buckeyemike Posted January 25, 2007 Posted January 25, 2007 Last month we talked about this kid. I still feel the same way.
The Avenger Posted January 25, 2007 Posted January 25, 2007 The questions you have to ask are: 1. By putting this kid in prison for 10 years, what benefit does it provide to society? My guess is "very little". 2. By putting a kid in prison for 10 years, what does it do to make him a better person for when he gets out and rejoins society? My guess is also "very little". In fact, he may learn some things in prison that he wouldn't have learned if he had remained free (how to commit various crimes). It also my diminish his opportunities in life once he gets out, making it far more likely he would commit future crimes. In essence, they may actually be creating a criminal in this case. If you can't show that this benefits society and doesn't do anything to protect society down the road I don't think the prison sentence is warranted - that's the bottom line.
bartshan-83 Posted January 25, 2007 Posted January 25, 2007 I'm no lawyer (yet), but I'm curious as to why the jury didn't nullify the offense in the original trial. It seems to be a textbook example of a situation where they would want to. Is this not a case where jury nullification is applicable? Maybe they didn't know it was in their power? I commented on this back in the original thread, but cases like this further my belief that mandatory sentencing laws are entirely inappropriate. 10 years serves no utilitarian purpose I can think of and is such an overkill example of retributive justice that it is appalling. The judges (at least the supreme court justice) obviously felt bound by the legislature and was it within her power to adjust the sentence, I have no doubt this kid would be on probation. Instead, his life is ruined. Score one for American Justice.
Mikie2times Posted January 25, 2007 Posted January 25, 2007 But the kid was apparently a good student and not a lost soul like many others. The real problem here is the complete double-standard (the noted case of the teacher -- a real child molester, getting 90 days in comparison!) -- this kid is not in jail because he was doing this stuff, because I'd wager at least 50% of kids are engaged in some sexual activity in high school; probably way more. And more than half certainly experiment with alcohol and pot. He is in jail because he was caught, and he didn't want to be branded a child molester. There HAS to be some kind of distinction made between consensual activity btw people of the same general age, vs. a significantly older person (and I'm talking 4-5+ years) taking advantage of a younger one. And in fact, in this new law, there WAS, but they didn't change it retroactively. Which is supremely messed up. It has nothing to do with football. Football was perhaps part of his promise and the reason ESPN took special interest in the case, but football makes this no more or less wrong. It's wrong, period. Good post. This is a horrible story. I've heard others like it, and it's infuriating. Basically this kid now doesn't get his degree, will register as a sex offender, and have to list this on employment applications. Good luck getting an interview to even explain what actually happened. I hope he has the strength to finish school, otherwise I see it as a life ruined. Here is a stipulation I would like to see. Minimum age somebody can have consensual sex acts, while keeping in mind that this area is best left to parenting not prison. From that standard you could set up age specific boundaries protecting the youngest people. The desire for sex at that age grows by leaps and bounds each year and so does the maturity of what is and isn't appropriate. When the age discrepancies clearly show a deviant behavior then the law should get involved. Otherwise it's just not worth it, because the timing is so detrimental. A long jail sentence between 16-23 will literally kill your chance of being a productive citizen.
Phlegm Alley Posted January 26, 2007 Posted January 26, 2007 Another sad thing is that this POS only gets 2 days in jail for similar circumstances (there was no talk of anything sexual going on) and has been in trouble since being drafted. He had 3 underage girls drinking in his hotel room. 1 of the girls ended up getting charged with murder shortly after hanging out with him.
SACTOBILLSFAN Posted January 26, 2007 Posted January 26, 2007 What did ESPN do wrong? All they are doing is reporting a kid's story. I think he was asking what ESPN was doing to help this kid now. Im so pissed off about this. I wrote the writer to see what is up...got a generated reply. I guess I wasn't the only one who took this as an afront. It is even worse that the Supreme Court of Georgia was divided among racial lines. F*^king Georgia. Talk about backwards. I wish I could personally free him. I am surprised there were no riots or mobs taking to the streets. I am a person who feels the race card is played entirely too much in our society, but this story is about as bad as it gets and something needs to be done. Georgia, and most of the South for that matter, still run about 30 years behind the rest of our nation, and its apparent it has some major issues. I would love for someone to dig up some sh-- on BJ Bernstein from his senior year (known to the rest of the world as only 5th grade but hey its Georgia) and then put his ass in jail. I actually got kind of worked up over this story and something needs to happen, but he will never get his life back to where it was going before this BS happened.
Albany,n.y. Posted January 26, 2007 Posted January 26, 2007 A Georgia Republican prosecutor persecuting a black kid, what a surprise.
John from Riverside Posted January 26, 2007 Posted January 26, 2007 I am sorry if I missed it in the article...but was the girl white by any chance?
