Penners, Below is my take on political ignorance and a tough-on-crime law in the great state of California.
Seth Sandronsky California Crime and Punishment By Seth Sandronsky t r u t h o u t | Guest Contributor Tuesday 13 February 2007 Heard of California's "10-20-life" law? It mandates a life sentence penalty for shooting a victim while committing a felony crime. A current proponent of this law is Mike Villines, a Republican who represents Clovis and leads the party in the state assembly. In his view, the "10-20-life" law decreases violent crime and increases public safety. However, this law may not be as effective as he claims. http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/printer_021307P.shtml To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: "modern-day equivalent of a witch hunt." From: Jim Devine <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Date: Sun, 11 Mar 2007 15:42:48 -0700 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The new American witch hunt Demonizing sex offenders by passing tough, mindless laws rather than treating them makes little sense. By Richard B. Krueger, Richard B. Krueger is a psychiatrist and an associate clinical professor of psychiatry at Columbia University's College of Physicians and Surgeons. http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-op-krueger11mar11,0,2986016.story?coll=la-opinion-center March 11, 2007 INCREASINGLY, legislation dealing with sex offenders is being passed that is punitive, untested, expensive and, in many cases, counterproductive demonizing people who commit sexual offenses without offering any empirical information that the new laws will reduce sexually violent crime. Last week, for instance, New York became the 19th state to enact so-called sexually violent predator legislation. This legislation provides for the indefinite "civil commitment" of sexual offenders who have served their time in prison and are about to be released. (clip) -- Jim Devine / "The truth is more important than the facts." -- Frank Lloyd Wright _________________________________________________________________ Find what you need at prices youll love. Compare products and save at MSN® Shopping. http://shopping.msn.com/default/shp/?ptnrid=37,ptnrdata=24102&tcode=T001MSN20A0701
