisoners in an ambulance counts as working or taking prisoners to the brig while in the military counts then yes. Both federal and state and local... Rodger |
||||
|
Title: Re: you don't want to go to jail here! Post by chewy on Mar 19th, 2006, 3:51pm Quote:
Sure it does. Those guys look fat, happy and content to you? Probably not. Think they would bolt out the back of your wagon if they could so as to not go back? Bet they would. Quote:
Got a link? 8) |
||||
|
Title: Re: you don't want to go to jail here! Post by mynm156 on Mar 19th, 2006, 4:11pm on 03/19/06 at 15:51:29, chewy wrote:
They had to turn it off. Inmates filed a law suit. The presmis was to make so they could be witnessed in jail. Just not NAKED in Jail. hahahaha |
||||
|
Title: Re: you don't want to go to jail here! Post by ShariRae on Mar 19th, 2006, 4:26pm Although I didn't post it here,last year I was assaulted by a guy as I was getting into my car.I punched,screamed..and kicked him in the crotch..HARD..as he took off..I called the cops on my cell & told him which was he was going & what he was wearing..and how bad he was limping (snicker). When they caught up to him & arrested him his only comment was "Cool..3 hots & a cot..I knew I could get back in" WTF? Thats just plain wrong..and from a victims standpoint..I would love to have the incarceration program that Sheriff Joe has..maybe then that fool wouldn't have been in such a hurry to go back. |
||||
|
Title: Re: you don't want to go to jail here! Post by tanner on Mar 19th, 2006, 5:55pm Chewy, to answer your question above, yes I have had the dubious honor of visiting three state pens First Statesville outside Chicago to protest in front of the prison board the fact that Richard Speck was being treated more like an employee then a stinking mass murderer. One of his 8 victims was a family friend, and if you remember the Footage uncovered by Bill Moyer you could see how "badly" he was treated. All the cocaine he wanted, conjugal visits in his room with his boy toys and even some new breasts! Second Huntsville in Texas where my wife Linda's bad seed brother was serving time for armed robbery. Not a nice place but they did have most of the conveniences of home and a state of the art gym and of course free continuing education. He did 5 out of 15 yrs. on that one. After getting out he parleyed all the great friendships he had made into a multi-million dollar drug smuggling ring. He was partying at a hotel in Ventura, CA. one night had a few too many bottles of Dom and when the bouncer (who happened to be an off duty county cop) escorted him outside and told him to sleep in his car until he was sober enough to leave he used his Camero to pin the officer up against another car breaking both legs. Of course it was an accident, Mikes foot slipped off the clutch (three times) crippeling the young cop for life. Well for that one they sent him to San Quentin another not so pleasant place, but one in which he was allowed conjugal visits with his girlfriend, allowed to have sex in the visitors lounge so long as they were discreet about it, and had enough drugs that he would slip some to her to carry out of the prison! He did 7 out of 35yrs. for that little prank and now lives in a million dollar compound outside phoenix and spends most of his time traveling to gambling centers (vegas) etc to launder the money that was never found or taken from him! So, yes I have seen, and to Flo Ireally think we should be a little nicer to these poor guys don't you? [smiley=huh.gif] ...................tim |
||||
|
Title: Re: you don't want to go to jail here! Post by floridian on Mar 19th, 2006, 10:10pm on 03/19/06 at 17:55:22, tanner wrote:
Not arguing that all convicts are nice guys, simply that they are sentenced to a particular length of time where they lose their freedom and where society is protected from them. They are not sentenced to heat stroke, malnutrition, or other forms of abuse/punishment. Breasts for Speck is a bit over the top and unecessary in my opinion. So is the fact that millions of Americans have done jail time due to a ridiculous war on drugs. How long will it be before a clusterhead ends up in prison for seeking relief for his condition that the state deems illegal? Careful for wishing for too great of a prison hell. Quote:
|
||||
|
