'What I did doesn't deserve a life sentence'

"Even minor beefs that occurred decades ago have continued to haunt people who have grown and matured over the years...If we truly believe, as a society, in rehabilitation and second chances, then this issue must be addressed, honestly and candidly."



http://www.examiner.com/gun-rights-in-seattle/what-i-did-doesn-t-deserve-a-life-sentence

Or try this:

http://tinyurl.com/28v6q75

From the article:

Couple that with the uncounted numbers of returning military combat veterans who have found themselves disqualified because they sought counseling or other assistance from the Veterans’ Administration.

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I would ask for a cite on this one. I have no doubt that folks who have seen VA psychiatrists for significant mental illnesses have been denied the RKBA, however I haven't seen any indication that folks who routinely seek counseling from the VA are losing their right.

There was a recent story about the VA sharing information about folks who are counseled and causing them to lose their RKBA, however IIRC that was debunked.

That being said, there should be a mechanism for folks to remove any disabilities to their RKBA. I would require the burden of proof on violent felons that they are "rehabilitated" be 100% on them. If there is any doubt to their suitability to carry weapons, the tough. They did it to themselves.

One piece of advice: never plead guilty unless you are. When you say, "I wasn't guilty and didn't know all the consequences of pleading guilty," I will say, "Tough."

The law defining felonies needs to be adjusted. It is too vague. I am surprised that the courts have not struck the provision down as being too vague. A misdemeanor for which no sentence is defined will be interpreted by the federal law as a felony since it can carry a sentence of more than one year. A much better standard would be the actual sentence, not the maximum possible sentence.

eye95 said:

One piece of advice: never plead guilty unless you are. When you say, "I wasn't guilty and didn't know all the consequences of pleading guilty," I will say, "Tough."

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That's easy for you to say, you've clearly never stared down the barrel of the proverbial gun.

Jack House said:

That's easy for you to say, you've clearly never stared down the barrel of the proverbial gun.

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+1

Many people are told by their lawyers, if they can even afford them, to take the plea deal. Its unfortunate that many DA's are only concerned with a high conviction rate, justice is not their concern.

I was pulled over years ago for making a u-turn in an industrial area of Sacramento, Ca. that was known at the time to be used for street racing. After the u-turn, I stepped on the gas and did a small burn out. Out of no where cops came out from about 6 different places. I was the only car on the road. The gave me a ticket for Felony street racing. Threatend to impound my truck and take me to jail. I was given 3 days to go down and be figer printed and a mug shot taken. WHen I got there, they were wondering what was the reason I was there. Felony street racing? What was that. I went to court and it was dropped. No other car was cited, no other persons around and no cop showing up to testify. I mean, what is FELONY STREET RACING anyways?

In 2006, street racing that injures someone became a felony in CA. I suspect you were either the victim of an officer trying to "teach you a lesson" or one that we incredibly ignorant of the law.

The former is more likely. A ticket for a felony is really suspicious. It is hard to fathom allowing someone already being detained to report at their convenience for a felony booking.

I think you've been had.

http://articles.sfgate.com/2006-09-...acement-keys-sen-carole-migden-business-hours

PrayingForWar said:

Its unfortunate that many DA's are only concerned with a high conviction rate, justice is not their concern.[/COLOR]

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Our current legal systems worked well back when people were, by and large, raised with moral integrity. Unfortunately, that was the third leg of the triad within the justice system, and that no longer exists in many of those who work in the justice system. As a result, the justice system in America is broken, and will remain broken until either one of two things occur:

1. People in America find re-discovery their moral roots, and stick to them.

2. Changes are made to the justice system which hamstrings DAs and judges to the point where they're no longer free to make decisions requiring sound judgement, but instead are forced to make programmed decisions based upon criteria listed in a lengthy set of legal volumes.

My point is that if the legal system can't figure out how to police itself, the legislative branches continue to police the justice system for them.

since9 said:

Our current legal systems worked well back when people were, by and large, raised with moral integrity. Unfortunately, that was the third leg of the triad within the justice system, and that no longer exists in many of those who work in the justice system. As a result, the justice system in America is broken, and will remain broken until either one of two things occur:

1. People in America find re-discovery their moral roots, and stick to them.

2. Changes are made to the justice system which hamstrings DAs and judges to the point where they're no longer free to make decisions requiring sound judgement, but instead are forced to make programmed decisions based upon criteria listed in a lengthy set of legal volumes.

My point is that if the legal system can't figure out how to police itself, the legislative branches continue to police the justice system for them.

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I think the main thing that is broken is that the powers of the judicial system have been taken from the people and given to "authorities".

Believe me when you are faced with huge legal costs and possible jail time and felony charges when you are broke taking the plea often is your only choice they know it and use it against you.

I do agree they need to be policed but they will never police themselves, try to get charges pressed against a cop, perjury, illegal detainment, harassment, the prosecutors won't do it. Heard of testilying?

Moral roots is subjective if you mean constitutional liberty principals I agree. But there have always been lying, cheating, thieving people and they seemed to be attracted to government positions and why our founders found it necessary to limit government to the smallest possible interference in peoples lives as possible.