Now I’m wondering how they determine what half a life sentence is. If you live longer then predicted do you owe extra time?
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I’m not angry about the good time credit provision. If a guy is sentenced to a year in prison for having a bag of weed, I’m happy to see him get out early. My gripe is the fact that a rapist’s sentence was only six months. He should have been sentenced to the 14 years the prosecutor was seeking.
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Mob justice isn’t justice. Nothing should be done to Brock such as beatings or illegal harassment, however much that might satisfy some people. He should have every legal remedy pursued against him though, such as getting a civil lawsuit, having the history of his actions brought up randomly in the news every time he does anything newsworthy, et al. If he does anything to violate his probation, you can fully expect a new outrage if a very heavy metaphorical book isn’t thrown at him.
The time served/debt repaid thing isn’t very helpful in my opinion because the qualifications for these vary from person to person, so there’s never a cut and dry answer. Some people think a person is always a criminal and that they can’t reform. Some people think time served is it. The question seems irrelevant because there’s no objective method of determining an answer that anyone can really agree on.
It’s like porn. You know it when you see it. In this case, you know there’s injustice in the light sentencing, but there’s some possibility for legal justice otherwise. A civil suit would be very satisfying. Imagine Brock having his wages garnished every month to pay his victim as a constant reminder that he messed up. That could be some justice. Not necessarily enough for the victim or society, but some.
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That does sound like another good source for targeted, effective anger, but I’m also directing it at the fuckheaded judge who only gave Turner a six-month sentence in the first place.
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In California, you either get a determinate sentence (e.g., 20 years) or an indeterminate sentence (e.g., 15 years to life). For an indeterminate sentence, you’re required to serve the determinate part before you’re eligible for parole – the 15 years or whatever – which can be cut in half by good-time credits, called “conduct credits” (although not always).
California has two “life” sentences: life with parole, and life without parole. The latter sentence is self-explanatory. The former is not; a straight “life” sentence, by default, comes with minimum parole eligibility after seven years, although depending on the crime, it could be more than that.
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very informative, thanks!
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Definitely not advocating for mob justice, just sharing my thoughts on my preoccupations over some people potentially taking things into their own hands. It does look like enough people are upset over the case that meaningful change is happening in reaction to everything that’s happened so there’s that.
On the rehabilitation part, i think how the system is currently set up it does not view convicted criminals are being able to reform… unless you’re white and/or wealthy. I do hope Turner is able to reform though that sentiment feels disingenuous since i have zero sympathy for him.
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It’s tough, because advocates of criminal justice reform and/or advocates of less severe punishment who may be in the “harsher punishment for Brock Turner” camp have to come up with a principled way of saying Brock Turner deserves a harsher sentence, while at the same time arguing other people who’ve committed other crimes (which are arguably worse, like murder) deserve less harsh sentences.
Giving or receiving?
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It’ll be interesting (I think that’s the word I want) to see how being on the sex offender’s register affects Brock’s life. If it does at all. Also, I wonder how long it will take for his family’s lawyers to get him off the list.
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I don’t want to defend this asshole, but if he is on the sex offender registry, it will never be over. It will follow him around forever, and make all sorts of things more difficult. (Not as difficult as a poor person on the list would have it, but it’s not a small thing for anyone.)
Frankly, I don’t want to defend the SORNA list either, it’s a bad law for a bunch of reasons, but it is a thing that exists, and it applies to him.
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If you’re relatively wealthy and have the skills or ability to work certain kinds of jobs, it’s not going to have that much of one. If you’re poor and have a hard time finding housing because of restrictions and can’t find a place to work, then it can be hell.
Which is one of many reasons I think we should do away with the system altogether. I sincerely doubt it’s actually helped anyone, and setting up stockades in the public square for people to get pelted with rotten vegetables is probably more cost effective.
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That’d be people who respect the rule of law. Does that not include you?
Nope. The law is a tool, not an altar. I respect the law the way I respect electricity: It can hurt me, but it exists to serve a purpose, nothing more.
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Society authorised that judge to make the final decision on that sentence. It also decided that people cannot be tried more than once for the same crime.
I thought it was the legislative branch of the government that did that.
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Well, then you’re rejecting the social contract that lets us try people for rape (or any crime).
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How’d ya figure, oh wise Trollus Concernatus?
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No, it means they cut down on cells for the Lawful Evils, again, in order to jail yet more Chaotic Goods.
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