Title: Re: you don't want to go to jail here! Post by Charlie on Mar 20th, 2006, 4:00am "If it bleeds, it leads." Joe Arpaio is a product of this phenomenon. While the crime rate is at one of its lowest rates in 35 years, which has nothing to do with his little fiefdom, television keeps us on the edge of our seats telling us it ain't so because it sells lots of pills on TV news. This guy makes the news a couple times a year. It's pretty old news now but just as depressing. It's been awhile but he still appeals to the Beavis and Butthead idea of criminal justice. This is interesting of course but this guy has always turned my stomach. It's one of those things that is probably unconstitutional but gets a pass because it's simple...simple sells today. It has been in the news for decades and if it were as good as this guy wishes it were, it would be all over the country. This is America. If it saves a buck it gets done. It doesn't work and it just doesn't feel right....like Gitmo. Reality TV is full of depressing but sadly popular exaggerated guided tours of the worst prisons. Hard to find anything resembling these elusive country club prisons. They are rapidly becoming a thing of the past. So is the idea that we are soft on prisoners. What's happened to us? The history of entertainment, until now, has been stories of crusading lawyers defending the rights of the little guy against petty or incompetent district attorneys or police departments. There is something very unsettling about this. Charlie |
||||
|
Title: Re: you don't want to go to jail here! Post by deltadarlin on Mar 20th, 2006, 7:53am on 03/20/06 at 04:00:53, Charlie wrote:
I'm trying to figure out if I'm Beavis or butthead :-X. It does appeal to me, maybe being on the victim's side or a victim of a violent and/or criminal act changes peoples ideas about the sentencing of criminals. I remember a court case where a pedophile was sentenced to 47 months in a federal facility. The judge apologized to the court for not being able to give a harsher sentence, saying that he had to give pot dealers more time because the way the laws were written. Fight with the ones who make the laws and sentencing guidelines. That's where one of the major screwups is with jail/prison time. 45 years doesn't mean 45 years anymore. |
||||
|
Title: Re: you don't want to go to jail here! Post by maffumatt on Mar 20th, 2006, 8:23am on 03/20/06 at 04:00:53, Charlie wrote:
Most shows now seem to be centered on protecting the little guy's rights from the bad guys, the ones who murder, rape, and rob the little guy. That seems to be what the people want, to be protected, and those who do comit these crimes to pay the price. I don't think someone who smokes pot should do more time than a rapist, but the rapist shouldn't be out on the street in 6 months either, The American people have gotten tired of this and demanded change. I see nothing unsettleing about it at all. Matt |
||||
|
Title: Re: you don't want to go to jail here! Post by vig on Mar 20th, 2006, 8:25am I... I... I... I don't want to go to jail ANYWHERE! (i'm fragile) ;;D |
||||
|
Title: Re: you don't want to go to jail here! Post by chewy on Mar 20th, 2006, 8:27am (And cute) |
||||
|
Title: Re: you don't want to go to jail here! Post by Redd715 on Mar 20th, 2006, 8:41am Vig IS cute.... fragile....I'd have to argue that one, but I probably wouldn't get very far. [smiley=laugh.gif] Personally, I think far too much tax money gets wasted on far too many violent criminals, keeping them housed and fed etc. Serial killers, etc. who have stolen the lives of others negate their own personal "rights". |
||||
|
Title: Re: you don't want to go to jail here! Post by burnt-toast on Mar 20th, 2006, 9:05am I'm fed up with hearing how this and that repeat offender, released by some blind prison agency has permanently harmed or killed someone or has kidnapped, molested or tortured someone while out of parol for the umpteenth time. WTF, no more parol, no more good behavior, just hard work and public service. Most of their exercise can be on chain gangs working to clean highways or on projects that local/state/federal governments can't afford. When it's time to eat base portions on that chain gangs job performance. Exercise yards, librararies, educational opportunities, gym/weight facilities and TV should be earned privlidges by achieving all the work assigned to a given chain gang. Any internal prison behavioral problem instantly adds to a prisoner's sentence or puts a prisoner on a violent offenders chain gang. I'm not for abuse, but personally I think convicted criminals should actually pay a debt to society while serving their manditory/full sentences. Prisoners who can - should be made to understand that they must earn their way back into society. Lifer's/violent offenders - well completely seperate them in the prison population, work them in their own chain gangs and only give them lifer's/fellow violent offenders to contend with. Anyone who refuses to work will be housed in a crowed cell 24X7 with no extra privlidges outside of complimentaty free delivery of meals to your cell. Tom |
