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| Walker |
QuestionLet's say that a man (in your country/state) shoots at a cop and a bullet hits the cop in the arm. How many years in prison do you think this man would get? |
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| Josh Lalonde |
They'd probably go for attempted murder...15 to life? Although you can apply for parole after serving 2/3 of your sentence here, so he could be out after 10. | ||
| Walker |
Yes, I see. Though I'm curious to see what an American would say (and others too of course). As you might've guessed it happened here, a couple of months ago. But I'll wait to tell how many years he got. |
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| Elaine |
Yeah, he'd probably get 15 years to life, probably more depending on the severity. | ||
| Walker |
15 to life, eh? The guy got 8 years, and I wouldn't be the least surprised if he got out in less than that. | ||
| Josh Lalonde |
Was there some kind of mitigating circumstance? | ||
| Walker |
I didn't hear about it on the news but just read it in an article, and the article didn't say anything about any mitigating circumstances. However, the cop who was shot returned fire and the shooter was pretty severely injured, hit in the stomach. The police got a domestic abuse call and went to the apartment in question, where this guy was beating up his ex. When they arrived at the apartment the guy opened fire. So I guess the fact that he was injured himself could've had something to do with the verdict, but I couldn't say for sure. Apparently this guy had tried to kill his ex twice, once by pressing a pillow against her face in order to choke her, and another time by trying to strangle her to death. After he's recuperated he'll sit in his cell and read and watch TV, and he'll eat better food than children do in school. |
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| Josh Lalonde |
It's pretty sad to think that so many people live better in prison than out of it: three meals a day, relative safety, (hopefully) less access to drugs and alcohol. I don't know what it's like in Europe, but in North America it seems that if you're a "liberal" you have to be against harsh sentences, and if you're a "conservative" you have to be for them. I think this forces people into stupid positions and makes for bad policy. IMO, there's something wrong with people getting free university education because they killed someone; but I also think that life in prison for stealing a slice of pizza is ridiculous (though he got out three years later). | ||
| Walker |
I agree, and I think it's the same here about one's opinion on sentences; if you're a liberal you're supposed to be against harsh sentences, and if you're a conservative it's the opposite. But it's like that with a lot of things. |
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| greg in noord-frankrijk |
Re: Question
No idea. It depends whether the shooting was premeditated or not. It could also depend upon the shooting skills of the criminal : if the man is a poor shooter, the shooting would probably considered an attempted homicide ; if the guy is known to be an excellent shooter, a good lawyer might lead the jury to conclude he deliberately spared the victim's life. |
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| Uriel |
If you deliberately use a deadly weapon on somebody, that's attempted murder. Doesn't really matter how good or bad a shot you are, because medical complications could arise from just about any injury. It's more about the intent.
I don't know if this exists in other countries, but in the US many states have what's called felony murder -- where any death that occurs during the commission of a felony gets automatically upgraded to murder, whether or not the felon actually intended to kill the victim -- it was invented to keep them from pleading the lesser charge of manslaughter (accidental killing). Basically, the idea is that if you were already intentionally putting the victim in a dangerous situation through robbery, rape, carjacking, assault, etc. you can't then argue that it simply "went too far" and someone died -- you set it in motion, so you were responsible for the outcome, too. I'm pretty liberal, but not when it comes to crime and punishment -- if you're a convicted asshole who enjoys inflicting pain and suffering on others, you are free to rot in prison or fry in the chair, and I'll sleep just fine at night. |
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