As for Virginia...any state that allows you to carry handguns but outlaws Radar Detectors has some serious issues with it's top leadership....

disagree. it has been shown that in locations where all citizens are required to carry a handgun that the level of violent crime actually decreases.

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LOL Sorry Promethius forgot you don't know me...I own several hand guns and a few rifles too. I wasn't knocking the Handgun issue...I was boggeling at the idea that having a radio receiver is illegal in Virginia....just plain silly if ya ask me [img]smile.gif[/img] </font>

<font color=plum>The only problem is that you seem to keep forgetting that DNA evidence has proven that Washington was NOT GUILTY!!! I agree with a lot of your views, <font color=lime>prometheus</font>, but I have to ask how you would react if the tables were turned in this situation.

Suppose you get arrested for the rape and murder of a woman you never met and are convicted and sentenced to death. You spend 17.5 years of your life in jail, only to have the state of NY come back and say "Uh...it seems that maybe we made a mistake. Sorry about that. You're free to go and the clerk at the front desk will have check to give you for your trouble".

I don't know your age, but I'm guessing late teens to early 20's. That means you would be somewhere around your mid-30's to early 40's when you got out. Now stop to think about that for just a second. If someone came through the door right now and took you away, and you didn't get to come back home until you were well into your 30's or 40's - do you think a check for any amount from the state would be adequate compensation for the 2 decades you lost?</font>

Just to YANK your chain Cerek is that not what each of us do allready when we go to work? Do we not trade X# of hours of our life per day/week for Y amount of money?

The State ought to give lots of money and bunches of "Hookers" ;)

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Hmm I see Cerek's point and I understand J.D's point. Unless the kid was from a very well to do family I htink they chould take whatever the Average Annual Income is for a person his age and adjust it for inflation and give him that ammount....at least he will have what he "could" have earned....just granting millions of dollars is not necessarily the right thing to do...taking from the tax payers to right the wrong is ok...but you don't have to over do it.</font>

Just to YANK your chain Cerek is that not what each of us do allready when we go to work? Do we not trade X# of hours of our life per day/week for Y amount of money?

The State ought to give lots of money and bunches of "Hookers" ;) </font>[/QUOTE]<font color=plum>Yes, <font color=white>John</font>, we do trade X# of hours of our life per day/week for Y amount of dollars. But the difference is that we do so voluntarily. While I don't make as much as I would like, I am happy with the salary I make. I also happen to enjoy my job very much (even with the obligatory headaches).

Those qualities do not apply to involuntary and wrongful interment by the state and the two are not comparable (IMHO ;) ).

IF the compensation the state gives him actually does equal the Average Income he could have expected to have earned during the 17.5 years, that would be a step in the right direction. But I believe in most cases, the state compensation doesn't come close to that (I'll gladly concede that point if proven wrong, though). While I agree with <font color=lime>MagiK</font> that we shouldn't arbitrarily hand several million dollars to Mr. Washington, I feel he is actually entitled to MORE than he would have earned during the time period at a normal job. The traume, stress and mental duress of living in a prison for almost two decades is definitely deserving of punitive damages in my opinion. Again, the amount shouldn't be in the gazillions, but it should be high enough to force the state to be more careful in the prosecution of criminals.</font>

I don't think they are compatable either, that's way I was yanking your chain ;)

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IF the compensation the state gives him actually does equal the Average Income he could have expected to have earned during the 17.5 years, that would be a step in the right direction. But I believe in most cases, the state compensation doesn't come close to that (I'll gladly concede that point if proven wrong, though). While I agree with <font color=lime>MagiK</font> that we shouldn't arbitrarily hand several million dollars to Mr. Washington, I feel he is actually entitled to MORE than he would have earned during the time period at a normal job. The traume, stress and mental duress of living in a prison for almost two decades is definitely deserving of punitive damages in my opinion. Again, the amount shouldn't be in the gazillions, but it should be high enough to force the state to be more careful in the prosecution of criminals.</font>

That's why I threw in the "Hookers" ;)

do you think a check for any amount from the state would be adequate compensation for the 2 decades you lost?

money can't buy everything, but in this circumstance, yes, a large enough check would more than please me. 17.5 years in jail, and then i get to live like a king?

it should be high enough to force the state to be more careful in the prosecution of criminals.

you're right, lets cut the funding for that local hospital for children with leukemia, and lets give it to the guy as compensation.

NO, NO, NO, NO!!! you dont punish the state by taking ridiculous amounts of money from the people. you do it by sanctioning the judge and the lawyers, and by destroying the career of the dirty cop, not by cutting down the citizens. lets be honest, the state doesnt care about the tax dollars it has to pay, because it doesnt matter to their lives, they control their own salary.

the compensation should be a fair wage for time lost, plus a modest, repeat MODEST, sum for mental anguish.

So what kind of experience does a person bring with them after 17 1/2 years in prison to prepare them for a job on the outside?

Mark

oh skywalker, there are prisons in the US that afford tenants better opportunities than ghettos in new york. hell, prisoners can even get their bachelors degree while behind bars, become certified auto mechanics, and a whole slew of other things. prisons are a joke these days.