This is the type of prosecutorial insanity that has helped create the largest prison system in the world. Prosecutors routinely stack up charges so that they have a massive amount of leverage in plea bargaining to get exactly what they want from the start with no compromise.<p>Accidentally bounce a check? That's a bad check charge, another charge for theft by unlawful taking (is there theft by LAWFUL taking?), another charge for theft by deception (is there theft by honesty?), theft of services if it was for a service or possibly retail theft if it was for goods at a store. All because your check at the local grocery store didn't clear because the deposit you made took an extra day to process. Now you're on the hook for the $200, and $1000+ in legal costs fines, etc. Because the prosecutor doesn't want to waste time in a trial, he offers you to plead down to just two of those charges, which by all rights all you should really have to face is the bad check charge to start with. Now you understand why 1 in 32 people is dealing with prison, jail, or probation in America.<p>Source: <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=Lf0TCgAAQBAJ&lpg=PA48&ots=SAJ98Z_WX-&dq=6.7%20Million%20in%20prison%2C%20on%20parole%20or%20probation&pg=PA48#v=onepage&q&f=false" rel="nofollow">https://books.google.com/books?id=Lf0TCgAAQBAJ&lpg=PA48&ots=...</a>
Much as I am generally against the War On Some Drugs and particularly the crazy sentences meted out for nonviolent offenders, I'm feeling a bit of devil's advocate on this one.<p>The title tries to paint her as a ordinary user, but it sounds like she was actually a mid-level dealer, or at least some kind of participant in a drug ring. And who carried a gun while making deals. Who entered the business hoping to make even more money than the hair salon, burger joint, and restaurant she started with unknown degrees of success, according to the article. It also sounds like she managed to get hit with a particularly bad set of federal sentence enhancements - maybe she got into this without the right kind of help telling her what to do to minimize sentences given arrest in the current legal climate.<p>I tend to feel the most sympathy for the end-users who get huge sentences for simple possession of modest, personal-use amounts of drugs, particularly when they're addicted. It's much harder to feel sympathy for those who enter a highly illegal market looking to make big money. Yeah, prohibition is kinda bullshit, but as long as we're stuck with it, remember that the reason the prohibited market is so profitable is that you risk doing hard time if you get caught, and enforcement is aggressive and vigorous. You wanna make that money, I don't hate you for it, but don't ask me to cry for you when you get busted.
> "In light of the law and the guidelines and what the court heard during the trial, I know Judge Solis followed the law. He's a very fair man."<p>This is where the rubber meets the road. We all need to think about what type of world we want to help build.<p>Maybe someday you will wield a small amount of power in some situation, and it will be very clear what you are expected to do, and you will have the burden, opportunity, privilege, honor, to refuse to be a part of it. That you will not put bricks in place to make the world worse, that you will defy expectations and put bricks where they actually belong.
No matter how much of an outlier each one of these cases is, this is fucking tragic. Life in prison was harsh for the Ulbricht case, she had a single count.
This isn't justice, isn't efficient, hasn't been effective and isn't economical either. It's good to see a small ray of sense being brought to bear on the matter. There is still a long way to go however.
FTA: "Inside Carswell’s visiting room one recent afternoon, Jones opened the tattered blue <i>Bible</i> she brought in with her 16 years ago and turned to her daughter, Clenesha Garland. She gently pushed a strand of hair off her daughter’s forehead. They read the <i>Bible</i> together when Garland visits every couple of weeks."<p>Sometimes I wonder whether these sentencing laws are influenced by religion.
And removed from the first page down to 978th position.<p><a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/news?p=33" rel="nofollow">https://news.ycombinator.com/news?p=33</a><p>Don't tell me this was caused by user flags, because it clearly wasn't.<p>Edit: It is completely gone now.