Imperial Valley crime and punishments in America: does the punishment fit the crime? A recent news segment reported that bank robberies in particular and crime in general had taken a jump that correlated with the worsening economy. While this isn’t surprising, it does introduce the element of desperate measures in desperate times.

While it’s true that there are certain individuals who are career criminals, there are a lot of others who commit crimes and punishment in Imperial Valley out of desperation, rather than a desire to harm society. This news segment brought to mind two incidences from my childhood that stuck with me, because they were so sad. One involved my 5th grade teacher, who was my favorite teacher of all time.

She was so good with kids, and an excellent teacher. She bought some used furniture from a private party. The furniture turned out to be stolen property. She was charged with receiving stolen property, lost her teaching license and was put in jail for some months. I never saw her again, but I’m sure this must have ruined her life. Certainly, in this case, the San Diego’s crime and punishments did not fit.

The other incident was one I read about in the paper. A man had invited his boss to his home as a way of expressing gratitude for his recent hiring. His wife wanted to make a good impression on her husband’s boss, but had no money for food. She ended up stealing a big steak from a grocery store, in order to serve the boss a good meal and not embarrass her husband.

She was caught, charged, convicted and sent to prison for a year. The scandal caused her husband to lose his job. Here again, the crimes and punishment served seem out of proportion. I remember thinking, in both cases, how heartlessly these two law breakers were treated. This was many decades ago and I fear that society has become even colder of heart since then. Another, more recent example of crime and punishment dvd in San Diego involved the ‘three-strikes’ law.

The case was that of a man, previously convicted of two crimes, who had stolen a piece of pizza because he was so hungry. The three-strikes law was invoked when he was charged and he was sentenced to life in prison! I believe the sentence was later reversed on appeal, but can you imagine believing you were being sent to prison for the rest of your life because you stole a piece of pizza? To the best of my recollection, he did spend a substantial amount of time in prison before being released.

These are just a few random examples of how crimes and punishment in America are being served. This is certainly no endorsement for crimes anyone willfully commits. This is, rather a venue in which we might take a look at the punishments that are dished out, totally out of proportion to the crimes. Does it make sense that a vicious killer can commit murder and be back on the streets in 14 years?

Does it make sense that a hungry man steals a piece of pizza and is sentenced to life in prison? I would suggest that our system of crimes and punishments in America needs a major review and overhaul.

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