INTENSITY²
Politics, Mature and taboo => Political Pundits => Topic started by: Peter on October 09, 2007, 04:45:53 AM
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FARMINGTON, Mo. - It's a hefty price for a pastry: A man accused of stealing a 52-cent doughnut could face time in jail.
Authorities said Scott A. Masters, 41, slipped the doughnut into his sweat shirt without paying, then pushed away a clerk who tried to stop him as he fled the store.
The push is being treated as minor assault, which transforms a misdemeanor shoplifting charge to a strong-armed robbery with a potential prison term of five to 15 years. Because he has a criminal history, prosecutors say they could seek 30 years.
What is it with the US?
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Hey man, donut shops are 'specially
protected here. That's like killing
a cop.
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Er... that's a bit extreme. Just a bit.
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Well about half of us are completely out of their minds ::)
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They might do the same in Wigan though if someone stole a pie.
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They have stupid mandatory minimum sentencing in many areas and three strike laws that take any sort of sense out of what the judges can do or even take into consideration. They are in response to all the people who should have been put away for life but got out on parole. Now people like this pay the price.
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FARMINGTON, Mo. - It's a hefty price for a pastry: A man accused of stealing a 52-cent doughnut could face time in jail.
Authorities said Scott A. Masters, 41, slipped the doughnut into his sweat shirt without paying, then pushed away a clerk who tried to stop him as he fled the store.
The push is being treated as minor assault, which transforms a misdemeanor shoplifting charge to a strong-armed robbery with a potential prison term of five to 15 years. Because he has a criminal history, prosecutors say they could seek 30 years.
What is it with the US?
In America a lot of states have introduced three strikes laws, which this guy must have been sentenced under. Three strikes and you know the criminal is sufficiently harden enough to deserve being locked away for a long time. Along with the building of lots of new prisons, the USA has seen it's crime rate plunge to levels not seen since the 1970's. In Australia and Britain crime is at record levels, mainly because we aren't putting enough police on the streets, not building enough prisons and sentencing repeat offenders to very long sentences.
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FARMINGTON, Mo. - It's a hefty price for a pastry: A man accused of stealing a 52-cent doughnut could face time in jail.
Authorities said Scott A. Masters, 41, slipped the doughnut into his sweat shirt without paying, then pushed away a clerk who tried to stop him as he fled the store.
The push is being treated as minor assault, which transforms a misdemeanor shoplifting charge to a strong-armed robbery with a potential prison term of five to 15 years. Because he has a criminal history, prosecutors say they could seek 30 years.
What is it with the US?
In America a lot of states have introduced three strikes laws, which this guy must have been sentenced under. Three strikes and you know the criminal is sufficiently harden enough to deserve being locked away for a long time. Along with the building of lots of new prisons, the USA has seen it's crime rate plunge to levels not seen since the 1970's. In Australia and Britain crime is at record levels, mainly because we aren't putting enough police on the streets, not building enough prisons and sentencing repeat offenders to very long sentences.
Does that mean you support a man potentially getting sentenced for 30 years for stealing a donut? :o Wouldn't it just be easier to cut off one of his hands? That would teach him, hey?
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FARMINGTON, Mo. - It's a hefty price for a pastry: A man accused of stealing a 52-cent doughnut could face time in jail.
Authorities said Scott A. Masters, 41, slipped the doughnut into his sweat shirt without paying, then pushed away a clerk who tried to stop him as he fled the store.
The push is being treated as minor assault, which transforms a misdemeanor shoplifting charge to a strong-armed robbery with a potential prison term of five to 15 years. Because he has a criminal history, prosecutors say they could seek 30 years.
What is it with the US?
In America a lot of states have introduced three strikes laws, which this guy must have been sentenced under. Three strikes and you know the criminal is sufficiently harden enough to deserve being locked away for a long time. Along with the building of lots of new prisons, the USA has seen it's crime rate plunge to levels not seen since the 1970's. In Australia and Britain crime is at record levels, mainly because we aren't putting enough police on the streets, not building enough prisons and sentencing repeat offenders to very long sentences.
