USA har et utbredt system med privatdrevne fenglser. Dette er milliardindustri som endel mennesker tjener uhorvelige summer på. De samme gruppene er sterke lobbyister for slike drakoniske strafferegler som dette hvor man kan få strengere straff enn Breivik risikerer for å naske en pakke tyggegummi (hvis de i løpet av livet har gjort et par andre ting), og øser milde gaver over politikere som støtter slike lover som dette.
Da er det faktisk mer humant med de strengeste sharialover der de nøyer seg med å amputere en hånd for slikt, og la folk fortsette med sine liv. De statene i USA som gjennomfører disse straffene har noe av det mest motbydelige straffesystem i verden i dag. Det finnes sikkert eksempler på folk som har fortjent sin straff, men dette er mer eller mindre som å shanghaie folk for å tjene seg rik på å holde dem fanget i årtier. Helt sinnsykt, og det forundrer meg ikke en smule at det finnes Frp-ere med våte drømmer om det samme systemet i Norge. :-\
Hvor forbannet groteskt dette systemet er kan man få en smakebit av her:
Some unusual scenarios have arisen, particularly in California the state punishes shoplifting and similar crimes involving under $400 in property as felony petty theft if the person who committed the crime has a prior conviction for any form of theft, including robbery or burglary. As a result, some defendants have been given sentences of 25 years to life in prison for such crimes as shoplifting golf clubs (Gary Ewing, previous strikes for burglary and robbery with a knife), or, along with a violent assault, a slice of pepperoni pizza from a group of children (Jerry Dewayne Williams, previous convictions for robbery and attempted robbery, sentence later reduced to six years). In Rummel v. Estelle (1980), the Supreme Court upheld life with possible parole for a third-strike fraud felony in Texas, which arose from a refusal to repay $120.75 paid for air conditioning repair that was subsequently considered unsatisfactory. Rummel was released a few months later, after pleading guilty.
In California, first and second strikes are counted by individual charges, rather than individual cases, so a defendant may have been charged and convicted of "first and second strikes", potentially many more than two such strikes, arising from a single case, even one that was disposed of prior to the passage of the law. Convictions from all 50 states and the federal courts at any point in the defendant's past, as well as juvenile offenses that would otherwise be sealed can be counted (although once a juvenile record is sealed, it cannot be "unsealed"; it does not exist any longer and there is no longer any record to be used as a prior conviction), regardless of the date of offense or conviction or whether the conviction was the result of a plea bargain. It is up to the prosecutor's discretion how many charges to levy against a defendant for a single criminal event.
Defendants already convicted of two or more "strike" charges arising from one single case potentially years in the past, even if the defendant was a juvenile at the time, can be and have been charged and convicted with a third strike for any felony or any offense that could be charged as a felony (including "felony petty theft" or possession of a controlled substance prior to Proposition 36 (see below)) and given 25 years to life. (In the California Supreme Court decision People vs. Garcia, 1999, the Court withdrew residential burglary from the juvenile strike list. For a juvenile residential burglary to count it must also be adjudicated in combination with another felony such as armed robbery, which is a strike. Out of the over 43,000 second and third strikers in California prisons today, none has received a prior strike for residential burglary as a juvenile.)
It is possible for a defendant to be charged and convicted with multiple "third strikes" (technically third and fourth strikes) in a single case. It is also possible for multiple "third" strikes to arise from a single criminal act (or omission). As a result, a defendant may then be given two separate sentences that run consecutively,[13] which can make for a sentence of 50 (or 75, or 100) years to life. 50 years to life was the actual sentence given to Leandro Andrade (more information below).
In turn, as a result of all these factors, three strikes sentences have prompted harsh criticism not only within the United States but from outside the country as well. Within California, criticism has come from organizations such as Families to Amend California's Three Strikes (FACTS). On a practical level, the Stanford Law School Three Strikes Project is working to reverse life sentences imposed for non-violent, minor felonies. Enforcement of the provision differs from county to county in California. For instance, current Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley does not pursue third strike convictions against offenders whose felony is non-violent or non-serious in nature.
Et eksempel fra virkeligheten:
Santos Reyes in California committed a burglary as a juvenile with no jury trial (strike one); the second strike was a robbery which didn't involve injury to anybody; after ten years had passed without incident, Reyes was convicted of cheating on a driver's test and, as a result of the three strikes law, he was sentenced to 26 years to life.
Gubra skrev:
Jeg slutter aldri å forundre meg over de som synes mer synd på gjerningsmannen enn offeret..........
