Sentencing

G

gordoronth

New member
I wouldn't put a 16 year old in prison forever for nicking a car.
I'd put him nick and make ealry release dependent on passing exams, taking vocational courses, volunteering for community work (picking up litter etc) and such.
BUT there was a guy (40 years old approx) recently that had something like 150 convictions for nicking cars and burglary (IIRC) and was absolutley resolute he'd never stop doing it. Treated it as a cat and mouse game between him and the cops.
Putting him away forever would probably be cheaper than continually prosecuting him for each crime he will inevitably commit when he gets released.
 
K

KerryC

New member
Me too. In the same way nicking a DVD player from a house via burglary is worse than nicking an idenitcal DVD player from a shop.
 
J

jay23boy

New member
As someone with Anarcho-social leanings I'll happily argue the point that the "ethics" of a theft should really be based on what the stolen object was going to be used for.

For example I don't think that the act of "skipping" should be illegal, it is under UK law "theft by finding" but considering the stuff that is "stolen" is going to be thrown out I don't think anyone has the right to look down on it.
 
E

elexperto

New member
No, because it belongs to someone else. I think you have to get their permission to take it. In reality, the owners aren't going to press charges in most cases.
 
W

wunofdamoronbros

Member
I think the original laws were put in place so that the trash BELONGED to the company and the company was therefore responsible for keeping its trash in the bin etc.

The flip side is that companies now prosecute to stop people getting free stuff (this has actually happened to a friend of mine). Certain supermarkets will also "spike" bags of food items by pouring bleach or old printer ink over them so that people have to buy stuff. Some also do lock their bins, that may be to prevent wild animals but I don't know whether gangs of raccoons are actually wandering around down-town London these days.

It's such an absurd world we live in.
 
T

TeeshaJ

New member
When I worked at M&S they let the staff get out of date food cheap when the shop was shut and then the Sally Army turned up and took away what was left for the homeless (I think that's what happened...it was many years ago).
 
D

DarianLam

New member
It seems to be very much on a store by store basis. So at the Store Managers discretion. I seem to recall an Iceland somewhere being outed for it and then releasing a formal statement that it wasn't "Iceland Official Policy" to tamper with waste products.
 
P

pumpkin1720

New member
I don't know England's sentencing structure, but you're an American, and that's not how it works in America. Sentences are determined by the courts, not by the parties, and they are crafted from statutory guidelines: minimums, maximums, ranges, and enumerated factors that must be considered, are all set forth in statutes. The court, not the parties, picks a sentence according to those guidelines.

The way to change the sentences, then, is to change the statutes.

There is more than a fine line between manslaughter and homicide. Homicide is an unjustified intentional killing with malice. In federal courts, first degree murder gets you life in prison or the death penalty. For second degree murder you get any term of prison, up to life.

Voluntary manslaughter is an unjustified intentional killing without malice. In federal courts you get up to 15 years in prison.

Involuntary manslaughter is an unjustified unintentional killing. You get up to 8 years in prison.


Bad legislators.
Sometimes these things are changed on appeal, though. Over here the media almost never reports when that happens.
 
B

Bayumnnthatshot

New member
In the USA you can, and you can take the trash from a person's can once he puts it on the sidewalk for pickup.

From the recycle bins, though -- I don't know for certain, but I expect not, because recycled stuff has inherent value, and the city has contracted with one particular company to collect all those bins every week. I would expect that the recycling company has a claim on the contents of recycle bins.
 
C

cockatieluno

Member
OK so some more on this.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2285219/Drunken-thug-stamped-oil-workers-face-asked-gang-away-house-attack-left-badly-injured-lost-job.html

Six and a half years in the nick? Probably out in 3-4?
For what is essentially attempted murder?
Does that strike anyone as acceptable?
I'd give him something more like 15 years for that attack.
 
M

maureenh

Member
To be punished for attempted murder they'd have had to charge him with it which is a point I touched on earlier. As it is he would have got 10 years but had his sentence reduced by a third for entering an early guilty plea.
 
R

RedwingsQueen19

New member
Parole is a good thing in a number of ways:

- it gives the prisoner more incentive to behave themselves while inside.
- it reduces the population of our overcrowded jails (and even if they weren't overcrowded, it saves the taxpayer a lot of money.)
- it means that the prisoner has a good reason not to reoffend during the course of their parole.

I think we have a major issue where the period of parole is up to a half of the original sentance. That gives the public the feeling (with some justification) that the prisoner is being 'let off lightly'.

I would think that a parole of at most 25% of the sentance would be reasonable. Obviously time spent on remand would have to be taken into account.
 
C

cadkins08

New member
Parole seems out of kilter when the potential sentence doesn't seem like enough of a punishment for the original crime.
Obviously we need an incentive for prisoners to behave themselves but that shouldn't amend the basic sentence IMHO.

I wonder if you could have a basic sentence and then get time ADDED for bad behaviour?
Or add rewards for days without incident?

I think for many the idea of parole smacks of rewarding someone for behaving normally.
"Well done you haven't hurt anyone recently have some time off your sentence"

In the same way rewarding problem kids for attending school seems unfair because nice kids go to school anyway.
 
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