3 ms·

Six months isn't a mild punishment.

eesmith 8y ago
It is a mild punishment for something which is a "obviously a very serious crime". How many other 'very serious crimes' have a maximum incarceration of only six months? How many other 'very serious crimes' are misdemeanors?
- SamReidHughes 8y ago
  Simple battery, shoplifting, petty theft, DUI.
  - eesmith 8y ago
    And littering is also a misdemeanor which in some jurisdictions have a higher penalty than illegal border crossing, according to http://www.ncsl.org/research/environment-and-natural-resources/states-with-littering-penalties.aspx http://www.ncsl.org/research/environment-and-natural-resourc... . My argument is that it's meaningless to describe all cases of illegal border crossing as a "very serious crime", because then there's no way to distinguish between the very serious crime of littering and the very serious crime of murder. Bear in mind that the term "petty theft" contains the word "petty", which means it's "less important, serious, or great than other" types of theft, quoting https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/petty https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/petty . The listed synonyms for petty are "minor, lower, junior, secondary". You are of course free to use "very serious crime" to apply to any crime, but that is not common usage. I believe most people, most of the time, would limit the term "very serious crimes" to describe felonies. For example, quoting https://criminal.findlaw.com/criminal-law-basics/classifications-of-crimes.html https://criminal.findlaw.com/criminal-law-basics/classificat... > Crimes receive different classifications according to their severity. The mildest crimes are known as infractions, more serious crimes are known as misdemeanors, and the most serious crimes are known as felonies. This would suggest that "serious crimes" might include misdemeanors and felonies, but "very serious crime" should be limited to felonies. Or from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seriousness#Measuring_degree_of_seriousness_in_crime https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seriousness#Measuring_degree_o... > A felony is generally considered to be a crime of "high seriousness", while a misdemeanor is not. I am hammering the point because I believe that describing all illegal entries as a "very serious crime" muddies the water, likely deliberately so. Why describe it using terms more appropriate for murderers than litterers?

It is a mild punishment for something which is a "obviously a very serious crime". How many other 'very serious crimes' have a maximum incarceration of only six months? How many other 'very serious crimes' are misdemeanors?

SamReidHughes 8y ago
Simple battery, shoplifting, petty theft, DUI.
- eesmith 8y ago
  And littering is also a misdemeanor which in some jurisdictions have a higher penalty than illegal border crossing, according to http://www.ncsl.org/research/environment-and-natural-resources/states-with-littering-penalties.aspx http://www.ncsl.org/research/environment-and-natural-resourc... . My argument is that it's meaningless to describe all cases of illegal border crossing as a "very serious crime", because then there's no way to distinguish between the very serious crime of littering and the very serious crime of murder. Bear in mind that the term "petty theft" contains the word "petty", which means it's "less important, serious, or great than other" types of theft, quoting https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/petty https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/petty . The listed synonyms for petty are "minor, lower, junior, secondary". You are of course free to use "very serious crime" to apply to any crime, but that is not common usage. I believe most people, most of the time, would limit the term "very serious crimes" to describe felonies. For example, quoting https://criminal.findlaw.com/criminal-law-basics/classifications-of-crimes.html https://criminal.findlaw.com/criminal-law-basics/classificat... > Crimes receive different classifications according to their severity. The mildest crimes are known as infractions, more serious crimes are known as misdemeanors, and the most serious crimes are known as felonies. This would suggest that "serious crimes" might include misdemeanors and felonies, but "very serious crime" should be limited to felonies. Or from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seriousness#Measuring_degree_of_seriousness_in_crime https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seriousness#Measuring_degree_o... > A felony is generally considered to be a crime of "high seriousness", while a misdemeanor is not. I am hammering the point because I believe that describing all illegal entries as a "very serious crime" muddies the water, likely deliberately so. Why describe it using terms more appropriate for murderers than litterers?