Crime and Punishment in Oklahoma

[CamEdwards]

You know, I always thought we had a pretty conservative state, especially when it came to punishing criminals. Two recent stories however, tell me that we are in SERIOUS need of revisiting sentencing guidelines.

Case #1- Angela Nguyen. At the age of 16, while three months pregnant, she plots to have her mother murdered. She's present when one of her friends shoots her sleeping mother in the back of the head.

She's charged with murder, but a judge certifies her as a youthful offender. Prosecutors accepted a plea bargain (she pleads guilty to first degree murder) that results in her sentence: Eight months probation, 100 hours of community service, and parenting classes.

Case #2- William and Sherry Hagan. The father and stepmother of a ten year old girl beaten so severely she's now blind for life. When she was taken to the hospital, doctors counted 150 bruises on her chest, abdomen, back, along her spine, the back of her legs, buttocks, and inner thighs. A jury aquitted the couple of felony child abuse and convicted them of enabling child abuse as well as child neglect. Their sentence? Two weeks in jail and a $4,000 fine.

WTF???

Stories like this tick me off to the point that I can't even think straight.

[ice4277]

What exactly is 'enabling child abuse'?

[MylesKnight]

Damn.. I guess no one will ever have a problem differentiating between the states of Oklahoma and Texas..

These are ridiculous verdicts and sentences. Someone in the Sooner State needs to be held accountable for these outcomes..

[albionmoonlight]

How are your judges chosen there? Do they run for re-election? If so, and you don't agree with their sentences, vote them out. Reasonable people differ on this point, but I think that the current practice of making sentencing guidelines so restrictive that they handcuff judges removes some needed flexibility from the system.

My point, put more simply, is that my solution to judges making sentencing decisions that do not reflect reasoned analysis and the sentiments of the community (either too harsh or not harsh enough) is to replace the judges with better judges, not to change the law to take power and flexibility away from judges in individual cases.

I am in the minority on this point.

[jonnylungs]

And I wonder what the average sentence for felony possession of marijuana is there?

[bigdawg2003]

In Oklahoma - first degree murder - 8 months probation, 100 hours community service, parenting classes

In Texas - Class C Theft - 6 months probation, 20 hours community service, $150 fine

I rest my case

[Airhog]

Originally posted by jonnylungs
And I wonder what the average sentence for felony possession of marijuana is there?

drugs are totally different. Due mandatory minimum sentancing they are going to get hard time.

[KWhit]

Originally posted by Airhog
drugs are totally different. Due mandatory minimum sentancing they are going to get hard time.

I think that was his point. It seems a little ridiculous if drug possession is punished more harshly than murder.

[sterlingice]

Damn.. I guess no one will ever have a problem differentiating between the states of Oklahoma and Texas..

Yeah, last I checked we just killed the people on the spot in the courtroom in Houston. There was that unfortunate case where we accidentally gunned down a jaywalker in a paperwork snafu but his family was fairly compensated with an oil derrick and cadillac with horns because that's what everyone in Texas has.

SI

[KWhit]

Touchy subject I guess.

[Arbitrary Aardvark]

Originally posted by MylesKnight
Damn.. I guess no one will ever have a problem differentiating between the states of Oklahoma and Texas..

No, Texas is where someone can get executed despite the fact that his defense team was not told information (that the two were a paid informant and someone plea-bargaining an unrelated felony for information) despite a legal obligation to disclose such information. Oh, he also had an alibi 300 miles away at the time the coroner testified the death most likely occurred. Bob Herbert in the NY Times had a good Op-Ed about this case.

[Samdari]

Well, I understand your frustration Cam, and there are many stories of the mandatory drug sentencing guidelines creating out of whack penalties when comparing drug offenses to non drug related violent offenses. Also, with the increase in violent crimes by teens, it seems youthful offender status may be an outdated concept in our society, or at least one where age thresholds need to be dropped (I think 14,15, 16 year olds who kill are perfectly capable of standing trial for murder, I am still thinking 6 year olds are not). Thank God that the Columbine killers had the good sense to kill themselves before they were treated to that nicety.

But, are you seriously complaining about the sentences of the people in case #2, who were not found to be guilty of actually harming the girl? Maybe incompetence on the part of the prosecutors (think OJ) but if they are found not guilty, they should not be punished severely.