Do you not see something disturbing in the US having the highest number of prisoners per capita (http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/cri_pri_per_cap-crime-prisoners-per-capita) in the entire world, while still having the 8th highest crime rate (http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/cri_tot_cri_percap-crime-total-crimes-per-capita)? The US prison population per capita is 6-8 times as great as most other developed countries, and outstrips even the worst shitholes by a large margin, yet having such a vast number of people in prison seems to have done little for the crime rate.
This article (http://pubs.socialistreviewindex.org.uk/isj66/gasper.htm) provides an analysis of the crime industry in the US.
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Does that mean you support a man potentially getting sentenced for 30 years for stealing a donut? :o Wouldn't it just be easier to cut off one of his hands? That would teach him, hey?
It was noted the man had a prior criminal record, quite possibly he had been in jail before. No doubly he was a repeat criminal.
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Do you not see something disturbing in the US having the highest number of prisoners per capita (http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/cri_pri_per_cap-crime-prisoners-per-capita) in the entire world, while still having the 8th highest crime rate (http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/cri_tot_cri_percap-crime-total-crimes-per-capita)? The US prison population per capita is 6-8 times as great as most other developed countries, and outstrips even the worst shitholes by a large margin, yet having such a vast number of people in prison seems to have done little for the crime rate.
This article (http://pubs.socialistreviewindex.org.uk/isj66/gasper.htm) provides an analysis of the crime industry in the US.
Look at the nations with a higher crime rate than the US; Namely the United Kingdom, Finland and Denmark. In the United States you have a lot of Blacks, Hispanics and Rednecks who are much more likely to commit crimes than everybody else.
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Do you not see something disturbing in the US having the highest number of prisoners per capita (http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/cri_pri_per_cap-crime-prisoners-per-capita) in the entire world, while still having the 8th highest crime rate (http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/cri_tot_cri_percap-crime-total-crimes-per-capita)? The US prison population per capita is 6-8 times as great as most other developed countries, and outstrips even the worst shitholes by a large margin, yet having such a vast number of people in prison seems to have done little for the crime rate.
This article (http://pubs.socialistreviewindex.org.uk/isj66/gasper.htm) provides an analysis of the crime industry in the US.
Look at the nations with a higher crime rate than the US; Namely the United Kingdom, Finland and Denmark. In the United States you have a lot of Blacks, Hispanics and Rednecks who are much more likely to commit crimes than everybody else.
Blacks, Hispanics and Rednecks who are much more likely to commit crimes than everybody else.
??? ??? :grrr: ??? ???
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Does that mean you support a man potentially getting sentenced for 30 years for stealing a donut? :o Wouldn't it just be easier to cut off one of his hands? That would teach him, hey?
It was noted the man had a prior criminal record, quite possibly he had been in jail before. No doubly he was a repeat criminal.
So that must mean he deserves locking up for 30 years for stealing a donut then? You're right, he sounds like a highly dangerous master criminal. ::)
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He's lucky he wasn't shot.
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I'd like some details on his previous criminal record before I can fully judge. Maybe he was slippery and it was their chance to get him.
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He's lucky he wasn't shot.
Maybe he's white that would explain it :grrr:
but he must be Black, Hispanic or Redneck who are much more likely to commit crimes than everybody else :grrr:
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Redneck!
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In the United States you have a lot of Blacks, Hispanics and Rednecks who are much more likely to commit crimes than everybody else.
Nobody has anything to say about this statement or do you assume it's true :grrr:
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In the United States you have a lot of Blacks, Hispanics and Rednecks who are much more likely to commit crimes than everybody else.
Nobody has anything to say about this statement or do you assume it's true :grrr:
It probably is. At least low end crimes.
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In the United States you have a lot of Blacks, Hispanics and Rednecks who are much more likely to commit crimes than everybody else.
Nobody has anything to say about this statement or do you assume it's true :grrr:
It probably is. At least low end crimes.
Do you cross the street when you see them coming your way?
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In the United States you have a lot of Blacks, Hispanics and Rednecks who are much more likely to commit crimes than everybody else.
