Calif. '3 Strikes' Convict Freed

Calif. '3 Strikes' Convict Freed

www.newser.com

A homeless man sentenced to 25 years to life for trying to break into a church soup kitchen to find food has been freed by a Los Angeles judge.

The original sentence "falls outside the spirit of the three-strikes law," the judge said, giving Taylor a new sentence shorter than the time he has already served.

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It's good to hear some judges have their hearts in the right place - proof the judicial system can works, if not perfectly.

I really comment the law students who put so much effort into overturning life sentences for minor offenses.

Enjoy folks. It's my opinion we need more stories of 'hope' here on ATS.

peace


www.newser.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

I lived out in Cali for 5 years, and the homeless situation is horribly sad. The Black Shirts (Sacramento Sheriff Dept) routinely scour the banks of the American River destroying homeless shelters.
The humanitarian act that this Judge committed, should be commendable, and brings the thought of hope, back into society (especially Kalifornia).
SNF

I like how breaking into a soup kitchen for food is the big focus. We'll just forget about the robbery and purse snatching.

There isnt something holy and great about California, this judge, the 3 strikes law, law enforcement in general or this purse snatching robber either.

Why try to break into the soup kitchen? Wouldnt just be open again in a matter of hours?

This guy got busted for the robbery in the 80's. Was he homeless then too? Just some poor guy down on his luck for 30 years? There's a big difference between some guy on hard times being homeless for a period of time and some other guy being a habitual vagrant for decades.

This isnt a good thing. This isnt a bad thing. It's a thing.

Edited out something I totally misread. Thanks to jaym19th for pointing it out.

[edit on 17-8-2010 by thisguyrighthere]

Gregory Taylor, Homeless Man Sentenced To 25 Years For Stealing Food, Ordered Released From Prison

source

Tears streamed down Taylor's face and Judge Peter Espinoza asked a bailiff to get him a tissue.

"I thought I was going to cry too," said law student Reiko Rogozen, who started working on the case in January as part of Stanford Law School's Three-Strikes Project, which filed a writ of habeas corpus seeking freedom for Taylor. "He was scared up until the last minute that it wasn't actually going to happen."

peace

reply to post by thisguyrighthere


Actually he was busted for attempted un-armed robbery and stealing a purse.

"he had two felony convictions for a purse-snatching and an attempted unarmed robbery in the mid-'80s"

Read more: www.newser.com...

I'm no sticking up for the man, but I'd rather not pay to keep him clothed and fed for the remainder of his life.

Wow, across the pond is so much different to the UK. Over here you can have a criminal record as long as your arm (and legs) and still not go to jail. Maybe a couple of months. All that "three strikes and you're out" crap is just that, crap. Basically you have to do something really bad to get jail in the UK. Unless you're one of those nice people who's never done anything wrong before and they want to make an example of you. This place is crawling with crooks. Real nasty ones who are let off with a slapped wrist again and again and again. And the rewards for crookery are awesome.