A decision I can applaud

[Wilber]

Axe attacker gets his

[DogOnPorch]

Axe attacker gets his

I can't help but think one day he'll STILL get out.

--------------------------------

No man. No problem.

---Stalin

[Shakeyhands]

I would have given him 15-20 with no chance of parole and no credit for time served.

[Drea]

That is excellent news!

10 years for the bastard. HA!

Hope someone in prison mangles him so he comes out in a wheelchair... I wonder why prisoners don't do this type of thing more often. I know if I were in jail and someone came in for some really horrendous crime I would do my best to harm them. Hey, if I'm in prison for the rest of my life, what do I have to lose?

[Carinthia]

Gee, the justice system has done something almost right for a change. Frankly, I would have given him a quality of life, serving life, as that's what he essentially took away from his victim.

[DogOnPorch]

Hope someone in prison mangles him so he comes out in a wheelchair... I wonder why prisoners don't do this type of thing more often. I know if I were in jail and someone came in for some really horrendous crime I would do my best to harm them. Hey, if I'm in prison for the rest of my life, what do I have to lose?

You have a potential in you that would make Albert Anastasia proud. Not that I disagree...lol. Together...we'll hit all five families.

-------------------------------------

I made him an offer he couldn't refuse...

---Vito Corleone

Edited February 12, 2008 by DogOnPorch

[eyeball]

Hope someone in prison mangles him so he comes out in a wheelchair...

An eye for an eye and soon the world will be blind.

Gandhi

[AngusThermopyle]

An eye for an eye and soon the world will be blind.

Gandhi

Turn the other cheek and get the living sh*t kicked out of you constantly.

Not Ghandi.

This is good news. Hopefully the appeal from the crown will go through and the third offender will receive a real sentence as well.

Edited February 12, 2008 by AngusThermopyle

[Wild Bill]

Turn the other cheek and get the living sh*t kicked out of you constantly.

Not Ghandi.

This is good news. Hopefully the appeal from the crown will go through and the third offender will receive a real sentence as well.

Perhaps we could start a thread about the value of bringing back the lash. The lefties can whine all they like but the fact is that it was effective as a corrective method.

[Shakeyhands]

Perhaps we could start a thread about the value of bringing back the lash. The lefties can whine all they like but the fact is that it was effective as a corrective method.

Hey, I'm what you would consider a "leftie" and you can see above that I said he deserved a much harsher sentence that he was given...

[Wild Bill]

Hey, I'm what you would consider a "leftie" and you can see above that I said he deserved a much harsher sentence that he was given...

Hey, "great minds think alike, but...."

The thing about the lash is that from anecdotes of those times from those who received it is that the deterrent was powerful! Usually it was given to "young monkeyshines", for lack of a better term. Repeat offences were almost zero. Invariably the young offender straightened out and became a better citizen. Nobody wanted to ever receive the lash again.

What's more, although modern forensics makes wrongful convictions much less likely today, mistakes are not permanent, like capital punishment or even losing years of your life in prison on a bum rap.

[Jerry J. Fortin]

Lock him up and throw away the key. Violent offenders should never be allowed to live in our society.

[eyeball]

Hope someone in prison mangles him so he comes out in a wheelchair...

Perhaps we could start a thread about the value of bringing back the lash.

Why not water-boarding? Torture is gaining a respectability it hasn't enjoyed since WW2.

I have little sympathy for Enrique Quintana but that would change if he was crippled in retaliation. I fail to see how two wrongs will make anything right. Go back to a vindictive old-testament style justice system and I bet it won't be long before society becomes even more desensitized to violence and uses it as a means to many ends.

Isn't this mideavil approach the sort of thing we're supposed to be fighting in Afghanistan? Presumably there's some difference between public beheadings and encouraging people in prison to mangle and cripple other people but why is becoming more blurry all the time.

[Wilber]

Why not water-boarding? Torture is gaining a respectability it hasn't enjoyed since WW2.

I have little sympathy for Enrique Quintana but that would change if he was crippled in retaliation. I fail to see how two wrongs will make anything right. Go back to a vindictive old-testament style justice system and I bet it won't be long before society becomes even more desensitized to violence and uses it as a means to many ends.

Isn't this mideavil approach the sort of thing we're supposed to be fighting in Afghanistan? Presumably there's some difference between public beheadings and encouraging people in prison to mangle and cripple other people but why is becoming more blurry all the time.

I agree, bringing society down to their level is not the answer but it wouldn't have bothered me at all if he had been given a few more years.

