Woman Sentenced To 5 Years In McDonald's Transgender Attack - http://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2011/09/13/woman-sentenced-to-5-years-in-rosedale-transgender-attack/ (http://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2011/09/13/woman-sentenced-to-5-years-in-rosedale-transgender-attack/)
Justice served.
That old woman had more balls than the McDonald's staff. At least she was trying to stop them. Anyone who would punch an old woman in the face needs to be locked up and anyone who beats someone into a seizure needs to be locked up.
Yeah, that's true.
Quote from: NatashaD on September 13, 2011, 10:25:29 PMJustice served.
Agreed. She will have more than enough time to think long and hard about what she did.
What about the guy filming the attack and laughing? He'd better get a bit more punishment than being fired from McDonald's.
Quote from: blake on September 15, 2011, 02:07:27 PM
What about the guy filming the attack and laughing? He'd better get a bit more punishment than being fired from McDonald's.
Although it was wrong of him, he didn't actually participate in the attack. Jumping in and trying to stop the attack isn't a smart idea either. I think him getting the boot from McDonald's was punishment enough.
I feel that experiencing a beatdown while being filmed and mocked would be way worse than a simple beatdown, because it has the added humilation. Which arguably breaks Article 5 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
But I definitely see where you're coming from, Jen. Once I calm down, I'll probably agree with you.
I'm no lawyer but if the victim is identifiable and therefore had no rights to publish this, is there a possible law suit there? I hope she wins a HUGE civil case against McDonalds. Instead of video taping this laughing, they should have been calling 911.
Harsh sentences - also known as Draconian Law - tend to increase violence - it's counter-productive to societies interest in the long run.
Quote from: Laura91 on September 14, 2011, 02:23:47 PM
Locked up? Nah. Just shoot them in the head. That may sound harsh but if we employed some true punishment for crimes of this nature then the crime rate would decline significantly.
A concealed-carry permit could have worked wonders.
Quote from: tekla on September 15, 2011, 09:51:14 PM
Harsh sentences - also known as Draconian Law - tend to increase violence - it's counter-productive to societies interest in the long run.
I disagree, mainly because that statement is attempting to paint a forest on a postage stamp with a paint roller.
There are many ways to combat violence and crime. Harsh punishment may not always be the way to fix it, but punishments should be harsh and swift in order to them to have any effect on the activity one is trying to correct.
The person that conducted that beat-down is a savage in the literal sense of the term. Nobody who has such a blatant disregard for personal liberty or human life deserves light punishment.
I felt quite disgusted reading the messages posted after the article. There seem to be a lot of very sick people out there.
Cindy
It's actually a 10 year sentence with 5 years suspended so even after she serves her mandatory 5 she will still be on the court's radar for 5 more years... So if she gets up to any more mischief after she gets out or even while she is in custody, the courts can make her serve the remaining 5 years
What she did was wrong and I am glad she is off the street and serving her sentence... But I feel no need to wish her any ill will as that would bring me stooping to the level of a thug and no better than the violent behavior that appalls me
It takes a violent offender off the street... Unfortunately, she will most likely become worse rather than better
Well I'm sure that after five years she's come out all rehabilitated and repentant and all that, ready to take her place as contributing member of society and as a staunch defender of the rights of others. Because if there is one place that teaches compassion and respect for the milk of human kindness it's the prison-industrial complex of the US.
And I get some of the hostility toward the camera guy, but on the other hand with out video I doubt there would have been this kind of resolution. It was the video that made the authorities sit up and have to do something. Otherwise it would have been just another instance of ghetto people acting all ghetto at a ghetto Micky-Dees.
As for harsh sentences and all that, why do you think that one of the strongest and most vocal opponents to 3-Strikes Laws are police associations? While the rape of Brandon Teena was directly tied to the TG status deal, I'm sure most of the murder had to do with the 3 strikes crap in Nebraska. Because once they knew they were facing their third felony, they had nothing left to lose by killing him. And hell, kill everyone else there too - the penalty is the same. In most states I'd do more time for selling you cocaine then if I raped you. You'd think that with harsh penalty like that no one would would ever come near coke, but it does not work out like that. Matter of fact the entire drug law structure is far harsher than the crime, and over time (that whole war on drugs thing) have become even harsher, yet the amount of drugs, as well as the number of users has not declined. Texas is the number one state in terms of the death penalty. You'd think that after a year or two of that (and it's been going on for decades) crime would drop off, or at least the murder rate would. But no. States with the Death Penalty have higher crime rates that states that don't have it.
While harsh sentences make normal law-abiding people feel better, the fact is that the people who would/should worry about it are not normal or law-abiding, and they think in a different way. And harsher sentences only serve to increase the levels of crime because if you're going to be in for a penny, you might as well be in for a pound.
