Weighing Life in Prison for Youths Who Didn’t Kill

Quote that caught my eye,

"It just seems to me that if you are going to put someone who is 13 or 14 or 15 or 16 or 17 into prison, you ought to leave them some hope." Retired judge, JOHN R. BLUE, on inmates who are serving life sentences with no possibility of parole for crimes they committed as juveniles in which no one was killed.

There are just over 100 people in the world serving sentences of life without the possibility of parole for crimes they committed as juveniles in which no one was killed. All are in the United States. And 77 of them are in Florida.   The argument being made is that it is contrary to the 8th Amendment forbidding "cruel and usual punishment" to sentence these youths when they may not have the capacity to understand their crime (although it appears this is a  factor taken into consideration in sentencing) or who may be among the few criminals who can be rehabilitated.  And then I thought - and how many are women?

Don't talk to the Police - Part I + II

Thanks to Elusive Wapiti, this series - "Don't talk to the Police" (Part I and Part II).

Remembering that he is an unrepentant Libertarian in Montana should colour strict adherence to his advice - but I think there are some similarities to the Canadian experience. His main points are:

• plead the fifth (if this is not a comedy routine) but remember - not in Canada! However under Sec 7 of The Canadian Charter of Rights we do have the right to remain silent (R. vs Heywood).
• nothing you say in your favour can be used to help you at trial, but anything else will definitely be used against you.
  

Part I


Part II

• 98% confession rate.
  
• develop probable cause and give the crown a GREAT CASE
• many ways to get people to incriminate themselves, and the police are trained to do this.
• Police do NOT do Interrogations (that is a bad, mean Nazi term) they do Interviews.
• An Apology letter as a written confession = convicted.

... and here is an uncooperative women who is tazed after being stopped for speeding (but I think she deserves it for stupidity - don't ever say you weren't warned. Certainly, a man would not have got such a easy time of it.)

Lowering the bar - Legal Humour

This blog features Legal Humour.

This really hit the spot after reporting the case of a woman -Janine Sugawara - seeking damages from Pepsico General Foods division for "misrepresentation" as she bought "Capt'n Crunch Crunchberry" cereal and was "*shocked and dismayed" that it contained no fruit!   Apparently the blow-up image on the cover that clearly showed the "Crunchberry to be fluorescent hued cereal" or the content listing which made no mention of any fruit, reconstituted or otherwise - was insufficient to inform her of the unreasonableness of her conjecture.  Furthermore, a quick check on the Internet provides no legitimate reference to any fruit called "crunchberry's".  

The judge threw the case out of court, reminding her that this was pretty much the same result she had received from her previous tort, that "Frootloops" did not contain "Froot".

*[Editor: Sorry that was my quote as such lack of guile always reminds me of Claude RAINS line in classic film "Casablanca".]