California Man Faces Life in Prison for Stealing Pack of Donuts

California Man Faces Life in Prison for Stealing Pack of Donuts

www.breitbart.tv

He was busted for not paying for a small package of donuts, and now he could spend the rest of his life in prison.

(visit the link for the full news article)


Related News Links:
www.kget.com

What has the American justice system become? If Americans are so reluctant on clamping down on violent crimes how about increasing the standard of living in your ghettos.No wonder 2.5 million Americans are behind bars.




www.breitbart.tv
(visit the link for the full news article)

That's effing ridiculous. And the dipstick DA saying, "well, we already gave him a break not long ago..."

I'm friggin' homeless right now, but send me the bill, I'll pay for the friggin' donuts.

Obviously he made the wrong enemy somewhere along the line, and they're just looking to nail this guy.

Cop was probably pissed that this guy got the last donut.

That 3rd strike law is almost as bad as some of the laws they have in Saudi Arabia, man thats cruel and unusual punishment at its finest. There must be a reason why they want to keep all those people behind bars for so long and dont they use lots of prisoners for cheap labour? Definatly something isn't right here at all.

Hmm I was under the impression the third strike had to be a serious offense... like a violent crime, in order for the person to qualify? Is that not the case!?

Originally posted by Slickinfinity
That 3rd strike law is almost as bad as some of the laws they have in Saudi Arabia, man thats cruel and unusual punishment at its finest. There must be a reason why they want to keep all those people behind bars for so long and dont they use lots of prisoners for cheap labour? Definatly something isn't right here at all.

I knew the owner of tilapia fisheries in Colorado. He closed his business because he was constantly outbid for contracts by a company using prison labor at 1/4 minimum wage.

One out of ten Americans are in prison because of "three strikes" and "the war on drugs".

The number of inmates will increase after the "war on terror" expands to include all potential domestic terrorists (ie. anyone who dissents, ATS users)

[edit on 6-3-2008 by ColdWater]

reply to post by Lucid Lunacy

Hmm I was under the impression the third strike had to be a serious offense... like a violent crime, in order for the person to qualify? Is that not the case!?

Just has to be a felony. But since this guy was arrested for felonious stealing in the past, any stealing on his part is now considered a felony.

If you were to steal a pack of donuts, it would be a misdemeanor. 90-days in jail max. But as a convicted felon, and for previous convictions of a similar nature, the act constitutes felonious activity. Even if it was only his second strike, it would still be a felony for him.

Originally posted by jackinthebox

Just has to be a felony. But since this guy was arrested for felonious stealing in the past, any stealing on his part is now considered a felony.

If you were to steal a pack of donuts, it would be a misdemeanor. 90-days in jail max. But as a convicted felon, and for previous convictions of a similar nature, the act constitutes felonious activity. Even if it was only his second strike, it would still be a felony for him.

That's exactly how I thought it didn't work. That's just nuts!! What's your position on the 3 strikes law, and specifically this paticular case? I personally feel the third felony should have to be a violent crime to have a such a drastically life-ending sentence!

reply to post by Lucid Lunacy


I am against ALL mandatory sentencing. I have seen judges and even prosecutors squirm at the injustice they had to serve just because of statute.

In this particular case, the guy should have to pay a fine and make resitution, just like anyone else. If he is even actually guilty that is. His brother claims that the "perp" believed that the donuts were paid for by another patron. The guy is gonna do life over a misunderstanding? But obviously no one is going to give him the benefit of the doubt, after all, he is a habitual criminal.

[edit on 3/6/0808 by jackinthebox]

Well it's the result of generations of clueless legislators looking for publicity by saying they're going to "get tough on crime"... and generations of voters being suckers and giving the pandering idiots their votes.

Not to mention a lot of lobbying by the prison-industrial complex.