Nobody has anything to say about this statement or do you assume it's true :grrr:
It probably is. At least low end crimes.
Do you cross the street when you see them coming your way?
In general? No. Then again, people do tend to
cross the street when they see me coming. :laugh:
I'm just saying that there's a correlation between poverty
and certain kinds of crimes. And the given groups are
lower on the socio-economic scale, overall. No big surprise.
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In the United States you have a lot of Blacks, Hispanics and Rednecks who are much more likely to commit crimes than everybody else.
Nobody has anything to say about this statement or do you assume it's true :grrr:
It probably is. At least low end crimes.
Do you cross the street when you see them coming your way?
In general? No. Then again, people do tend to
cross the street when they see me coming. :laugh:
I'm just saying that there's a correlation between poverty
and certain kinds of crimes. And the given groups are
lower on the socio-economic scale, overall. No big surprise.
They cross the street from me too :laugh: Which is probably why I am sensitive about it. I agree it has more to do with social status than anything else but the way it was said just rubs me wrong
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It bugged me too, but I knew that one could
bring statistics up to show 'twas true. Didn't want
to lose a fight.
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It bugged me too, but I knew that one could
bring statistics up to show 'twas true. Didn't want
to lose a fight.
I don't mind loosing a fight as long as it was for something I believe in.
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I do. Hurts my image, which is unimportant.
BUT, it also hurts the idea itself, in others'
view. I'd rather not expose something to
weakness, if I can't defend it well. Sadly,
with my inability to make myself clear here,
I seem to do just that, too often.
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I'm just a stubborn son of a bitch :P
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Me too. But, I don't like to do more
harm than good. And my mom
is a certified bitch.
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The big question is...........
was it a glazed doughnut??
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It bugged me too, but I knew that one could
bring statistics up to show 'twas true. Didn't want
to lose a fight.
The more I thought about I believe the statistics can be deceiving. The problem being that the people being represented being poor don't have access to very good legal representation and mostly rely on public defenders while the people with money can get much better.
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Sure. But, the very KIND of crime is an important
point. Why shoplift, if you have money? Sure, some
do it for the thrill or something (for me, 'twas honor),
but it's different.
Same with B&E.
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Sure. But, the very KIND of crime is an important
point. Why shoplift, if you have money? Sure, some
do it for the thrill or something (for me, 'twas honor),
but it's different.
Same with B&E.
I used to live in what is called the gold coast of Connecticut and knew a lot of little rich kids who shoplifted and committed B&E and were usually the ones that got way with it because nobody thought they would do it and their parents hushed everything up when they got caught.
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Yeah. I know. I'm just saying that the numbers
have to be different. Kids are going to steal.
No question that it's skewed, so that the
rich get off a LOT easier.
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Are you still on here from last night?
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Yeah. I know. I'm just saying that the numbers
have to be different. Kids are going to steal.
No question that it's skewed, so that the
rich get off a LOT easier.
Then blanket statements should not be used
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Blacks, Hispanics and Rednecks who are much more likely to commit crimes than everybody else.
??? ??? :grrr: ??? ???
Look at the stats, it shows that Black, Hispanic or Southern White people are more likely than average and vs other groups to commit crimes. It is clear as night and day.
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Blacks, Hispanics and Rednecks who are much more likely to commit crimes than everybody else.
??? ??? :grrr: ??? ???
Look at the stats, it shows that Black, Hispanic or Southern White people are more likely than average and vs other groups to commit crimes. It is clear as night and day.
It also shows they they tend to be poor also.
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Just shows that crime does not pay. :laugh:
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Blacks, Hispanics and Rednecks who are much more likely to commit crimes than everybody else.
??? ??? :grrr: ??? ???
Look at the stats, it shows that Black, Hispanic or Southern White people are more likely than average and vs other groups to commit crimes. It is clear as night and day.
It also shows they they tend to be poor also.
don't waste your breath on the hateful little prick. he's swallowed the red pill. ::)
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Blacks, Hispanics and Rednecks who are much more likely to commit crimes than everybody else.
??? ??? :grrr: ??? ???
