5 ms·
This is ridiculous, kids can (and should) be a little bit independent. It was in his own neighborhood. And 20 years in prison as a maximum punishment?
by ldh0011 4y ago
This is ridiculous, kids can (and should) be a little bit independent. It was in his own neighborhood. And 20 years in prison as a maximum punishment?
- ceejayoz 4y agoPopehat has a good article on maximum sentences and why "faces a max of x years in jail" tends to be nothing like the actual probable consequence. https://www.popehat.com/2013/02/05/crime-whale-sushi-sentence-eleventy-million-years/ https://www.popehat.com/2013/02/05/crime-whale-sushi-sentenc...
- ghastmaster 4y agoHe is referring to federal sentencing.
- ceejayoz 4y agoThe same thing happens in state sentencing. There's a vast gap between minimum and maximum sentencing. Most sentences fall somewhere in the middle, depending on the details of the particular act in question. (You stole from a little old lady versus stealing from a drug dealer, for example.)
- nicbou 4y agoDoesn't that lead to vastly unfair sentencing? For example you could target a specific group with harsher sentences, or use minor crimes to stick people with the maximum sentence. Everyone is guilty of something.
- ceejayoz 4y agoYes. 20% longer for black men for the same crime. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2017/11/16/black-men-sentenced-to-more-time-for-committing-the-exact-same-crime-as-a-white-person-study-finds/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2017/11/16/black... (Some would say this is the point.)
- ldh0011 4y agoNot at all surprising but still horrific...
- public_defender 4y agoThis article looks good. I'll read below the fold later, but: 1) It's about federal sentencing, which is not the same as state sentencing. 2) Sentencing is complicated and often done wrong by practitioners. For example, in a situation where harm is greatly divorced from conduct (imagine the kid in this article died on the way home) mom could get 20 years for sure in some states/municipalities. 3) Most practitioners know that the maximum is way higher than the likely sentence, but judges and prosecutors (and sometimes certain wayward members of my tribe) insist on browbeating accused people with the possible maximum in order to procure a quick guilty plea. So I'll (always) accept some blame on e.g. the media for not communicating with reasonable clarity, but this situation where people focus on 20 years is actually the intended state of affairs brought about by prosecutors and judges.
- hedora 4y agoIf the kid is going to spend 30 minutes unsupervised anyway, why not bump it up to 20 years?