Halls of Shrewd'm / US Policy
No. of Recommendations: 4
This is messed up. It's more "state policy" and "US policy", but close enough (I would think).
You can spend the rest of your life in prison for murder, even if you didn't actually kill anyone. Every other civilized nation has rescinded this sort of law, but we -apparently- doubled-down on them. IMO, it's insane. It certainly isn't 'justice'.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y93ljB7sfco(John Oliver)
No. of Recommendations: 1
Yeah good point, that's wild that you can risk spending life in prison for felony murder even if you don't actually kill the victim but someone else did.
That's why I am very careful not to aid abet assist or conspire with murdered, rappers, robbers,drug dealers, and bad people in general.
Safest way to avoid being convicted of felony murder is don't be a criminal and don't consider with criminals especially violent criminals.
I know that.more or less disqualifies me from being a Democrat so I'm not one.
No. of Recommendations: 3
If you watched the video, one guy loaned his car keys to a friend. The friend then drove (with cohorts) to rob a place, and someone ended up dying. It sounds like the guy who loaned his car was asleep at that time of the crime.
He doesn't deserve 50 years in prison (or whatever his sentence was). That's just stupid. Having poor taste in roommates should be a felony.
No. of Recommendations: 0
I didn't watch the whole video because Oliver was actually using the issue for humor purposes.
But Ryan Holle (the guy you are talking about) according to his wikipedia entry, apparently gave statements to the police indicating he had prior knowledge of the others' intention to use the car to go commit a burglary. And he had to have known his four "buddies" were dirt bags in general. He also said he was drunk when he lent the his car and and thought the others were joking about it. Of course he could be expected to say that.
Rick Scott a very conservative governor thought the sentence was unjust and subsequently commuted it.
Regardless of the general merit of the concept of felony murder, and I understand what your point is, my point still stands:
Don't hang out with a-holes, don't drink with a-holes, don't lend your car to a-holes.
The prosecution had even offered him a plea bargain prior to trial and he refused to take it (I think it said 10 years).
His trial was only one day long which is telling me he probably had a public defender who really didn't do anything for him.
Although I understand the reservations with felony murder, basically, I'm more concerned with the victims/potential victims welfare than the participants. The fact that even Rick Scott thought it was an unjust outcome pretty much convinces me your point is valid though.
No. of Recommendations: 11
but we -apparently- doubled-down on them. IMO, it's insane. It certainly isn't 'justice'.
I have offered, over the years, the US adheres to a puritanical punishment oriented culture. We often hear of "zero tolerance" policies, and calls for extreme sentences, even for non-violent crimes.
The US is one of relatively few countries that still has a death penalty. iirc, all the other countries that have a death penalty are corrupt, repressive, dictatorships.
Steve
No. of Recommendations: 4
all the other countries that have a death penalty are corrupt, repressive, dictatorships.
No. Japan, Singapore, and Taiwan have the death penalty. Although the UK thinks Singapore is a benign dictatorship.
I'm not for the death penalty, but not because I don't recognize the state should be able to take a life, I just think we do a bad job of it and kill innocents.