[Renegade]

Axe attacker gets his

It is not enough. He should be made to provide restitution to his victim for the ongoing costs and suffering the victim will bear through out life.

[guyser]

It is not enough. He should be made to provide restitution to his victim for the ongoing costs and suffering the victim will bear through out life.

He will be in jail. He cant make enough to do so.

Besides, there is plenty of money in the gov coffers , paid for by you and I via ticket surcharges, to offset any needs the young man may have.

However, the gov uses it for "their"things, and gettting the funds released is an almost impossibility.

[Renegade]

He will be in jail. He cant make enough to do so.

I meant after he is released.

[guyser]

I meant after he is released.

Ah but then he is deemed to have paid his debt to society, short of his probation.

The money is there, they just dont want to free it up for those that have been injured like this guy.

Edited February 14, 2008 by guyser

[Melanie_]

It is not enough. He should be made to provide restitution to his victim for the ongoing costs and suffering the victim will bear through out life.

I agree. Paying a debt to "society" doesn't really address the debt he owes the individual. Financially, he is unlikely to ever cover even a fraction of the costs associated with the injuries he caused, but restitution gives him the opportunity to demonstrate remorse and make some atonement.

[capricorn]

I agree. Paying a debt to "society" doesn't really address the debt he owes the individual.

If I was a victim of a crime, the debt the perp pays to society via incarceration is also a debt the perp pays to me, the victim. I cannot separate the two since I see them intertwined.

Financially, he is unlikely to ever cover even a fraction of the costs associated with the injuries he caused, but restitution gives him the opportunity to demonstrate remorse and make some atonement.

This is an interesting thought. My question is, how do victims of crime feel about this? Would victims rather see longer sentences without financial restitution or shorter sentences with court ordered restitution? I ask this because the longer perps spend time in jail, the less time they have to make financial restitution. Another point, if restitution is court ordered, how does this translate into remorse and atonement? In the end, the perp really has no choice but to comply, remorseful or not. Now, voluntary restitution is a whole different story.

[Renegade]

Ah but then he is deemed to have paid his debt to society, short of his probation.

What I'm saying is that the sentence is not sufficient to clear his "debt to society".

IMV, there should four general components to a punishment for an offender: Retribution, Rehabilitation, Restitution and Deterance. The sentence could possibly address the "Retribution" and "Deterance", and depending upon what happens during his sentence, "Rehabilitation", but it doesn't address "Restitution".

IMV, the "you broke it, you pay for it principle" applies. In this case the offender and co-offenders pretty much wrecked the victim's life. They should be liable for the cost to the greatest extent it is collectable.

[Wilber]

It is not enough. He should be made to provide restitution to his victim for the ongoing costs and suffering the victim will bear through out life.

I agree in principal but I'm not sure how you could force someone into gainful employment.

[Renegade]

I agree in principal but I'm not sure how you could force someone into gainful employment.

I'm not sure either. But we do enforce financial obligations in other areas such as child support, so it would be great to see a simiar system in place. As well by having an outstanding obligation to the victim, it would make it more difficult for the victim to accumulate assets as they could be siezed for repayment of the financial obligation. This is similar to the situation OJ finds himself in. Of course, I agree, that many times the obligation will be uncollectable, but at least having an outstanding obligation in place allows justification for asset and income seizure when it is collectable.

[blueblood]

He shouldn't have to pay financial restitution after his release. That would drive him to commit crimes in order to pay for it which could result in more axe attacks.

I'd like to see the dangerous offender designation be applied, but due to the huge costs involved with jailing prisoners that won't happen. If jails aren't profitable, don't expect to be seeing too much harsh sentances, there's no money in it.

[Wilber]

He shouldn't have to pay financial restitution after his release. That would drive him to commit crimes in order to pay for it which could result in more axe attacks.

I'd like to see the dangerous offender designation be applied, but due to the huge costs involved with jailing prisoners that won't happen. If jails aren't profitable, don't expect to be seeing too much harsh sentances, there's no money in it.

What is the cost of crime? We say that jailing people costs too much but no one ever takes into consideration what it costs for these people to remain free. What will it cost society to meet Micheal Levi's needs for the rest of his life? What does our catch and release legal system cost society when people have scores of convictions for property crimes and are still walking around committing more? That's the problem, governments too often just look at their own spending priorities and budget, not what it will take to really deal with the problems. This is not just the fault of our legal system. One way or another our government and courts have to deal with these people whether it is prison or mandatory treatment for substance abuse in proper institutions, not just as out patients.