A prison story from a different perspective

[Warthog]

http://www.cnn.com/2002/US/07/11/lif...eut/index.html

The story I read was from a Cali. newspaper (I read it here, in a Vermont paper) and was much better written...but CNN gives you the idea.

I find it sad that the judge competely ignored the man's pleas and basically was responsible for his death (ultimately and indirectly), IMO. It's too bad

In the article I read.....Murderers and drug dealers all respected him and looked out for him. Guards let him make outside phone calls to order his meds and made sure he took all 4 each day...inmates would let him use their prized television priviledges so he could watch the news....on his last day, many of the guards and inmates came by his cell to say goodbye to him. The guards wouldn't even handcuff him when they would transport him to court appearances.

I have to admit, his request was odd but we support hundreds of thousands of prisoners all over the nation, what's one more....he would have probably died in less than a year anyway. He had told people after his release that he might violate his parole so he could go back in...

Warthog

[skuz]

Reminds me of the old prisoner in Shawshank's Redemption.

I read he fell off a cliff-accident or suicide?
Who knows?
But at 92 he had lived his life.

[BobViper]

ALOHA

Dubbed "Pops" at the Butte County Jail, Russell had spent 426 days behind bars for stabbing his 70-year-old landlord in April 2001 -- the only time he ever broke the law.

Iwould have kept him behind bars for a different reason~

"stabbing his 70-year-old landlord"

Only 1yr + 61 day for stabbing someone!Did the landlord die\major injury ?

Maybe he would just STAB someone at the bus stop to get back into jail!!!!!!........

ALOHA

[Mr. Goodbytes]

Why in God's name are we taught to have sympathy for criminals? Whenever there is national media attention for some murder or series of them, some networks always do some stupid piece on "getting inside the mind of the killer." They want to tell us how screwed up and hopeless the criminal's life was, so that we feel sorry for him/her. "Oh, his parents beat and raped him and smoked too much crack. He came from the inner-city and couldn't coexist in a world where racism rages on. Any time he tried to do good, fate threw him a curveball, and life just screwed him over again." Ooooh, my favorite: "Society failed him." translated: "You people, you slobs and cold-hearted ultra-rich pukes, failed him." Too often we are told that it's not entirely the criminal's fault that he pulled the trigger, especially if it's a youth; it's always something else to blame.

Well, I say forget that. Hold them accountable, and punish them swiftly and severely, especially repeat offenders. In a perfect world where "men are angels, and angels are men," we wouldn't need such harsh penalties because people wouldn't commit crimes on the belief that it's wrong to do so. But men certainly aren't angels, so they need other reasons not to commit crimes, such as a mortal fear of the penalty that will follow.

People who kill others, or attempt to and simply fail, are not just mixed up. They cease to be useful to society and should either be put to death or locked away in substandard (in terms of comfort) conditions where the only things that are assured are clean quarters and linens, food and water, other means of staying healthy, should they choose to take advantage of them, and occasional outdoor or reading time.

Prisoners do not deserve the same rights accorded to law-abiding citizens. They do not need lawyers anymore if they have received a fair trial and have been found guilty. There are cases when that doesn't happen, but those are the exception, not the rule. Prisoners do not need the right to sue if they don't like the brand of toilet paper, or if they want the luxuries they might have on the outside. Prison is for punishment, nothing more. You do the crime; you do the time.

*edited for spelling

[originel]

especially repeat offenders

the article said that this was his first ever violation, so that doesn't apply to him. i was kinda wondering about the fact that he only stayed 465 (or however many) days, not more, but i think that's beside the point. i do feel sorry for him. i believe everyone should be held accountable for their actions, but at the same time i also believe that environment also shapes a person, i've seen soo much evidence of this in my own life. if someone lives a lonely deperate life, they might go to lengthier extremes to "get out of a scrape". ex. if you and your family were starving and you had no money, would you steal some food if the opportunity arose?

EDIT: this really reminded me of Brooks from Shawshanke