Excessive sentence or not?

Fair Wayne Bryant has been in prison in Louisiana since 1997, sentenced to life without parole for stealing some hedge clippers.
He had 4 previous felony convictions, 3 were non violent out of the 4 and was sentenced as a habitual offender.
Recently the Louisiana Supreme Court upheld his conviction in a 5-1 vote.
Now I know the laws of the land are the laws of the land but this seems crazy to me, I really don’t see how this guy’s sentence hasn’t been commuted yet.
Supposedly it has cost the taxpayers over half a million dollars to keep him incarcerated so far.
Maybe this guy is a bad dude, I don’t know other than what I have read in the stories about it but it just doesn’t feel right to me.
Maybe I am having a weak moment or something but I just couldn’t imagine sitting in there with a life sentence for that crime when other people are getting out of prisons after far worse crimes.
Too bad there isn’t a way to bring this to Trump’s attention and for him to review the case and maybe grant this guy clemency, not sure if it would even be possible for something like that to happen.

The Louisiana Supreme Court last week denied a request to review a life sentence handed down to Fair Wayne Bryant, a man convicted to life in prison for trying to steal hedge clippers from a carport storage room in Caddo Parish, LA, in 1997.
The denial follows a lower state appeals court’s 2019 decision that upheld the sentence.

In a lone dissent, Louisiana Supreme Court Chief Justice Bernette Johnson wrote that Bryant’s “life sentence for a failed attempt to steal a set of hedge clippers is grossly out of proportion to the crime and serves no legitimate penal purpose.”

“Mr. Bryant’s incarceration has cost Louisiana taxpayers approximately $518,667,” Johnson wrote. “Arrested at 38, Mr. Bryant has already spent nearly 23 years in prison and is now over 60 years old. If he lives another 20 years, Louisiana taxpayers will have paid almost one million dollars to punish Mr. Bryant for his failed effort to steal a set of hedge clippers.”

www.foxnews.com...


thelensnola.org...

a reply to: RazorV66

zero tolerance. It removes the need to be a thinking person, and you just do what you are told.

I'm not a fan.

Did he break into the storage room to steal the hedge clippers? Or did he break inTo the storage room and stealing the hedge clippers was a crime of opportunity? Was the homeowner at home? Would he have injured or killed the homeowner it he were confronted? Was the crime committed after dark?

All important questions that have a bearing on intent.

So now that's 5 felony convictions, of which only one was "violent." In other words, he is a career criminal. So we need to let him out of prison knowing full well that he will continue to commit felonies. But it's okay. Statistically speaking, only 1 of 5 will be violent.

Thats the mentality of your typical right wing American isn’t it?

Even mention the idea of a few of their tax dollars going towards healthcare to those in need and they’ll lose there mind... but spending endless millions of tax payers dollars locking people up for the most benign offences you could possibly think of, just some how obviously makes perfect sense.

a reply to: Subaeruginosa

No, that would be calling for a death penalty so as to not continuing to waste tax dollars on the care and feeding of a career criminal.

a reply to: RazorV66

The POTUS has the power to pardon. It'd be a PR victory for him and also justice because he's served his time for the crime.

originally posted by: Ahabstar
a reply to: Subaeruginosa

No, that would be calling for a death penalty so as to not continuing to waste tax dollars on the care and feeding of a career criminal.

For a 'career' it wasn't very lucrative.

LOL.

originally posted by: Subaeruginosa
Thats the mentality of your typical right wing American isn’t it?

Even mention the idea of a few of their tax dollars going towards healthcare to those in need and they’ll lose there mind... but spending endless millions of tax payers dollars locking people up for the most benign offences you could possibly think of, just some how obviously makes perfect sense.

Doesn't matter what one "thinks"
3 strikes and they go to prison sometimes for life.
This person had 4 .
BEFORE attempted theft.
Seems they had plenty of chances.

Normally I am a staunch law and order kind of guy...you break a law, pay the penalty.
Like I said, maybe I am having a weak moment for some reason.
But this just seems excessive to me without knowing more details.

originally posted by: chr0naut
a reply to: RazorV66

The POTUS has the power to pardon. It'd be a PR victory for him and also justice because he's served his time for the crime.

We don’t agree too often but I do agree with that.

originally posted by: RazorV66

originally posted by: chr0naut
a reply to: RazorV66

The POTUS has the power to pardon. It'd be a PR victory for him and also justice because he's served his time for the crime.

We don’t agree too often but I do agree with that.

The POTUS can only pardon federal criminals. Were these state crimes?

Only one of those previous convictions was for a violent crime — a 1979 attempted armed robbery of a cab driver, to which Bryant pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 10 years in prison. *

Did he serve those 10 years? Yes I guess he did seems he was in more than out his whole life.
By the way the Judge is a Black Woman so the racist comments online make little sense to me.

originally posted by: 1947boomer

originally posted by: RazorV66

originally posted by: chr0naut
a reply to: RazorV66

The POTUS has the power to pardon. It'd be a PR victory for him and also justice because he's served his time for the crime.

We don’t agree too often but I do agree with that.

The POTUS can only pardon federal criminals. Were these state crimes?

I did not know that....yes state crimes.

a reply to: RazorV66

how would this bloke survive out on the street the amount of homeless in the states

a reply to: RazorV66

Was he sentenced under Bill Clinton's three strike law? Put into effect in 1994. Uncle Joe sponsored the bill when he was a senator.

originally posted by: RazorV66
Fair Wayne Bryant has been in prison in Louisiana since 1997, sentenced to life without parole for stealing some hedge clippers.
He had 4 previous felony convictions, 3 were non violent out of the 4 and was sentenced as a habitual offender.
Recently the Louisiana Supreme Court upheld his conviction in a 5-1 vote.

I don't want to get all political, but thank you Biden for creating the mechanism for crap like this to happen.

originally posted by: Xtrozero

originally posted by: RazorV66
Fair Wayne Bryant has been in prison in Louisiana since 1997, sentenced to life without parole for stealing some hedge clippers.
He had 4 previous felony convictions, 3 were non violent out of the 4 and was sentenced as a habitual offender.
Recently the Louisiana Supreme Court upheld his conviction in a 5-1 vote.

I don't want to get all political, but thank you Biden for creating the mechanism for crap like this to happen.

He did say he didn't want black mingling with his children this was one way how many are in prison for life under the three strike law

originally posted by: Ahabstar
a reply to: Subaeruginosa

No, that would be calling for a death penalty so as to not continuing to waste tax dollars on the care and feeding of a career criminal.

Was there ever a death penalty case, outside the 1800s that didn't end up costing more than life in prison..pretty sure it's no. Other than the odd one who welcome it. Mostly, it takes 15-20 years of court battles.

originally posted by: chr0naut
a reply to: RazorV66

The POTUS has the power to pardon. It'd be a PR victory for him and also justice because he's served his time for the crime.

He hasn’t served his time at all

‘Life’ was the sentence

And the President doesn’t need a PR victory