Look at the stats, it shows that Black, Hispanic or Southern White people are more likely than average and vs other groups to commit crimes. It is clear as night and day.
It also shows they they tend to be poor also.
don't waste your breath on the hateful little prick. he's swallowed the red pill. ::)
What a waste but for some people open minds just don't work I hope he will see the light someday
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It also shows they they tend to be poor also.
People can be quite poor and law obeying at the same time, For example Australia during the depths of the Great Depression had a lower crime rate than today.
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Yeah. Less opportunity to
get arrested. Whoop whoop.
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don't waste your breath on the hateful little prick. he's swallowed the red pill. ::)
I am not proud of some aspects of my personality. However I see my dislike of criminals and wanting them to be rightfully punished as a good thing.
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This is from the initial article from a St. Louis newspaper. --It appears that the man in question has a lengthy criminal record, and is going to be tried under Missouri's repeat offender law.
News > Missouri State News > Story
52-cent doughnut may cost man 30 years to life
By Todd C. Frankel
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
10/07/2007
FARMINGTON, MO. — Shoplifters at Country Mart tend to favor cold medicines and packaged meats. They used to steal cigarettes, too, until tobacco was moved behind the counter. But the doughnuts were never a target for thieves.
Country Mart's doughnuts — fried fresh daily in the store — sell for just 52 cents each. That is why the "shoplifters will be prosecuted" signs are displayed in aisle 4 with the pricey pain and allergy pills, and not in aisle 5 beside the glass doughnut case with its tiger tails, jelly-filleds and eclairs.
Then one man's sweet tooth got the better of him. He stole a doughnut. A single doughnut.
Authorities called it strong-arm robbery. The "doughnut man," as the suspect is now known, faces five to 15 years in prison for his crime. And Farmington, a town of 14,000 people about 70 miles south of St. Louis, has been buzzing about it ever since.
"That someone would take just a single doughnut, not something very expensive or extravagant, that's unique," supermarket assistant manager Gary Komar said, smiling.
Scott A. Masters, 41, is accused of shoplifting the pastry and pushing a store worker who tried to stop him. The worker was unhurt. But with that shove, his shoplifting turned into a strong-arm robbery. Masters, who appeared in court Friday, is stunned. The prosecutor shows no signs of backing down. In fact, because Masters has a prior record, he could get a sentence of 30 years to life.
Lanell Gibbs was there the day of the doughnut heist.
"That was a first," Gibbs, 68, said.
She has worked for 11 years as a cashier at Country Mart, a regional supermarket chain. Next to her register, she keeps a clipping from the local newspaper about the doughnut man's case. He was indicted just last month, although the theft took place in December. She likes to show the article to customers as she recounts the story.
It was about 11 a.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 6. The store was in a lull. Gibbs, who could see the doughnut case from her station, said she saw Masters slip the doughnut into the pocket of his hooded sweatshirt.
She turned to a co-worker and said, "I saw him take a doughnut. Let's see if he pays for it."
They watched Masters as he strolled past the seven green checkout lanes and out a side door between the customer service desk and the pharmacy, passing under a giant "Country Mart Thanks You" sign.
Gibbs' co-worker followed Masters into the parking lot. The co-worker, a 54-year-old woman, demanded that Masters come inside, according to the police report. He offered to give the doughnut back. She declined and grabbed his arm.
That is when Masters allegedly delivered "a backhanded punch to the chest" and took off running, police said.
"That made her mad," Gibbs recalled.
The woman, who was uninjured, jumped in her car and called police as she chased Masters. He was arrested minutes later.
Farmington Police Chief Rick Baker said the two incidents taken separately equaled two misdemeanors: shoplifting and minor third-degree assault. Together, they make for second-degree robbery, a class B felony, defined in state law as forcibly stealing property. The amount of force and the amount of property does not matter.
"It's not the doughnut," Baker said. "It's the assault."
Masters is a small man, wiry, about 5-foot-6, with short-cropped hair, a graying goatee and hound-dog eyes. He is a "frequent flier" at the St. Francois County detention center.
