Quote (EndlessSky @ Aug 6 2020 07:21pm)
In my perfect Utopia, I would throw journalists into a giant flaming wood chipper and just have you write articles.
what really irks me is yesterday I googled up this story and I never found the explanation in the obviously editorialized and politically motivated reporting by all the MSM
instead I found the details in the PDF of the court's decision upholding his original sentence and striking down his original appeals (not the state supreme court one- it took a bit of digging to find the original)
https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/1648555/state-v-bryant/Quote
Excessiveness of Sentence
Defendant contends that his life sentence is excessive.
Whether the sentence imposed is too severe depends upon the circumstances of the case and the background of the defendant. A sentence violates La. Const. art. I, § 20, if it is grossly out of proportion to the seriousness of the offense or nothing more than a purposeless and needless infliction of pain and suffering. State v. Dorthey, 623 So. 2d 1276 (La.1993); State v. Wilkerson, 29,979 (La.App.2d Cir.10/29/97), 702 So. 2d 64. A sentence is considered grossly disproportionate if, when the crime and punishment are viewed in light of the harm done to society, it shocks the sense of justice. State v. Smith, 433 So. 2d 688 (La.1983).
In this case, La. R.S. 15:529.1 mandated a life sentence for defendant. As this court stated in State v. Ponsell, 33,543 (La.App.2d Cir.08/23/00), 766 So. 2d 678:
Although, in State v. Dorthey, supra, the Louisiana Supreme Court stated that courts have the power to declare a mandatory minimum sentence excessive under Article I, Section 20 of the Louisiana Constitution, this power should only be exercised in rare cases and only when the court is firmly convinced that the minimum sentence is excessive. State v. Johnson, 97-1906 (La.03/04/98), 709 So. 2d 672; State v. Bush, 31,710 (La. App.2d Cir.02/24/99), 733 So. 2d 49, writ denied, 99-1010 (La.09/03/99), 747 So. 2d 536.
Defendant's criminal record, as reflected in the pre-sentence investigation, is reminiscent of the record of the offender in State v. Ignot, 29,745 (La.App.2d Cir.08/24/97), 701 So. 2d 1001, writ denied, 99-0336 (La.06/18/99), 745 So. 2d 618. Defendant has spent very little of his adult life outside of the criminal justice system. After his April 20, 1986, release from prison for attempted armed robbery, defendant was arrested again on September 24, 1986, for the Radio Shack burglary. He was released from prison on July 23, 1988, and was arrested again for burglary in September 1989. Those charges, as well as theft and drug charges, were dismissed, but in July 1990 defendant was arrested again for forgery. He was thereafter arrested in November 1991 for simple burglary of an inhabited dwelling and in March 1992 was sentenced to serve four years at hard labor without benefit. In November 1993, defendant was arrested for simple burglary of an inhabited dwelling and on July 12, 1995, was sentenced to 11 months at hard labor.
This litany of convictions and the brevity of the periods during which defendant was not in custody for a new offense is ample support for the sentence imposed in this case.[2]
What are you supposed to do with someone who can never make it off parole without committing more dangerous/violent felonies?
This post was edited by Goomshill on Aug 6 2020 06:58pm