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This is a court of law, young man, not a court of justice."
truroute
Posts: 251
http://www.sltrib.com/ci_4798395
That quote is what hit me.
Cruel and unusual: Harsh sentence fails the test of justice
Tribune Editorial
Article Last Updated:12/07/2006 06:24:33 PM MST
"This is a court of law, young man, not a court of justice."
- OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES Jr. (1841-1935)
Supreme Court Justice
When U.S. District Court Judge Paul Cassell sentenced Utah record producer and pot dealer Weldon Angelos to 55 years in prison, he was following the law.
When he joined with a who's who of the American bar to argue that that very sentence was, in Cassell's words, "unjust, cruel and even irrational," he was seeking justice.
The fact that justice and the law do not match is not Cassell's fault. It is the fault of Congress.
This week, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the case brought by Angelos that his sentence, though mandated by law, is unconstitutionally cruel and unusual.
If an effective life sentence for such a common crime, invoked merely because Angelos was found to be carrying a gun when he was caught selling marijuana to undercover police officers, is not cruel and unusual, it's hard to imagine what would be.
As the brief filed by 145 one-time prosecutors, including four former U.S. attorneys general, pointed out, Angelos' sentence is double what would be handed down to someone who was convicted of hijacking an airliner or being the kingpin behind a death-dealing drug cartel.
Angelos was operating in a
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world where everyone carries weapons because, as the song goes, you always carry cash. That the law that set the sentence or the prosecutors who invoked it should be offended at the presence of a weapon in that environment is childish.
Cassell could have refused to impose the sentence and dared prosecutors to get him overturned on appeal. The fact that he declined to do so shows Cassell, who would never be mistaken for a bleeding-heart liberal in any circumstance, cannot be dismissed as an "activist judge."
Because neither the U.S. Court of Appeals nor the Supreme Court would rescue Cassell's conscience from his sense of duty, it is now up to Congress to change the law, and up to President Bush to commute the sentence.
Prospects for such action are slim, given that few politicians advance their careers by putting justice ahead of retribution.
But mandatory minimum sentences are deservedly losing popularity all along the political spectrum. The Angelos case is evidence that they fail the definition of justice, and should end
That quote is what hit me.
Cruel and unusual: Harsh sentence fails the test of justice
Tribune Editorial
Article Last Updated:12/07/2006 06:24:33 PM MST
"This is a court of law, young man, not a court of justice."
- OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES Jr. (1841-1935)
Supreme Court Justice
When U.S. District Court Judge Paul Cassell sentenced Utah record producer and pot dealer Weldon Angelos to 55 years in prison, he was following the law.
When he joined with a who's who of the American bar to argue that that very sentence was, in Cassell's words, "unjust, cruel and even irrational," he was seeking justice.
The fact that justice and the law do not match is not Cassell's fault. It is the fault of Congress.
This week, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the case brought by Angelos that his sentence, though mandated by law, is unconstitutionally cruel and unusual.
If an effective life sentence for such a common crime, invoked merely because Angelos was found to be carrying a gun when he was caught selling marijuana to undercover police officers, is not cruel and unusual, it's hard to imagine what would be.
As the brief filed by 145 one-time prosecutors, including four former U.S. attorneys general, pointed out, Angelos' sentence is double what would be handed down to someone who was convicted of hijacking an airliner or being the kingpin behind a death-dealing drug cartel.
Angelos was operating in a
Advertisement
world where everyone carries weapons because, as the song goes, you always carry cash. That the law that set the sentence or the prosecutors who invoked it should be offended at the presence of a weapon in that environment is childish.
Cassell could have refused to impose the sentence and dared prosecutors to get him overturned on appeal. The fact that he declined to do so shows Cassell, who would never be mistaken for a bleeding-heart liberal in any circumstance, cannot be dismissed as an "activist judge."
Because neither the U.S. Court of Appeals nor the Supreme Court would rescue Cassell's conscience from his sense of duty, it is now up to Congress to change the law, and up to President Bush to commute the sentence.
Prospects for such action are slim, given that few politicians advance their careers by putting justice ahead of retribution.
But mandatory minimum sentences are deservedly losing popularity all along the political spectrum. The Angelos case is evidence that they fail the definition of justice, and should end
Post edited by Unknown User on
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Comments
http://reason.com/blog/show/117131.html
I agree.
naděje umírá poslední
absolutely ridiculous.
If we're that concerned about marijuana? Why not a 55 year mandatory sentance and freezing of the assets for corporate fraud?
Why not a thorough investigation into the dealings of every member of congress? I bet more than a few break their own laws.
This kind of thing has no root in justice. It's all about getting elected and "buying votes"
...are those who've helped us.
