Friday, October 4, 2013

Dallas judge reduces sentence for burglar

Dallas judge reduces sentence for burglar who spent 15 years on lam, fled again this spring

http://crimeblog.dallasnews.com/2013/10/dallas-judge-reduces-sentence-for-burglar-who-spent-15-years-on-lam-escaped-again-this-spring.html/

Category of problem: Criminal

Level of problem: Local

This article is concerning an enacted policy regarding the sentencing of a burglary crime.

This affects individuals/families because burglaries shouldn’t go unpunished. People break in and take personal items that don’t belong to them and get away with it.

My views on this issue/policy: It seems the county jail wasn’t fulfilling its obligations of keeping prisoners in its territory. A man sentenced for 60 years after committing burglary escapes jail only to flee to Florida for 15 years, live his life, return to Texas to go to college, burglarize some more, finally get caught and resentenced to 8 years. This man went from a 60 year sentence to an 8 year after continuing down the same path. From the time he escaped the first time until recently, burglary guidelines have been changed to 2-20 years instead of 5-99 therefore the judge granted a lesser sentencing. Even after he failed to appear in court, outran guards and climbed over the fence, and did this numerous times. This is not okay. This is what provokes people to commit crimes like these and think they can get away with it or that the punishment won’t be very harsh. The man sentenced probably doesn’t even care that he will be put away for 8 years, he’s 38. He still has a long life to live. Either that or he will escape and flee again and live a decade or two in another state.

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