How to not get 25 years for pot possession...

[Bill Mattocks]

Wow! Even I think this might be a TAD bit harsh. However, the blog author makes some good points about using the old noggin' for something more than a hat rack...

http://blogs.houstonpress.com/hairballs/2010/03/tyler_pot_sentence.php

Smith County (East Texas) judges and juries have long had a reputation of meting out severe, some might say ridiculous, punishment for drug convictions. And Henry Wooten's case is no exception: the 54-year-old Tyler man was sentenced Thursday to 35 years in prison for possessing slightly more than four ounces of pot. Wooten actually got off easy -- the prosecutor asked the jury to give him 99 years.

 

[David43515]

WOW! Is that considered dealer weight in Texas or something? Was this guy a multiple repat offender? I can`t imagine something like that for possesion in Ohio.


Okay, I just read the full article and apparently this guy was dealing and was a third time offender, so yeah he`s a moron.

 

[Touch Of Death]

This is why gangbangers only end up serving a few years for meth or coke offenses. We need to make room in our prison system for the Pot Heads!
Sean

 

[Gordon Nore]

Ninety-nine years. That's what James Earl Ray was sentenced to for the murder of Dr King.

 

[Carol]

It was his third felony in a "three strikes" state.

 

[chaos1551]

Though I don't agree with all of the U.S. drug laws, they are what they are and this guy was a moron. Stupidity should be painful, but in this case it was illegal.

 

[Makalakumu]

It was his third felony in a "three strikes" state.

Yeah, well it's still ridiculous. There's no reason to put someone away for that long for pot. I don't care how many times they've been busted.

 

[Big Don]

It was his third felony in a "three strikes" state.

Don't shed any tears for the unrepentant criminal.

 

[Big Don]

Yeah, well it's still ridiculous. There's no reason to put someone away for that long for pot. I don't care how many times they've been busted.

How about shoplifting?
Car theft?
Burglary?
Rape?
Murder?
How many crimes, and which crimes must one commit to be given a long sentence in your world?

 

[xJOHNx]

If alcohol was invented now, it would be banned outright.
Same with cigarettes.

Comparing weed to rape/murder and other things is a logical fallacy. It's like comparing an apple to a cucumber.

 

[Big Don]

If alcohol was invented now, it would be banned outright.
Same with cigarettes.

Comparing weed to rape/murder and other things is a logical fallacy. It's like comparing an apple to a cucumber.

I wasn't comparing anything to anything. I asked which crimes and how many instances would an unrepentant criminal POS have to commit before you'd give him/her a long sentence?

 

[5-0 Kenpo]

If alcohol was invented now, it would be banned outright.
Same with cigarettes.

Comparing weed to rape/murder and other things is a logical fallacy. It's like comparing an apple to a cucumber.

How is it a logical fallacy?

Weed is less important then rape/murder. There, I just compared them. Did I commit a logical fallacy? And if so, which one did I commit?

 

[Scott T]

And they want to extradite Marc Emery to this type of stupidity? Screw that!

 

[Makalakumu]

How about shoplifting?
Car theft?
Burglary?
Rape?
Murder?
How many crimes, and which crimes must one commit to be given a long sentence in your world?

It depends on the crime and it's severity. I don't consider smoking weed or even selling it to actually be a crime, although I recognize that the government recognizes it as a crime. The criminalization of marijuana makes about as much sense as the criminalization of Alcohol did.

 

[xJOHNx]

How is it a logical fallacy?

Weed is less important then rape/murder. There, I just compared them. Did I commit a logical fallacy? And if so, which one did I commit?

I read it as:

Three strikes, you are out for 99 years because of reefer.
And suddenly someone asked about other crimes.
Weed here was placed in the same category as rape and murder. Arguably not the same effect to the outcome or even society. Aka a deductive fallacy probably on the ground of not enough explanation.

When you say weed is less important than rape, than you are comparing them just fine. Showing that they are both distinct categories and should well be treated like that. They can be compared, but they cannot be placed into the same category, unless you use the broad term: "Illegal". But then again, if you only take the broad terms, discussions like this would not be happening, right?

 

[Bruno@MT]

I think the 3 strikes law is sensible, as long as only 'crimes' are counted and not felonies. In other words, shoplifting, jaywalking, etc would not warrant counting as a strike, but rape, assault (actual assault, not shoving near the sales booth), murder etc do.

 

[Carol]

I think the 3 strikes law is sensible, as long as only 'crimes' are counted and not felonies. In other words, shoplifting, jaywalking, etc would not warrant counting as a strike, but rape, assault (actual assault, not shoving near the sales booth), murder etc do.

Here in the states, a felony is a more serious crime.

The punishment for marijuana can range anywhere from a $100.00 civil infraction (kind of like a minor speeding ticket, it is against the law, but not a crime), to a misdemeanor (lesser crime), to a felony (more severe crime).

The guy isn't going to jail because police caught him smoking a J in an alley. He was caught with a lot on him. If he wanted to avoid a stiff "3rd strikes" sentence, all he had to do is not have that much pot on him. Of course, if he hadn't committed the other two felnoies to begin with, he wouldn't be in the predicament that he's in.

 

[dancingalone]

I think the 3 strikes law is sensible, as long as only 'crimes' are counted and not felonies. In other words, shoplifting, jaywalking, etc would not warrant counting as a strike, but rape, assault (actual assault, not shoving near the sales booth), murder etc do.

I would hope serious crimes like rape or murder would put the offender away at first violation. There was a recent rape/murder of a 17 year old in San Diego that seem particularly tragic because the [alleged] perpetrator was a convicted sex offender, and our judicial system didn't do an adequate job of monitoring his whereabouts.

 

[Big Don]

How to not get 25 years for pot possession...

Step one (of one):
Don't be a scumbag recidivist criminal.