What the fuck?
I understand them taking these sorts of threats seriously, but isnt this wa-aay over the line?
Here in Sweden you would have to commit a brutal murder to come anywhere near these sorts of jail terms.
TYLER — A 17-year-old who phoned his rival high school on a school bus and threatened to open fire on students has been sentenced to eight years in state prison.
An attorney for Terrance Taylor said Saturday he was surprised by the sentence and had recommended probation for his client, who was a junior at John Tyler High School in Tyler.
Taylor pleaded guilty Thursday to making a terroristic threat. Don Davidson, the student's attorney, said state District Judge Jack Skeen Jr. used the phrase "the times we live in" in handing down the sentence.
Police found no weapons belonging to Taylor after he made the call in January. Davidson said another student initiated the call on the bus and that his client was "gullible" in taking part.
Angela Jenkins, a spokeswoman for the Tyler school district, said that while the sentence was "severe in this circumstance," the school takes threats very seriously. She said "we now live in a time where safety is of paramount concern."
She said "we now live in a time where safety is of paramount concern."
So now "safety" = "ruining the lives of mostly harmless idiots by locking them away for extended periods of time"? What does locking away this fellow have to do with "safety"?
I bet Al-Qaeda is terrified already. Terrified, I tell you.
Hell, simply arresting the kid was probably enough to scare some sense into him. Whenever what someone thinks to be a harmless prank leads to being slapped in handcuffs and shoved into the back of a police car, they'll usually be too frightened to do it again, especially if you get the police to personally issue a very threatening warning.
chitoryu12 wrote:Hell, simply arresting the kid was probably enough to scare some sense into him. Whenever what someone thinks to be a harmless prank leads to being slapped in handcuffs and shoved into the back of a police car, they'll usually be too frightened to do it again, especially if you get the police to personally issue a very threatening warning.
What kind of raving idiot do you have to be to think that threatening to kill people columbine style is a harmless prank? Some form of punishment was deserved, but 8 years seems excessive; don't rapists get off with less, generally?
"It's you Americans. There's something about nipples you hate. If this were Germany, we'd be romping around naked on the stage here."
I can understand people taking threats of violence and murder in places of eduction or work places very seriously, but on the other it does not excuse destroying the lives of harmless cranks or dupes like this 17 year old boy here, heck I've heard about stories of sudden expulsions or/and criminal records being enforced upon innocent teenagers who merely fired toy guns, blurted out childish gun noises, did violent doodling or brought plastic spread knives in. Zero tolerance seems to be associated with zero common sense.
If the fellow had a history of violent behavior it might be understandable for the Judge to throw the book at him, if it was just a young idiot running his mouth of then getting booked by the Police and thrown in a cell will probably cure any thoughts of playng cool psyco killer.
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cosmicalstorm wrote:I understand them taking these sorts of threats seriously, but isnt this wa-aay over the line? Here in Sweden you would have to commit a brutal murder to come anywhere near these sorts of jail terms.
You don't know; the story doesn't contain enough information to make a judgement. It's 165 words long, only 100 words of which deal with the facts of the case. We would have to know a lot more about the specific details of this matter before passing comment.
Let's put this another way; lets suppose the defense attorney (note by the way, there are no comments from the prosecution) got his way and the perps got off with a slap on the wrist and probation. Three months later, they really do a roadside bombinga nd shoot up a schoolbus killinga dozen or more students. It then turns out that the two had a long history of violent and aggressive acts aimed at the other school. People would be going off the deep end screaming why were't they locked up after they made the threats the first time?
It's not possible to make value judgements based on a newspaper article as brief and one-sided as this one. We'd have to know a lot more about the facts of the case before we can comment meaningfully.
Nations do not survive by setting examples for others
Nations survive by making examples of others
Addition to above. It turns out that Terrence Taylor already had a criminal record and had served 75 days inside for carjacking (pled down to a misdemeanor). Plus additional offenses unspecified as a juvenile (cases sealed). So, he has a record for violent and criminal behavior, already got one break from the system and basically blew it. That makes the situation a lot more explicable.
Nations do not survive by setting examples for others
Nations survive by making examples of others
That certainly puts things into perspective, Stuart, if the twit was already in trouble with the law over pretty serious crimes and may have been a timebomb waiting to go off (but other kids have been given similar punishments for less).
chitoryu12 wrote:Hell, simply arresting the kid was probably enough to scare some sense into him. Whenever what someone thinks to be a harmless prank leads to being slapped in handcuffs and shoved into the back of a police car, they'll usually be too frightened to do it again, especially if you get the police to personally issue a very threatening warning.
What kind of raving idiot do you have to be to think that threatening to kill people columbine style is a harmless prank? Some form of punishment was deserved, but 8 years seems excessive; don't rapists get off with less, generally?
Yes. the penalty for spousal rape in AZ maxed out at 5 years until recently...
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Plekhanov wrote:Just for the sake of comparison what other kinds of crimes get you 8 years in the states?
Most felonies can net you up to 15 years or more, depending on the leniency of the sentencing judge and mitigating circumstances. So things like grand theft, aggravated assault and manslaughter are good examples.
"It's you Americans. There's something about nipples you hate. If this were Germany, we'd be romping around naked on the stage here."
It is also important to remember that the kid probably won't serve 8 years, that is just the maximum length of the sentence. Appeals or probation or any of those other legal whatsits will almost certainly drop the sentence down.
