USA sentencing policy

[cjp]

The 53-year-old former school bus driver, who was imprisoned for life without parole plus 1,000 years, told the court he was not a monster

Is this stupid or just me?
Do they have rooms or warehouses with corpses or skeletons piled up high?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-23534845

Yes he is an evil person but using such words as part of a sentence . . . .

And I also read from time time of old people being sentences to long terms of imprisonment that will see them dead before release eg 40 year olds getting a sixty year sentence. (I have made up these dates as I am lazy)

And what would they do to Edward Snowden (he of the the CGHQ etc spying on us leaks fame) if big brother - USA - got their hands on him?

Mannering?
The world is going mad

 

[HST Power]

I also considered making a thread about this. Perhaps a member with a greater legal background could explain the reasoning behind such a sentence. As far as I'm concerned he deserves life, but 1,000 years?

I have also read that Snowden has been granted temporary asylum, having left Moscow Airport.

 

[NSEFAN]

If it keeps dangerous people locked up for good, then the system is doing its job. The 1000 year sentence is a bit bizarre, but is it the result of applying some dumb equation?

 

[deltic1989]

I'm no legal expert, but having read that article I think that justice has been done.
Life without parole would have done the job though in the USA I understand that life is exactly what it says on the tin (but I could be wrong), adding 1000 years seems to be more of a 2 fingered salute from the judge than anything else.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Was that sentence, strange as it seems, not something that arose from the plea bargain against a possible death sentence ?

 

[Eagle]

Not to say we don't do the same in this country. Wasn't Andrew Aston sentenced to 26 life tariffs?

There are some even odder ones. In 1985 Bobbie Joe Long, a serial killer and rapist, was sentenced to 28 life sentences plus 99 years plus the death penalty. (He has not yet been executed.)

 

[tony_mac]

Not to say we don't do the same in this country. Wasn't Andrew Aston sentenced to 26 life tariffs?

That's different, in that the sentences are to be served concurrently (and won't be a full-life term anyway, he could be released in about 10 years).
There was also a bbc page about long sentences; they are obviously mostly symbolic.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-magazine-monitor-23495284

 

[deltic1989]

they are obviously mostly symbolic.

I would tend to agree there. It does seem that high profile cases such as this one seem to attract sentences that will never be fully served (because the inmate will die before the end).
This could be to guarantee that they will never be released, but as I said earlier life without parole would do the same job (if I have understood correctly, remember I'm no legal eagle).
These long sentences seem to be more for the physiological effect, both on the inmate and the general public.
The inmate will be demoralised and resigned to the rest of their natural life behind bars. The public will be reassured that people like the man in the article linked by the OP will never again never again walk the streets to re-offend.

 

[cjp]

This could be to guarantee that they will never be released, but as I said earlier life without parole would do the same job (if I have understood correctly, remember I'm no legal eagle).
These long sentences seem to be more for the physiological effect, both on the inmate and the general public.
The inmate will be demoralised and resigned to the rest of their natural life behind bars. The public will be reassured that people like the man in the article linked by the OP will never again never again walk the streets to re-offend.

Would that not make him dangerous to the warders as he has nothing to loose being stuck in a box for ever and ever.
Surely some hope is what keeps everyone going?
Otherwise what is the point?

What is the point . . .

 

[yorksrob]

There are valid arguments on both sides of this issue. Fortunately the Americans are more than capable of weighing up the arguments and deciding on a policy.

 

[Johnuk123]

Would that not make him dangerous to the warders

Just a point of interest.

We haven't had any Warders in prisons in this country since 1919, they're called Prison Officers.

The only Warders in this country are the Yeoman Warders at the T.O.L.

In the U.S they're called Correctional Officers.

 

[martinsh]

Fortunately the Americans are more than capable of weighing up the arguments and deciding on a policy.

But quite probably the wrong policy !

 

[Johnuk123]

But quite probably the wrong policy !

It's up to the Americans to decide any policy they wish.

 

[LWB]

On the BBC ...........

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-magazine-monitor-23495284

........ Sentencing is not just about determining how long someone should be behind bars, it also has a symbolic, theatrical function, says Franklin Zimring, a professor of law at the University of California, who has written extensively about deterrents. .........For victims of crime and their loved ones there is nothing problematic about a very long sentence. Indeed, a sentence that increases with each guilty charge is a way of telling each victim that they matter .......... Tommy Smith was Tuscaloosa County Assistant District Attorney when he persuaded the trial judge to impose the long sentence as an alternative. "The jury sent a message. They don't want him released," he said. Kyzer has been denied parole nine times

 

[cjp]

deleted duplicate post
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

It's up to the Americans to decide any policy they wish.

Which is what makes them so loveable.
Have you seen the fortress that is their Embassy?

 

[Kneedown]

Which is what makes them so loveable.
Have you seen the fortress that is their Embassy?

I'm going to in a few weeks.
It's a nightmare just filling out all the forms and jumping through the hoops just to get a tourist visa but as i'm not eligible to travel on an ESTA i have no choice.
Been tempted more than once though to cancel the trip and write off the deposit. Grrrrrrrrrrrr!

Apologies for going off topic.

 

[Manchester77]

I think the 1000 years is a way of saying its their entire life as opposed to in this country where it's life with a minimum of say 25 years. I don't fully understand but then I'm not a legal expert so perhaps someone could explain or am I being stupid?

 

[Eagle]

No, entire life is what "life without parole" means. The "plus 1000 years" is just embellishment.

And in the US they also use sentences like the UK of, say, life with a minimum of 25 years (although they shorten that to "25 to life").

 

[Manchester77]

Right thanks for explaining

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

No, entire life is what "life without parole" means. The "plus 1000 years" is just embellishment.

Well there are many Christian fundementalists in the USA who would accept the 800/900 year lifespan stated for many of those who are named in the very early books of the Old Testement, so perhaps the "1000 years" may be understood within that context.

 

[TheEdge]

I think this sort of thing is a part of US law to do with sentences not being run concurrently as they are commonly in the UK. This is a 'long' one but it is quite common to see US sentences of several hundred years for someone who has committed a small number of murders. The US justice system will also sometimes hand out multiple death sentences.

 

[cjp]

I think this sort of thing is a part of US law to do with sentences not being run concurrently as they are commonly in the UK. This is a 'long' one but it is quite common to see US sentences of several hundred years for someone who has committed a small number of murders. The US justice system will also sometimes hand out multiple death sentences.

The USA version of ... wait for it . . .. .- . . Flogging a dead horse?