Right 'round the corner could be bigger than ourselves.
i dont think the people that pass them think they're a good diea either. they do it so that next election cycle they can run a commercial saying "X is tough in crime and put drug dealers behind bars. Y is a pussy liberal who lets criminals go free and dealers roam the streets. is that what you want? im x and i approve this message. now im going to go check my son into rehab... oh yeah, HE doesnt deserve a mandatory minimum jail sentence."
i dont think there's a single person in this country who would have any clue that selling pot on the street could get you 55 years in jail. the fact that even the judge is appalled shows that this law violates every norm of common sense. i doubt even the people who wrote the law considered this result would ever occur.
is the law supposed to provide justice or create unbending rules that are totally arbitrary?
i could rape and murder a child today and be out before this guy is. that's wrong, any way you slice it. and you cannot excuse it by saying "well they knew the rules" becos he didnt, you didnt, i didnt, and noone in their right mind would ever have thought that possible or just. im shocked that the prosecution pushed for it.
Are you suggesting that there's a non-arbitrary definition of "justice". I'm surprised to hear you say that, lately. Where does that definition come from?
becos to be just, any system of laws and punishment must be flexible and able to fit the crime. mandatory minimums are not.
I'm sure he probably knew there'd be SOME jailtime, though.
...are those who've helped us.
Right 'round the corner could be bigger than ourselves.
no doubt. but it's a calculation of risk. the other options he had vs the money he could make doing it vs the risk of being caught and punishment if he did. but from here on out, if people know they'll get 55 years for such a crime, next time they might just shoot the cop and run, figuring they've got a better chance of getting off and they'll get the same amount of jailtime anyway. that's why this is ridiculous. it doesnt prevent any behavior, it encourages worse behavior.
Well if he was calculating the risk, he should have used actual facts.
...are those who've helped us.
Right 'round the corner could be bigger than ourselves.
cmon. dyou calculate the risk of accident every time you get behind the wheel? regardless, this does not change the fact that even if he knew, he still might have done it only he would have shot the cop instead of surrendering.
Umm...not the actual percentage, but I do understand the risk involved in driving and that factors into whether I'm willing to do it or not. If I'm knowingly breaking the law, I try to understand the consequences. That's why I only speed no more than 10 miles above the speed limit in most cases - because I'm not willing to take the risk of the punishment for higher speeds.
...are those who've helped us.
Right 'round the corner could be bigger than ourselves.
They're trying to build a prison,
They're trying to build a prison,
Following the rights movements
You clamped on with your iron fists,
Drugs became conveniently
Available for all the kids,
Following the rights movements
You clamped on with your iron fists,
Drugs became conveniently
Available for all the kids,
I buy my crack, my smack, my bitch,
Right here in Hollywood,
Nearly 2 million Americans are incarcerated
In the prison system,
Prison system of the U.S.
They're trying to build a prison,
They're trying to build a prison,
They're trying to build a prison, (for you and me to live in)
Another prison system,
Another prison system,
Another prison system. (for you and me to live in)
Minor drug offenders fill your prisons
You don't even flinch
All our taxes paying for your wars
Against the new non-rich,
Minor drug offenders fill your prisons
You don't even flinch
All our taxes paying for your wars
Against the new non-rich,
I buy my crack, my smack, my bitch,
Right here in Hollywood,
The percentage of Americans in the prison system
Prison system, has doubled since 1985,
They're trying to build a prison,
They're trying to build a prison,
They're trying to build a prison, (for you and me to live in)
Another prison system,
Another prison system,
Another prison system. (for you and me to live in)
For you and I, for you and I , for you and I.
They're trying to build a prison,
They're trying to build a prison,
They're trying to build a prison,
For you and me,
Oh baby, you and me.
All research and successful drug policy show
That treatment should be increased,
And law enforcement decreased,
While abolishing mandatory minimum sentences,
All research and successful drug policy show
That treatment should be increased,
And law enforcement decreased,
While abolishing mandatory minimum sentences.
Utilizing drugs to pay for secret wars around the world,
Drugs are now your global policy,
Now you police the globe,
I buy my crack, my smack, my bitch,
Right here in Hollywood,
Drug money is used to rig elections,
And train brutal corporate sponsored
Dictators around the world.
They're trying to build a prison,
They're trying to build a prison,
They're trying to build a prison, (for you and me to live in)
Another prison system,
Another prison system,
Another prison system. (for you and me to live in)
For you and I, for you and I , for you and I.
They're trying to build a prison,
They're trying to build a prison,
They're trying to build a prison,
For you and me,
Oh baby, you and me.
Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth.
-Oscar Wilde