The US is being watched by the rest of the civilized world. They lead in many things, and during the cold war, we were raised on stories of freedom, justice, and democracy. As I turn thirty, however, I start to see that not all is blessed in God’s
Ever heard of the **Three Strikes** rule?
Under this law, you can get 25 years of prison when you have been sentenced three times. No matter how ridiculous the crime. One example from the site:
In the case of Leandro Andrade, who was sentenced to 50 years to life (two petty theft “misdemeanor” shoplifting incidents involving a total of $153.54 of video tapes), the U.S. Supreme Court did not decide the case under the 8th Amendment proportionality test, but the majority of justices (5-4) said that under the rules of Federal Habeas the issue in the case was not “contrary to, or involved an unreasonable use of clearly established law.”
Compare this to a **maximum** sentence of 25 years here in Switzerland. 25 years – no matter how many people you kill, no matter how many years you rape your own kids, no matter whom you torture. 25 years.
Example: 2003-04-17 I read in the news that a man has been sentenced to 15 years of prison after shooting the owner of a pub and severly injuring another employee. The man was refused another drink after eight beers and other beverages, so he went out, got a gun from the car, and shot the owner of the pub in the head.
Another example, a few days ago: A man was sentenced to 5½ years of prison after being convicted of raping his 17 year old daughter at least once. She had already 3 abortions.
I’m not sure what to do with this – is it not enough? I don’t know. But clearly sentencing somebody to 50 years for stealing three times is totally cruel.