||||
|
Title: Re: you don't want to go to jail here! Post by nani on Mar 20th, 2006, 9:14am Just for the record, the jail discussed in this thread is a county jail, not a penitentiary. People there are either waiting for their trial, or are serving short sentences. One of the reasons violent offenders are getting out sooner than their sentences has much to do with the absurd minimum sentences for non violent drug offenses. There is only so much room in prisons... |
||||
|
Title: Re: you don't want to go to jail here! Post by mynm156 on Mar 20th, 2006, 9:17am on 03/20/06 at 09:05:23, burnt-toast wrote:
FORGET IT DEATH PENALTY FOR PARKING VIOLATION!! |
||||
|
Title: Re: you don't want to go to jail here! Post by imnotbub on Mar 20th, 2006, 9:20am To say that the prison system is a country club is a bit exagerated I think. Using a few bone heads that want to go back as proof that it is wonderful is like saying that people like getting strangled while having sex because a few actually do like it. I agree that the government spends way too much money on housing these animals, just as I agree that keeping a kid in jail longer for getting busted with a quater ounce of weed than the guy that gets locked up for aggravated assault is rediculous. The 'pink underware' guy is a characature. Even though his ideas have some appeal, it goes to levels that americans shouldn't tolerate. Yea, lose the cable, lose the conjical visits, lose the 'perks' that are over the top, but humane treatment should be given. Humane, though, should not mean coddled. Now, as far as three time violent offenders? They lose their rights to anything at that point. Kill'em. they have proven that they are useless as human beings and even feeding them bologna sandwiches is a waste of money. (I'm trying to figure out if I am contradicting myself here) [smiley=twocents.gif] |
||||
|
Title: Re: you don't want to go to jail here! Post by karma on Mar 20th, 2006, 9:24am The so called war on drugs is simply a lost cause. It leads to huge profite for those involved and economic dependency for some countries. Outrageous acts of violence and crimes committed either by users or dealers. With little to no affect on the availability of any illegal drug anywhere. It will not happen in our life time or even probably our childrens life time but it should all be legalized, All of it! Any one that wants to buy illegal drugs can get it anyway, anywhere, anytime as it is. That would knock the crap out of the prices, put the drug producers and the rest of the chain out of business and virtually wipe out the viloence and corruption involved in the narco biz. Along with this should be education, education, education about the affects of drugs. Interestingly, tobacco though not illegal, kills millions every year. Since the tobacco producers go smacked a couple of years ago it is estimated that tobacco use has decreased by around 50% in the U.S. and not a single arrest was made and not a single tax dollar was used. Education works! BTW you guys think the Arizona jail is tough, Thats a cake walk compared to some prisons outside the U.S. |
||||
|
Title: Re: you don't want to go to jail here! Post by burnt-toast on Mar 20th, 2006, 9:32am on 03/20/06 at 09:17:52, mynm156 wrote:
A thorough beating would be more appropriate! Reserve the death penalty for littering! [smiley=laugh.gif] Tom |
||||
|
Title: Re: you don't want to go to jail here! Post by JJA on Mar 20th, 2006, 10:23am on 03/20/06 at 09:24:29, karma wrote:
That's true, but there is no country in the world where a citizen is more likely to be in prison than "the land of the free". That's scary. Now the DEA is reaching in to Canada to take political prisoners (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/17/AR2006031701906.html). Karen Tandy (head of the DEA) admitted that the reason Marc Emery was targeted was because he funded the marijuana legalization movement in Canada. Now we want to keep him in US prisons for life for offenses that only get a fine in Canada. Jesse |
||||
|
Title: Re: you don't want to go to jail here! Post by karma on Mar 20th, 2006, 10:37am Quote:
Quote:
I wouldn't call it scary, more like misquided priorities. |
||||
|
Title: Re: you don't want to go to jail here! Post by tanner on Mar 20th, 2006, 11:06am Quote:
very misguided...............tim |
||||
|
