3 ms·

it's ridiculous how a single, cohesive act can be broken apart into individual charges which each has its own punishment independent of the others. it's like se

it's ridiculous how a single, cohesive act can be broken apart into individual charges which each has its own punishment independent of the others. it's like sentencing someone for murder to 10 years in prison and another 3 years because the person used an illegally acquired weapon to do it.

deleted 14y ago
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qdog 14y ago
Most of the time time they do have multiple charges with murder, especially if the gun is illegally acquired. Whether or not the sentences for multiple convictions are concurrent or end-to-end may be the sentencing judge's discretion, not sure. One act can certainly have multiple consequences, driving a stolen car through a mall mowing down people and kiosks would entail a lot of charges, even though it would be a "single cohesive act". That said, I'm not sure about the hacking rule, and I don't know the full details of the 1986 law they are prosecuting under, and whether it has been amended or what amending it needs.
DannyBee 14y ago
The charges are just charges. You are also conflating the issue of sentencing with the issue of charging. The charging/conviction part is actually relatively sane. You can be charged of things you cannot be simultaneously convicted of. You can be convicted of anything that is not a lesser included offense of something else. IE you could be charged with manslaughter and murder of the same person, but not convicted of both, because manslaughter is a lesser included offense of murder. As for the federal sentencing guidelines, they were created to standardize what was previously a complete crapshoot. Rightly or wrongly, they were at least based on real data. They give guideline ranges based on an offense level and criminal history. The offense level is determined based on the crime plus any enhancements. So yes, you may start out at offense level 23 for murder, and then add 4 more levels because you used an illegally acquire weapon to do it. However, this is still the sentence for murder, not for the illegally acquired weapon (and note that if the illegally acquired weapon is used as a sentence enhancement, the facts must be proven to the jury)

deleted 14y ago

[deleted]

qdog 14y ago

Most of the time time they do have multiple charges with murder, especially if the gun is illegally acquired. Whether or not the sentences for multiple convictions are concurrent or end-to-end may be the sentencing judge's discretion, not sure. One act can certainly have multiple consequences, driving a stolen car through a mall mowing down people and kiosks would entail a lot of charges, even though it would be a "single cohesive act". That said, I'm not sure about the hacking rule, and I don't know the full details of the 1986 law they are prosecuting under, and whether it has been amended or what amending it needs.

DannyBee 14y ago

The charges are just charges. You are also conflating the issue of sentencing with the issue of charging. The charging/conviction part is actually relatively sane. You can be charged of things you cannot be simultaneously convicted of. You can be convicted of anything that is not a lesser included offense of something else. IE you could be charged with manslaughter and murder of the same person, but not convicted of both, because manslaughter is a lesser included offense of murder. As for the federal sentencing guidelines, they were created to standardize what was previously a complete crapshoot. Rightly or wrongly, they were at least based on real data. They give guideline ranges based on an offense level and criminal history. The offense level is determined based on the crime plus any enhancements. So yes, you may start out at offense level 23 for murder, and then add 4 more levels because you used an illegally acquire weapon to do it. However, this is still the sentence for murder, not for the illegally acquired weapon (and note that if the illegally acquired weapon is used as a sentence enhancement, the facts must be proven to the jury)