California voters recently
changed that state's three-strikes law so that the final strike can't be a petty offense. Perhaps something similar is needed in Texas if
stealing $35 worth of meat from the grocery store can secure a 50 year sentence from a Waco jury because of so-called "enhancements." The fellow had five prior felonies so he's not quite Jean Valjean, even if the
McLennan DA continues to perform his best Javert impression.
Mate, obviously you didn't read the article because this outstanding citizen of the republic was not convicted of a petty offense. He was convicted of Robbery and his prior offenses included convictions for Agggravated Assault, Attempted Robbery, and Burglary to name a few. He also turned down a 20 year plea offer. This fine fellow is exactly the type of miscreant the repeat offender law is made for. Your post is either misinformed or intentionally misleading.
ReplyDelete@8:55, Grits has a pretty bad habit of leaving out key details or slanting the facts whey they get in the way of his typical "hug a thug" agenda. The way I look at it, if 12 good citizens of McClennon County thought this habitual criminal deserved 50 years in prison, he probably did. Maybe he can eventually be paroled to Travis County where the liberal intelligentsia seem to have no problem with the bad guys victimizing innocent citizens over, over and over again.
ReplyDelete@ 8:55 and 9:11, it's a three sentence post with a picture of Russell Crowe in a funny hat. Plus, it linked to the source so readers can judge for themselves. Do I have to republish every word in every item I link to so you punks don't accuse me of leaving things out? To be clear: By linking to the story I'm providing you the information you're accusing me of hiding. This is a weird, recurring theme.
ReplyDeleteOh, and 9:11, Travis County has among the lowest crime rates in the state outside the border region, so they must be doing something right, doncha think?
@9:11--Abelito, is that you? :-D
ReplyDeleteYour post is intentionally misleading then: the crime was not petty, it wasn't "just stealing $35 worth of meat," and the DA didn't determine the sentence, a jury did. And since the crook (violent repeat offender) also wasn't stealing bread for his starving sister & family your analogy is quite lame.
ReplyDeleteApart from the bad habit observed by @9:11 I've noticed another, in the Grits can never admit he was wrong, incorrect, misinformed, etc. There's always some excuse coughed up.
It's true Grits left out the fact of how seriously we Texans take our BBQ - like 50 years seriously! But before we all go patting ourselves on the back for our alleged morality we just might want to ask ourselves why we let the greediest among us run this country. The answer most certainly is not because we're such moral fucking souls.
ReplyDeleteFar as I'm concerned that jury and prosecutor should get 50 years, they're so interested in justice.
Grits, if you're blog provides so much misleading and inaccurate information, I just can't figure out why so many prosecutors waste their time reading it.
ReplyDeleteIt continues to amaze me how many nihilistic freaks this blog seems to bring out from under the bridge where they live.
ReplyDeleteThis case may not be the best example and Grits's analogy a little stretched but the basic point is valid. There are too many in Texas facing 25 to life for a collection of truly petty offenses - otherwise misdemeanor shoplifting amounts become felonies on third time and repeat misdemeanor evading becomes felony for example - and once those become felonies they can be further enhanced. Mandatory penalty range increases like we have too many of on our books hit disproportionately on addicts and mentally ill
ReplyDelete