Title: Re: you don't want to go to jail here! Post by Kevin_M on Mar 20th, 2006, 1:30pm Back in my pool playing days, an intimate friend defended me in a serious drug case in 1995 but had previously argued a landmark case before the U.S. Supreme Court against mandatory life for possession of 650 grams, losing 5-4. Here she writes an article about a friend and defendant upon his passing. By Carla Johnson, Esq. EDITOR’S NOTE: U.S. v. Harmelin, decided in 1991, is a landmark U.S. Supreme Court case that tested whether a life sentence for possession of cocaine is cruel and unusual punishment. The court ruled 5-4 against the defendant and consequently snuffed out future Eighth Amendment challenges to mandatory sentences. Sadly, Ronald Harmelin died on November 4, just five months after his release. Attorney Carla Johnson remembers her client and friend, Ronald Harmelin in the following memorial. I met Ronnie Harmelin in the 70s in Detroit. We both played pool and he was the deskman at a poolroom in Oak Park. At that time, a lot of the best champion pool players came to Oak Park to play each other, so there was always an exciting game to watch. Many of the players that you now see on ESPN were regulars at the Oak Park Rack ‘n Cue. Ronnie was born in 1945 in Pennsylvania. He grew up in New Jersey, where he graduated from high school and joined the US Air Force. He was in the Honor Guard of the Air Force, and can be seen standing at attention in film clips of John F. Kennedy’s funeral procession. When Ronnie got out of the service, he moved to Florida and worked for a roofing company for a while. He became interested in playing pool, moved to Detroit and took a job in the pool room there. He was always friendly and everybody liked him. In the spring of 1986, Ronnie was arrested with 670 grams of cocaine in the trunk of his car. He was charged with possession of over 650 grams, a crime that at the time carried a mandatory sentence of life in prison with no parole. The FBI wanted him to become a cooperating witness but Ronnie refused. I think at the time he was in shock, and didn’t really believe what was happening to him. But he also said that he didn’t think it was right to co-operate against others in order to get your own sentence reduced. Ronnie was convicted in Oakland County and sentenced to life in prison with no parole. I represented him on appeal to the Court of Appeals, arguing that the search of his vehicle was illegal, he received ineffective assistance of counsel at trial, and that his sentence of life without parole for mere possession of cocaine was cruel and/or unusual punishment. The Court of Appeal reversed the case, but our victory was short-lived, as the prosecutor moved for a rehearing and the Court of Appeals quickly reversed itself. We appealed to the Michigan Supreme Court, to no avail. My law partner at the time, James S.Lawrence, advised me to file a Petition for Writ of Certiorari to the U.S. Supreme Court. Ronnie had no money, so we filed a Petition in Forma Pauperis. Jim said we would get a one-page denial in 30 days. Instead, the Court granted the writ, and we spent the summer writing the brief. When the petition was granted, Justice Brennan was on the Court, but before the oral argument, he retired and was replaced by Justice Souter. Oral argument was in October. The Michigan State Appellate Defenders gave me a lot of support, including mock arguments, and Attorney Derrick Carter and Judge David Breck from Oakland County came to Washington D.C. for the argument. The court held that mere possession of 650 grams of cocaine for a first time non-violent offender might be cruel but it wasn’t unusual. Therefore the sentence did not violate the U.S. Constitution. However, the Michigan Constitution prohibits cruel or unusual punishment, so the next time the Michigan Supreme Court addressed the issue, in a case argued by Attorney Dan Manville, the Court held that the statute did violate the Michigan Constitution. Ronnie’s sentence was changed to life with the possibility of parole. After serving 13 years in prison, Ronnie was granted a parole hearing. I brought witnesses who had visited Ronnie in prison over the years, to testify to his good character. The Oakland County Prosecutor showed up and argued aboutwhat a terrible guy he was. But the parole board granted Ronnie’s parole, so after 13 years, he was a free man. In July of 2000, Ronnie moved in with close friends Tommy and Nora Avers and their children, in a small town in eastern Michigan. Tommy had been a friend of Ronnie’s back in his pool playing days, but now was a staunch advocate of AA and NA, and attended meetings regularly. He got Ronnie a job working construction, and took him to AA and NA meetings. con't |