"Yeah, Scotty is well known," said Deputy Sheriff Dennis Smith, reviewing Masters' criminal history.
Masters, who lives in the nearby town of Park Hills, has been arrested more than a dozen times: for being drunk, for shoplifting, for missed court dates, for marijuana possession. He spent most of the 1990s and a stretch from 2000 to 2004 in state prison for the felonies of torching a car to collect insurance and possessing methamphetamine ingredients.
I do agree that the repeat offender laws are rather draconian, especially in light of the fact that US prisons have stopped trying to rehabilitate prisoners, and now essentially warehouse them, however, the guy did bring this upon himself.
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This is from the initial article from a St. Louis newspaper. --It appears that the man in question has a lengthy criminal record, and is going to be tried under Missouri's repeat offender law.
News > Missouri State News > Story
52-cent doughnut may cost man 30 years to life
By Todd C. Frankel
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
10/07/2007
FARMINGTON, MO. — Shoplifters at Country Mart tend to favor cold medicines and packaged meats. They used to steal cigarettes, too, until tobacco was moved behind the counter. But the doughnuts were never a target for thieves.
Country Mart's doughnuts — fried fresh daily in the store — sell for just 52 cents each. That is why the "shoplifters will be prosecuted" signs are displayed in aisle 4 with the pricey pain and allergy pills, and not in aisle 5 beside the glass doughnut case with its tiger tails, jelly-filleds and eclairs.
Then one man's sweet tooth got the better of him. He stole a doughnut. A single doughnut.
Authorities called it strong-arm robbery. The "doughnut man," as the suspect is now known, faces five to 15 years in prison for his crime. And Farmington, a town of 14,000 people about 70 miles south of St. Louis, has been buzzing about it ever since.
"That someone would take just a single doughnut, not something very expensive or extravagant, that's unique," supermarket assistant manager Gary Komar said, smiling.
Scott A. Masters, 41, is accused of shoplifting the pastry and pushing a store worker who tried to stop him. The worker was unhurt. But with that shove, his shoplifting turned into a strong-arm robbery. Masters, who appeared in court Friday, is stunned. The prosecutor shows no signs of backing down. In fact, because Masters has a prior record, he could get a sentence of 30 years to life.
Lanell Gibbs was there the day of the doughnut heist.
"That was a first," Gibbs, 68, said.
She has worked for 11 years as a cashier at Country Mart, a regional supermarket chain. Next to her register, she keeps a clipping from the local newspaper about the doughnut man's case. He was indicted just last month, although the theft took place in December. She likes to show the article to customers as she recounts the story.
It was about 11 a.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 6. The store was in a lull. Gibbs, who could see the doughnut case from her station, said she saw Masters slip the doughnut into the pocket of his hooded sweatshirt.
She turned to a co-worker and said, "I saw him take a doughnut. Let's see if he pays for it."
They watched Masters as he strolled past the seven green checkout lanes and out a side door between the customer service desk and the pharmacy, passing under a giant "Country Mart Thanks You" sign.
Gibbs' co-worker followed Masters into the parking lot. The co-worker, a 54-year-old woman, demanded that Masters come inside, according to the police report. He offered to give the doughnut back. She declined and grabbed his arm.
That is when Masters allegedly delivered "a backhanded punch to the chest" and took off running, police said.
"That made her mad," Gibbs recalled.
The woman, who was uninjured, jumped in her car and called police as she chased Masters. He was arrested minutes later.
Farmington Police Chief Rick Baker said the two incidents taken separately equaled two misdemeanors: shoplifting and minor third-degree assault. Together, they make for second-degree robbery, a class B felony, defined in state law as forcibly stealing property. The amount of force and the amount of property does not matter.
"It's not the doughnut," Baker said. "It's the assault."
Masters is a small man, wiry, about 5-foot-6, with short-cropped hair, a graying goatee and hound-dog eyes. He is a "frequent flier" at the St. Francois County detention center.
"Yeah, Scotty is well known," said Deputy Sheriff Dennis Smith, reviewing Masters' criminal history.