The Poojer Posted January 26, 2007 Posted January 26, 2007 saw this earlier today and it broke my heart....what a sham...granted and self admittedly he was no angel and made no pretenses about it....this kids life is ruined because of a blow job and an antiquated rule ESPN man this kid got railroaded.....
Adam Posted January 26, 2007 Posted January 26, 2007 I don't know all that much about law, but is a Presidential pardon in the realm of possibility?
JPL7 Posted January 26, 2007 Posted January 26, 2007 I don't know all that much about law, but is a Presidential pardon in the realm of possibility? ha right!! u think bush would let this kid off the hook??? please!! if he did, part of the deal would be that bush could send him to fight in iraq or something idiotic like that.
Pyrite Gal Posted January 26, 2007 Posted January 26, 2007 OK - I didn't immediately read in the racist angle. I mainly read in the injustice angle - which I didn't wholly buy. Then do you buy taking a utilitarian perspective, that not only is the kids life ruined, but Georgia taxpayers get to pay for housing and guarding him for ten years and likely the costs yet to be determined if having zero skills he returns to a life of crime or does not but ends up in the welfare machine. All of this is of far less import than the moral injustice of this stupidity. In addition, rather than teaching him a lesson so he does no more crimes, the jail term and ruined life probably create a far greater likelihood of reciidivism. then add to that the stupidity of the cost of incarceration and I think it is a travesty any way you look at.
Albany,n.y. Posted January 26, 2007 Posted January 26, 2007 I don't know all that much about law, but is a Presidential pardon in the realm of possibility? If Bill Clinton was there the kid would have been pardoned & Clinton would have brought him in for a chat to compare experiences. Since Bush rose to power demonizing the immorality of Clinton's actions, a pardon would never go over with his base.
Lori Posted January 26, 2007 Posted January 26, 2007 I am sorry if I missed it in the article...but was the girl white by any chance? No.
Pine Barrens Mafia Posted January 26, 2007 Posted January 26, 2007 I don't buy that it's racist. Is it incompetent government? Yes. Racist government, I don't think so. The kid was stupid for doing something like that. Yeah, it's great getting a hummer. But not when the hummer is going to cost you jail time. 15 gets ya 10, apparently. Perhaps if he'd thought before he acted, it wouldn't have happened.
tennesseeboy Posted January 26, 2007 Posted January 26, 2007 Yeah..but if we let him go what about all of those white rich suburban high schoolers who did the same thing and are rotting in Georgia prisons? Oh....wait a minute...there aren't any of those in Georgia prisons.
Pine Barrens Mafia Posted January 26, 2007 Posted January 26, 2007 Yeah..but if we let him go what about all of those white rich suburban high schoolers who did the same thing and are rotting in Georgia prisons? Oh....wait a minute...there aren't any of those in Georgia prisons. You're not paranoid if they're really out to get you, eh? "We didn't want him to get the 10 years," he says. "We understand there's an element out there scratching their heads, saying, 'How does a kid get 10 years under these facts?' " Sounds like a surefire racist to me >_> . That cracker was DEFINIETLY out to punish that black kid because he is black. EDIT: Maybe the real racist is his defense attorney, for not informing his client of the law and advising him to take the plea offered to him.
RuntheDamnBall Posted January 26, 2007 Posted January 26, 2007 You're not paranoid if they're really out to get you, eh? "We didn't want him to get the 10 years," he says. "We understand there's an element out there scratching their heads, saying, 'How does a kid get 10 years under these facts?' " Sounds like a surefire racist to me >_> . That cracker was DEFINIETLY out to punish that black kid because he is black. EDIT: Maybe the real racist is his defense attorney, for not informing his client of the law and advising him to take the plea offered to him. Right, because taking the plea and being branded a child molester, for having sex with someone two years your junior while in high school, is such an oh-so-fair option. It's bull sh--, Joe. You know it. They know it -- otherwise, why change the law? And why change the law and not have it apply to the very person the change was initiated for?
taterhill Posted January 26, 2007 Author Posted January 26, 2007 I don't buy that it's racist. Is it incompetent government? Yes. Racist government, I don't think so. The kid was stupid for doing something like that. Yeah, it's great getting a hummer. But not when the hummer is going to cost you jail time. 15 gets ya 10, apparently. Perhaps if he'd thought before he acted, it wouldn't have happened. yeah I am sure you rationally thought out the consequences of your actions at 17, while drunk....lol...
Phlegm Alley Posted January 26, 2007 Posted January 26, 2007 yeah I am sure you rationally thought out the consequences of your actions at 17, while drunk....lol... ...and thought out the entire sanctions of the law before hand. Like you have a law book in front of you at all times to find out what constitutes as being legit or not. Had he know the law in its entirety, he could have shagged the girl, and gotten only a misdemeanor. WTF is wrong with Georgia??? I know they revised the law as a result of this case, but the wouldn't take his case into consideration after the law was revised? He really got a raw deal and I think as a result of all the publicity this kid is getting, I think it will be only fair that he will get his day soon enough.
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