People understandably get ticked off about rapists getting early releases, etc.
So they vote for some loudmouth schmuck promising to "get tough"...
& next thing you know it's: "why is Uncle Bob getting life in prison for stealing donuts?!?"

While it does seem ridiculous at face value, I have to wonder what his first 2 strikes were. I can't have too much sympathy because the guy knew that he already had 2 strikes and would face a life sentence for whatever crime he would commit next. I know that if I faced life in jail, I would not be stealing anything.

I am not a fan of mandatory sentencing either. The 3 strikes law seems to be a failed policy.

reply to post by Karlhungis


The guy thought the donuts had been paid for. But of course no one is going to believe that. Besides, the guy did his time on the other two charges. Life over some donuts is ludicrous, no matter how you cut the donut.

[edit on 3/6/0808 by jackinthebox]

Fantastic. This is exactly what the law is for. Getting people with no moral training off of the streets. Thank God for three strikes. This man had his chances and he threw it all away, he knew the consequences. Notice they don't mention his other strikes. No doubt they were violent crimes. Three strikes was voted in by the people for a reason. It has been a great deterrent or at least it has reduce crime on the street.

It's just too bad they don't have something similar out where I live. Instead we have continual home invasions, violent gun crimes, HIV and Hep C infected needles lying on the street and roving drug gangs. Moreover this is in a small town. This is what happens when you reject basic moral instruction, starting with the simple teachings of the Bible, such as the ten commandments. You end up with a needed reduction of freedoms to curb the unrestrained behaviors of all the moral infants our society creates.

Originally posted by jackinthebox
The guy thought the donuts had been paid for. But of course no one is going to believe that. Besides, the guy did his time on the other two charges. Life over some donuts is ludicrous, no matter how you cut the donut.

Of course they were paid for I sure beleive him......

Give me a break.

At anyrate its been fun watching all of these knee jerk replies on these old stories and even more amusing to see than none of you bothered to look beyond the headlines before pontificating on the evilness of the system.

If you had bothered you would have seen this:

Charges dropped against man facing third strike
www.kget.com...

But hey why stand in the way of all this soapboxing....

If he stays clean he will have no problem if he gets caught doing it again, he deserves what he gets.

reply to post by FredT

Of course they were paid for I sure beleive him...... Give me a break.

Well you have to believe him now. He wasn't found guilty. Or are you one of those who supports a "fair and just" trial before the hangin'?

reply to post by SevenThunders


Nice Christian attitude there. How about having a society that invests in humanity instead of prisons? Maybe we should try removing the causes of crime, instead of trying to disarm the bomb after it has already gone off.

reply to post by FredT


Thanks for clearing this up, FredT.

But I just want to know..where can you get a package of donuts for fifty cents?

reply to post by SevenThunders

You end up with a needed reduction of freedoms to curb the unrestrained behaviors of all the moral infants our society creates.

Oh sure, more security is the answer. The NYPD couldn't even prevent some hippy on a scooter from throwing a bomb into the Times Square Aremed Forces Recruiting Center early this morning when there was nothing else going on. Not to mention that the Center is in spitting distance to a police station, literally.

You can see the AFRC reflected in the windows...

reply to post by jackinthebox


My argument is not necessarily that more security is the answer, but rather it is a natural outcome of the collapse of any moral restraints in society. Our founding fathers knew that our form of government was incompatible with godlessness. When you have the kind of predators that they had in CA, the three strikes law was a logical progression in an attempt to curtail an out of control situation. The creation of endless streams of thieves and violent offenders, however, is directly related to the planned moral collapse of America. It will only get worse.

For the most part, as ugly as it is, the three strikes law has helped. Even in this case, the criminal has decided to leave town rather than face his inevitable incarceration. Thus again the law has worked, one less loser to terrorize the citizens in Bakersfield. If he's smart he leave CA altogether and move to my town where he can rape loot and pillage at will.

Everyone is overlooking one thing, and this should be a lesson for all:

Don't mess with the cops primary food group.