That begs the question; how is he supporting his habit? Legally or illegally?Quote:
Originally Posted by TR675
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That begs the question; how is he supporting his habit? Legally or illegally?Quote:
Originally Posted by TR675
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I agree, 10 yrs would be better.Quote:
Originally Posted by TR675
We should abandon the idea that prison is for rehab or punishment, but is rather for the well-being of society: we should lock criminals up for long stretches so our society can operate normally without worrying about random meth/heroin users stealing, shoplifting, burglarizing, raping, murdering, etc. If someone who isn't "going to win any good citizen awards" keeps ending up in handcuffs, its time to move on. Just lock them up for any minor offense you happen to catch him on and don't let him out until he's too old and feeble to be a threat to anyone. I have yet to catch someone in possession of stolen property that didn't also have a meth or heroin problem, and every time I take a burg report where some nice old lady's family heirloom jewelry was stolen from her bedroom during a burg that occurred while she was at church I lose a little more of what meager sympathy I have for addicts. That loss accelerates when the poor old lady is crying because that jewelry was the only tie she had left to family members that had passed away.
As far as the prosecutor taking a "dislike" to your client: good. We need more of that. I don't even know your client and I don't like him either. The prosecutor recognizes the suspect for the dirtbag he is. That prosecutor, his family, or the families of any good people shouldn't have to worry about becoming victims of crime because some douchebag addict has poor impulse control.
Five years wasn't enough and never will be.
He's probably getting his life back together after prison...just holding it for a friend...you know.Quote:
Originally Posted by Exiledviking
I guess I just have zero fucks left to give for low level users/dealers.
We had two, caught in the act burglars get sentenced to nine months in the COUNTY jail because it was more actual time to serve than they would have served had they been given a sentence that would have sent them to state prison.
For those unaware, at least in this state, misdemeanor crimes are those punishable by up to 12 months confinement with those sentences being served in the county jail whereas felonies are those crimes punishable by more than 12 months in prison with those sentences being served in a state prison.
We are seeing serious offenses in which the guidelines call for 60% of the actual sentence; so, a 10-year sentence is really only a 6-year sentence.
People don't go to PRISON for simple possession of drugs. They may go to jail, but not PRISON.
We work drug cases because that's how we catch burglars and thieves and solve other crimes. Drugs are often the common thread. Some dude sitting at home smoking a blunt doesn't even get on our radar.
My brother in law murdered his drug dealer when she threatened to out him to the school he was a teacher at.Quote:
Originally Posted by John Hearne
Broke 9 of her ribs.
Slashed her throat with a knife 7 times.
Pummeled her face into her cranium, no bone structure left supporting her normal anatomical features.
………………
6 years.
There's very obviously a split in the family between those of us who take forgiveness to the extreme, and those of us who believe in some common shred of decency, civility, and honor.
My idea of forgiveness is letting go of hatred. In your case, Gman, you can forgive this man and at the same time view him as an unworthy and sorry individual that you choose never to acknowlege or to associate with. You can forbid mention of his name in your prescence. You should be able to have it both ways: forgiveness and EXCLUSION. Please don't think that I'm preaching to you. Your family has my sympathy.
P.S. He ain't worth killing. That's a joke. ;)
So let me Lazarus this thread to contribute some new information:
https://www2.illinois.gov/idoc/repor...rt%20FINAL.pdf
Linked above is an annual report from the Illinois prison system. Of particular interest to us is the statistics on prison population broken down by category of offense that begins on page 78.
If you look at those numbers you find that 82% of their prison population is serving a sentence on something that has nothing do do with drugs with offenses ranging from homicide to DUI.
Of the people serving time for controlled substance offenses, only 0.9% of the prison population is in there for cannabis based offenses...it's a fair bet they are for something significantly higher than a dime bag. And keep in mind that the stats only show the sentence the person is currently serving with no indication of past convictions or sentences served.
Further, they list another 9,133 people currently on parole for violent offenses.
It is worth remembering that Chicago is in Illinois, and that in 2017 the Chicago PD's homicide clearance rate was 12%. The numbers are no prettier for other categories of violent crime like rape, armed robbery, or aggravated assault.
Then factor in the Bureau of Justice Statistics study in the original post and you will see that of the people currently in Illinois custody for violent crimes, the vast majority will be let out of a cage having served only a few years...where they will then be on the street again in cities with homicide clearance rates that are typically under 50%. Which means they get more chances to commit more violent crimes.
I recently read a very interesting book on this topic. "Locked In: The True Causes of Mass Incarceration and How to Achieve Real Reform" by John Pfaff has a great analysis of the how we got here. He examines the popular narrative fairly extensively and eviscerates that story neatly. The high number of drug offenders in prison is true for the Federal prison system but that only represents a small portion of prisons in the country. For state prisons, the numbers are much lower. (And Federal drug prisoners are morel likely to be high level dealers)
His conclusion is that prosecutorial trends have been the key driver in prison populations. In a nutshell, we brought on a lot of new prosecutors to deal with the rise in violent crime that ended in the 90's. As crime decreased, we kept those same number of prosecutors. This has meant that they have been able to turn their attention to lower level offenses which may have been ignored in the past.
He quotes a different source for the 1% of folks in prison for basic drug possession. Prisons filled with non-violent drug offenders is a popular view but one that does not hold up to any rigorous analysis. To quote the author: "a majority of people in prison have been convicted of violent crimes, and an even greater number have engaged in violent behavior." He also notes that while violent crime has been decreasing, it is still twice what it was in 1960.
Every day I hear on the Atlanta news about murders, home invasions, carjacking, etc. I make a long commute with the hope that my family will be safer. Over the weekend, a well respected 70+ year old gentleman was murdered in a CVS parking lot - armed robbery or carjacking gone bad - in a "safer" area north of Atlanta. The suspected killer is from Atlanta. I believe we have a crime problem that can only be solved by locking up for a long time those that make us less safe.
Damn. I’m sorry to hear that.Quote:
Originally Posted by ranger