Masters, who lives in the nearby town of Park Hills, has been arrested more than a dozen times: for being drunk, for shoplifting, for missed court dates, for marijuana possession. He spent most of the 1990s and a stretch from 2000 to 2004 in state prison for the felonies of torching a car to collect insurance and possessing methamphetamine ingredients.
I do agree that the repeat offender laws are rather draconian, especially in light of the fact that US prisons have stopped trying to rehabilitate prisoners, and now essentially warehouse them, however, the guy did bring this upon himself.
Sounds like a case of ADHD to me, but then, people with ADHD account for 25% of the prison population in the US (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=7949408&dopt=AbstractPlus&holding=f1000%2Cf1000m%2Cisrctn).
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Seriously?
http://m.dailyjournalonline.com/news/local/prosecutors-charge-donut-thief-again/article_fe03eb11-0af8-5e47-a820-b83fd3e1055b.html?mobile_touch=true
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Seriously?
http://m.dailyjournalonline.com/news/local/prosecutors-charge-donut-thief-again/article_fe03eb11-0af8-5e47-a820-b83fd3e1055b.html?mobile_touch=true
Has it been thirty years already? :zoinks:
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In the UK a woman murdered her two teenage daughters and got 27 years in prison. I still remember the case to this day as the short sentence pissed me off as in the same year a man murdered the brother of a footballer in Northern Ireland and got 40 years in prison.
Obviously a doughnut and one footballer's brother are more important than the lives of two teenage girls. :finger:
The system is so fucking broken.
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In the UK a woman murdered her two teenage daughters and got 27 years in prison. I still remember the case to this day as the short sentence pissed me off as in the same year a man murdered the brother of a footballer in Northern Ireland and got 40 years in prison.
Obviously a doughnut and one footballer's brother are more important than the lives of two teenage girls. :finger:
The system is so fucking broken.
He didn't get thirty years though. He was in a halfway house and stole again.
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In the UK a woman murdered her two teenage daughters and got 27 years in prison. I still remember the case to this day as the short sentence pissed me off as in the same year a man murdered the brother of a footballer in Northern Ireland and got 40 years in prison.
Obviously a doughnut and one footballer's brother are more important than the lives of two teenage girls. :finger:
The system is so fucking broken.
He didn't get thirty years though. He was in a halfway house and stole again.
The point is that he almost got 30 years.
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He didn't get thirty years though. He was in a halfway house and stole again.
I always need three watches to find a job. :zoinks:
Obviously a doughnut and one footballer's brother are more important than the lives of two teenage girls. :finger:
No it's because women are mentally and emotionally weaker than men. :zoinks:
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In the UK a woman murdered her two teenage daughters and got 27 years in prison. I still remember the case to this day as the short sentence pissed me off as in the same year a man murdered the brother of a footballer in Northern Ireland and got 40 years in prison.
Obviously a doughnut and one footballer's brother are more important than the lives of two teenage girls. :finger:
The system is so fucking broken.
He didn't get thirty years though. He was in a halfway house and stole again.
The point is that he almost got 30 years.
He almost got thirty years because of multiple previous convictions the guy is a repeat offender.
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waste of taxpayer dollars
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In the UK a woman murdered her two teenage daughters and got 27 years in prison. I still remember the case to this day as the short sentence pissed me off as in the same year a man murdered the brother of a footballer in Northern Ireland and got 40 years in prison.
Obviously a doughnut and one footballer's brother are more important than the lives of two teenage girls. :finger:
The system is so fucking broken.
He didn't get thirty years though. He was in a halfway house and stole again.
The point is that he almost got 30 years.
He almost got thirty years because of multiple previous convictions the guy is a repeat offender.
And those crimes are deemed worse than the murder of two children?
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Sounds about right. First it's something benign like a donut, if you don't stop them there they move up to something important like coffee. :M
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Macchiatos are important who cares about drip coffee.
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...and Count Dankula got convicted of a hate crime for teaching his girlfriends pug to raise it's right paw anytime he said "seig heil". ::)
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Rightly so Pappy. A pug master race has been the aim of neo nazis for years. Once they have that there will be nothing that can hold back the Fifth Reich.