Socratic Seminar Response

Coming to the seminar I had a burning question: “Do the laws put in place by the government truly protect us?” And then Rachel brought up a good point, how many people are actually in jail for a violent crime? According to cga.ct.gov in October of 2008 only 14.5% of inmates were jailed for a violent crime (Assault, Homicide) with drug offenses being the most prosecuted offense with 19.5%. Now if you want to count in other crimes that aren’t violent but affect our safety, it comes out to 23.4% of inmates. (Reinhart) This begs the question: are the laws really there to keep us safe, or is there another agenda behind enforcing them?

In California there’s a law that states “Animals are banned from mating publicly within 1,500 feet of a tavern, school, or place of worship.” Does it make us any safer? I don’t think so. To put this in a more serious light, depending on your criminal record, California’s “Bad Checks Law” can be a felony, having fireworks can land you anywhere from $1,000 and a year in jail to $50,000 and up to three years in jail and this also counts as a felony. Receiving stolen property can also charge you with a felony and anywhere from $1000 to $10,000. Under Penal Code 484 and 488 with the shoplifting of property valued up to $950. Although the offense is a misdemeanor, a second offense can be charged as a felony under Penal Code 666 (Petty Theft with a Prior). What makes this law particularly bad is that you can do this on accident by having an item that didn’t scan properly and still be convicted. Now all of these laws don’t make us any safer (and there are plenty other laws like this) on top of this California has the three-strikes law, it says that if someone commits a third felony after committing two prior similar felonies, then the sentence is a mandatory 25 years to life. (Lawyers)

          

       What also popped up during the seminar is the question do a society’s morals and ethics shape the law? And if this is true, what would compel us to put such harsh penalties on minor offenses? If you commit Assault, you get up to six months in county jail and a max fine of $1000. Does this paint a messed up picture? 3 small felonies lands you 25 years in the clinker, you violently assault a human being and you only have 1 year? And get this, if you commit second degree murder, if you avoid the life sentence you only stay in jail for 15 years! How does our society count 3 felonies worse than taking the life of a human being?

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Lawyers, Los Angeles Criminal Defense. Shouse Law Group. 2011. .

Reinhart, Christopher. BREAKDOWN OF PRISON POPULATION BY OFFENSE CATEGORIES. 22 October 2008. .