||||
|
Title: Re: you don't want to go to jail here! Post by Kevin_M on Mar 20th, 2006, 1:30pm I talked to Ronnie on the phone quite often. He was amazed at the changes that had taken place while he was incarcerated. The maze of freeways, the cars, the cellphones and computers were all new to him. He was so happy to be free and back in the world. He hoped that after he successfully completed his parole, he could move to Los Angeles and work with me as an assistant on criminal appeals. In October 2000, Ronnie became ill. The doctors thought he had pneumonia and gave him antibiotics. Finally he was admitted to a hospital. After five days in the hospital, he had a heart attack and died on November 4. He had been locked up for 13 years and free for less than five months. Tommy and Nora arranged a funeral service, which was attended by over a 100 people, old friends, relatives, and pool players. Because of his duty in the honor guard, the Pentagon sent an American flag signed by the president in his honor. We will miss him. -------- |
||||
|
Title: Re: you don't want to go to jail here! Post by nani on Mar 20th, 2006, 1:44pm What a sad story, and a terrible waste. :-/ |
||||
|
Title: Re: you don't want to go to jail here! Post by tanner on Mar 20th, 2006, 2:09pm Hey Kevin, 13 yrs for a first time coke bust and my scumbag brother-in-law does 7 out of a max 35 for a second offense violent crime! But then he had lots of friends with lots of drug money to help grease the skids although the state of CA said he was released for good behavior. .....something is very wrong with this whole picture >:( .........tim |
||||
|
Title: Re: you don't want to go to jail here! Post by Kevin_M on Mar 20th, 2006, 2:53pm It was nice to see Carla do everything she possibly could for him knowing the circumstances, perhaps labeled a neighborhood mule situation, set to allow an exchange from his car of that amount, Ronnie being neither buyer nor seller. |
||||
|
Title: Re: you don't want to go to jail here! Post by mynm156 on Mar 20th, 2006, 3:28pm on 03/20/06 at 09:32:48, burnt-toast wrote:
OK I'll go for that. Let it not be said that I am not a merciful. |
||||
|
Title: Re: you don't want to go to jail here! Post by Charlie on Mar 20th, 2006, 3:32pm Quote:
What I find unsettling is that there are no Alfred Hitchcocks (miscarriages of justice was one of his babies; and not just in movies; it scared him all his life) out there producing these kinds of stories as major entertainment. Shows that have crusader jurists as protagonists are rare today. I feel better when miscarriages of justice are at least admitted possibilities. It's important to me to show it when the law makes mistakes. It bothers me that there are so few Perry Masons, Abraham Lincoln Jones's, and shows like "The Defenders, and "Run For Your Life." To me, these were classic entertainments. I miss this end of the spectrum. "Murder She Wrote" and things like "Diagnosis Murder," sometimes used it but not as central themes. Even Sherlock Holmes stories have it as major story lines. There is a harsh edge to television crime stories today. I'm not sure it's healthy. It certainly caters to those who see things only as black and white. I will never understand prosecutors unwilling to admit mistakes that are so obvious that everyone sees it. To me, that is criminal. I guess it goes with a society that strips judges of their right to judge when sentencing. Some have retired because of it. Things are not the same in the majority of cases. Mandatory sentences are a terrible result of lock 'em up and throw away the key politics. They win at the expense of the America I used to know. Americans seem to think that perfection is attainable. It isn't. There is one area that harsh sentences seems to be the only answer and that is rape and molestation. It's more than a crime; its definitely pathological. There is little you can do other than keep them out of the population. Even castration doesn't work. It's more than that. Charlie |
||||
|
Title: Re: you don't want to go to jail here! Post by Charlotte on Mar 20th, 2006, 3:50pm Seriously, our justice system is blind and lopsided. Lightheartedly - no coffee and you have to listen to Newt Gingerich...... |
||||
|
Title: Re: you don't want to go to jail here! Post by Dragnlance on Mar 22nd, 2006, 9:48am Public caning with split bamboo, just like Taiwan. The smart ones will do crime just once, the dumb ones will end up with lots of scars. ;;D |
||||
|
Clusterheadaches.com Message Board » Powered by YaBB 1 Gold - SP 1.3.1! YaBB © 2000-2003. All Rights Reserved. |