Man too short for prison

Bungleau · 05-25-2006, 05:47 PM

Spotted in Yahoo News...

Quote:

SIDNEY, Neb. - A judge said a 5-foot-1 man convicted of sexually assaulting a child was too small to survive in prison, and gave him 10 years of probation instead.

His crimes deserved a long sentence, District Judge Kristine Cecava said, but she worried that Richard W. Thompson, 50, would be especially imperiled by prison dangers.

"You are a sex offender, and you did it to a child," she said.

But, she said, "That doesn't make you a hunter. You do not fit in that category."

Thompson will be electronically monitored the first four months of his probation, and he was told to never be alone with someone under age 18 or date or live with a woman whose children were under 18. Cecava also ordered Thompson to get rid of his pornography.

He faces 30 days of jail each year of his probation unless he follows its conditions closely.

"I want control of you until I know you have integrated change into your life," the judge told Thompson. "I truly hope that my bet on you being OK out in society is not misplaced."

I can't find a report on what his crimes actually were, so I don't know if it's having sex with a seventeen year old or molesting a three year old. If anyone can find more details, I'm interested.

But.... in the realm of cheesy excuses... "I won't send you to jail because you're too short" has got to be the stupidest piece of logic I have ever heard.

Methinks that judge is not too popular any more... and will never see another term.

Arvon · 05-25-2006, 06:07 PM

Nah! In Washginton state there was some guy who was too fat to hang. They thought it might hurt him. So now there are two way out of paying for your crimes...too fat, ot too short.

Timber Loftis · 05-25-2006, 06:33 PM

No pr0n? [img]graemlins/wow.gif[/img] I'd die.

Felix The Assassin · 05-25-2006, 08:24 PM

Hmm, What Would Alan Colmes say about this?

True_Moose · 05-26-2006, 01:59 AM

Umm...okay. Everybody knows that if Paul Bernardo was allowed into the general prison population up here, he would be killed in ~15 minutes. They keep him in solitary, so he can sit in a small, dark room and ponder his situation. You know how this guy could have avoided being in this situation? By not attacking a child. He knew that what he was doing could land him in prison (where regardless of how tall you are, they pretty much hate pedophiles,) so I have no sympathy for him.

Arvon, your post reminds me of the Robin Williams sketch where he talks about the disinfectant before the needle injection.

"WTF are you doing?"
"Just trying to prevent that last-minute infection!"

Stratos · 05-26-2006, 07:57 AM

Yes, the general prison population would do short work of him.

Morgeruat · 05-26-2006, 10:18 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Arvon:
Nah! In Washginton state there was some guy who was too fat to hang. They thought it might hurt him. So now there are two way out of paying for your crimes...too fat, ot too short.

IIRC he was 350+ lbs and hanging him would have popped his head off as soon as the trap door opened, so hanging him wasn't cruel, but removing his head by rope was.

Larry_OHF · 05-26-2006, 10:41 AM

There was a guy on Dateline that was shorter than 5.1 and was caught by cameras thinking he was going to a 14 year old girl's house. They put him away, and there was no debate on his height.

Bungleau · 05-26-2006, 03:57 PM

Apparently, they didn't run their sting in Nebraska...

Aerich · 05-27-2006, 12:30 AM

I don't know how it is in the States, but up here sex offenders are generally put into "PC" (Protective Custody), not into General Population. Of course, all the PC prisoners are put together, so there's still some possibility of violence.

There's also segregation (solitary), so I don't think height, weakness, or general "unsuitability" for prison life should be a bar to serving jail time.

Perhaps "sexual assault" in this instance didn't go beyond touching, which is bad enough, but arguably not as bad as it could have been.

05-25-2006, 06:07 PM	#2
Arvon Unicorn Join Date: October 4, 2001 Location: Kingdom of the West,..P.o. Cynagus Posts: 4,212	Nah! In Washginton state there was some guy who was too fat to hang. They thought it might hurt him. So now there are two way out of paying for your crimes...too fat, ot too short. __________________ 53.7% of all statistics are made up

05-25-2006, 06:33 PM	#3
Timber Loftis 40th Level Warrior Join Date: July 11, 2002 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 11,916	No pr0n? [img]graemlins/wow.gif[/img] I'd die. __________________

05-25-2006, 08:24 PM	#4
Felix The Assassin The Dreadnoks Join Date: September 27, 2001 Location: Orlando, FL Age: 62 Posts: 3,608	Hmm, What Would Alan Colmes say about this? __________________ The Lizzie Palmer Tribute Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty. John F. Kennedy 35th President of The United States The Last Shot Honor The Fallen Jesus died for our sins, and American Soldiers died for our freedom. If you don't stand behind our Soldiers, please feel free to stand in front of them.

05-26-2006, 07:57 AM	#6
Stratos Vampire Join Date: January 29, 2003 Location: Sweden Age: 44 Posts: 3,888	Yes, the general prison population would do short work of him. __________________ Nothing is impossible, it's just a matter of probability.

05-26-2006, 10:41 AM	#8
Larry_OHF Ironworks Moderator Join Date: March 1, 2001 Location: Midlands, South Carolina Age: 49 Posts: 14,759	There was a guy on Dateline that was shorter than 5.1 and was caught by cameras thinking he was going to a 14 year old girl's house. They put him away, and there was no debate on his height. __________________

05-26-2006, 01:59 AM	#5
True_Moose Gold Dragon Join Date: June 18, 2002 Location: Wolfville, NS / Calgary, AB Age: 38 Posts: 2,563	Umm...okay. Everybody knows that if Paul Bernardo was allowed into the general prison population up here, he would be killed in ~15 minutes. They keep him in solitary, so he can sit in a small, dark room and ponder his situation. You know how this guy could have avoided being in this situation? By not attacking a child. He knew that what he was doing could land him in prison (where regardless of how tall you are, they pretty much hate pedophiles,) so I have no sympathy for him. Arvon, your post reminds me of the Robin Williams sketch where he talks about the disinfectant before the needle injection. "WTF are you doing?" "Just trying to prevent that last-minute infection!"

05-26-2006, 03:57 PM	#9
Bungleau 40th Level Warrior Join Date: October 29, 2001 Location: Western Wilds of Michigan Posts: 11,752	Apparently, they didn't run their sting in Nebraska... __________________ B Save Early, Save Often Save Before, Save After Two-Star General, Spelling Soldiers -+-+-+ Give 'em a hug one more time. It might be the last.

05-27-2006, 12:30 AM	#10
Aerich Lord Ao Join Date: May 27, 2004 Location: Canada Age: 44 Posts: 2,061	I don't know how it is in the States, but up here sex offenders are generally put into "PC" (Protective Custody), not into General Population. Of course, all the PC prisoners are put together, so there's still some possibility of violence. There's also segregation (solitary), so I don't think height, weakness, or general "unsuitability" for prison life should be a bar to serving jail time. Perhaps "sexual assault" in this instance didn't go beyond touching, which is bad enough, but arguably not as bad as it could have been. __________________ Where there is a great deal of free speech, there is always a certain amount of foolish speech. - Winston S. Churchill

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