Why, that punishment is cruel . . . and unusual
MEMPHIS, Tenn. – A young man could have his probation revoked and go to prison for failing to plant 10 mums as ordered by a judge.
David Alan Waters, 20, of Bartlett pleaded guilty in September to vandalizing the home of a 99-year-old woman on Jan 9.
As a condition of Waters’ probation, Criminal Court Judge Carolyn Wade Blackett ordered him to plant the mums at the home of the victim, Minnie Becton.
October 31st, 2003 at 11:13 am
Neither cruel nor unusual. He’s being punished for the vandalism, not for failing to do the plantings. The plantings were his negotiated way to get out of the jail time. If he failed to comply with his probation, it’s his own fault. Personal responsibility, remember?
Now, if you’re arguing that two years in prison is excessive punishment for vandalism, you may have an argument there. But I suppose it depends on the extent of the damage done by the vandal. We aren’t given that information, so we can’t judge.
October 31st, 2003 at 11:17 am
I’m not arguing anything, i said no comment. The title is from a simpsons’ quote when the judge ordered bart and homer to be tethered together. Planting mums isn’t cruel but it is unusual.
October 31st, 2003 at 11:56 am
I wasn’t saying you were arguing anything. 😉 You didn’t comment, so I did. 🙂
But no, I didn’t catch the Simpsons quote. One of my favorites is when Lisa uses “Virtual Doctor” to diagnose Homer and Bart with Leprosy, and tells Homer that he has to keep the house clean to cure it. “The cure is worse than the disease!” (Episode Little Big Mom)
November 1st, 2003 at 9:40 am
I knew a guy (not someone I would call a friend) who got convicted for possession (mostly, there was some braindead vandalism involved, too). His friend and partner in crime got an immediate jail sentence, but this guy’s parents had money and their lawyer got him a suspended sentence.
All he had to do was serve 100 hours community service. Picking up garbage on the roadside and such. He had a year to do it, but never got it done. They gave him an extension. He still didn’t do it. Into jail he went.
Trust me: if someone won’t plant 10 mums to stay out of jail, there are other problems. This guy was an alcoholic (who wouldn’t go to treatment), was a sociopath (stole from his friends) and had no respect for authority, the law, or much of anything or anyone. Jail was a good place for him.