Quote from: Cindy James on September 16, 2011, 02:01:44 AM
I felt quite disgusted reading the messages posted after the article. There seem to be a lot of very sick people out there.
Cindy
Yep. There is a lot of hate in this world and I find it sad..
I saw this on youtube before I saw it here. Apparently the cameraman got charged as an accessory, I'm not completely sure of it though.
I notice the messages below the article will fluctuate and often run in strings back and forth between hateful and supportive depending on who's posting at the time
There will often be a string of haters then a string of supporters and/or visa verse
Without de-railing the thread I agree with Tekla that harsh sentencing, which I define as death or imprisonment without any hope of parole, needs to be carefully thought about. Emotion is a very bad bedfellow for debate about such matters. Yes I do have personal feelings that some people are just too dangerous to society to ever be allowed to be free. But they are relatively few. I have always been against the death penalty. It is barbaric and reduces society to the level of the criminal. It is also an easy way out. I'd much rather those people rot alive than die (relatively) easily. which probably means I'm not a very nice person either.
It is my understanding that judicial death sentencing only exists in China and the USA, a strange and sad relationship. My understanding and I may be wrong, is that the death penalty is strongly supported by the right wing religious groups, again I find this an odd opinion for people who believe in a God of love and forgiveness.
Sorry for derailing.
Cindy
There are still places in the Middle East and Africa where people, particularly women accused of adultry are publicly stoned to death
http://impunitywatch.com/?p=12906 (http://impunitywatch.com/?p=12906)
http://www.amnesty.org/en/appeals-for-action/end-execution-stoning-iran (http://www.amnesty.org/en/appeals-for-action/end-execution-stoning-iran)
http://allafrica.com/stories/200112030043.html (http://allafrica.com/stories/200112030043.html)
There are States in the USA that still have the death sentence, but not all... It is a sentence generally reserved for murderers
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capital_punishment_in_the_United_States (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capital_punishment_in_the_United_States)
Sorry for any derailment of the thread
There is also a federal death penalty, like for Tim McVeigh.
I don't think it's derailment.
I really believe that only violent offenders should be locked up - In this case, she should be locked up, but the sentencing is a bit weird. There is so much we don't know and that makes the precedent this judge has set a little bit scary. There is no proof for how that fight started, we haven't been told about that violent girl's previous offenses, the only proof of motivation is the attack itself (as though it leaped into life on the camera without ever being born), and the word of those directly involved (I sincerely doubt she got up and told the judge "I am filled with hate, and she was my outlet...").
I could never, ever be a judge. I could never, ever be a lawyer or police officer. I have seen too much, lived too much of the ghetto lifestyle. Tekla is right, many of these people feel as though they are going to go to prison at some point anyway, and many are jaded by dealing with the system their entire lives, so they might as well be all in when that wall breaks down. Harsher sentencing is actually doing them a favor. Honestly, life out on the street makes you believe prison is actually an option, and sometimes a better place; a means of escape and provision if you will. This girl who is going to prison may actually end up a repeat offender who lives in prison forever - and it can probably be construed as an improvement to her life direction, a place she MAY end up committing more serious future offenses to get back into.
Quote from: JenJen2011 on September 15, 2011, 02:34:24 PM
Although it was wrong of him, he didn't actually participate in the attack. Jumping in and trying to stop the attack isn't a smart idea either. I think him getting the boot from McDonald's was punishment enough.
Well he did if the victim heard his laughter, that's horrendous psychological distress. And if the assailants heard, his laughter would be encouraging them in their violence.
Quote from: Adrienne on September 17, 2011, 12:48:44 PM
Well he did if the victim heard his laughter, that's horrendous psychological distress. And if the assailants heard, his laughter would be encouraging them in their violence.
So, laughing is a crime now? Interesting.
I have a little different take on the impressions thus far stated here.
Punishment in the criminal justice system is for 'Justice'. It's not designed, nor meant to "rehabilitate". That the offending party is sentenced to a long term behind bars is meant as a debt to be paid for a criminal action to both society and the victim (however, the victims are usually not especially satisfied for a variety of reasons).
The death penalty never was about deterrence. It is an exacting of "Justice". Nothing more and nothing less. Looking at the death penalty as a deterrent; it is only a further and future deterrent for the person executed (and I am not a strong advocate of the death penalty either. This is just the way I perceive it).
As such long and longer sentences are no guarantee of protection from further crimes from a repeat offender, not even a first timer. They are simply an end to a means. There likely is no perfect sentencing system. I do like these scared straight programs though. Perhaps learning by example from those hard cases already in the system, we can change at least a few minds, thus creating a deterrent at least within our youth.
The issue of how much risk to innocent victims involved from hardened, first time, or repeating offenders; unfortunately is a risk of living in a 'somewhat' free and open society.
Dawn