A Miscarriage of Justice:
Did you see this article on CNN. For a quick summary, three people were convicted of hauling away liquor, wine and beer from a grocery store after Hurricane Katrina and were sentenced Wednesday to 15 years in prison.
The judge said he wanted to send a message that looting would not be tolerated when he gave the maximum sentence to Coralnelle Little, 36, Rhonda McGowen, 42, and Paul C. Pearson, 36, all of Kenner.
They took 27 bottles of wine and liquor, six cases of beer, and one case of wine. This happened six days after Katrina had hit landfall.
I don't think looting unnecessary items like alcohol, TV's, jewelry, etc is right. However the fact that these three individuals have been given 15 years for looting probably $500 worth of alcohol is absolutely ludicrous. Especially when you consider the average sentence a molester gets in this country is 2.7 years (according to the Poly Klaas Foundation). I encourage you to call or fax the judge to tell him that he has in-fact not made an example out of these three, but rather exposed himself to be anything but a just adjudicator of the law.
The Hon. Hans J. Liljeberg, Division "N"
Phone (504) 364-3940
FAX (504) 364-3455
5 comments:
i think he's right. i mean maybe if he had the chance, maybe that judge would give child molestors 50 yrs. just dont' think you can lump him in with every other judge. and i think those looters deserved it.
The law the judge had to sentence these three under mandates a minimum of three years, it was his discretion to take it to the max of 15 years. So the law carries with it a harsher penalty than the typical penalty given to child molesters. What's that say? We are more concerned with protecting our 'stuff' instead of our children?
I think the looters deserved to be punished, but fifteen years is ludicrous. That means these three will get out in 2021 (levi will be 17) for stealing at most $1,000 worth of alcohol?! Give them probation, community service, and a stiff fine but don't send them to jail.
Did any of the people have previous records? It definitely sounds too harsh for the particular crime--but without knowing more about their criminal histories and the particulars of the case, it is hard to . . . judge. : )
Totally with you on this, J-Wild.
It's obvious that J Wild doesn't live in Jefferson Parish. How would you like to rack your brain gathering essentials and children, leave your home for weeks (not knowing when you can come home) and find a place to stay for an indefinite amount of time. This whole time, you're worrying about how your kids will eat because you're not working. And of course, there are those that don't evacuate. They just wait till those described above leave so they can take what they've worked so hard for. I'm with the judge on this one. Too bad he couldn't have given them 20.
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