[ilbegone]

Originally Posted by Ayatollahgondola

The question is, how will they decide which ones are let free?

That's a good question. With the general conviction mill in California and the proclivity of LEO's to submit "enhanced" reports and testimony that may prove very difficult to sort out.

There's no jobs, so that leaves public assistance, and coincidently, look what else happened today:

http://www.sacbee.com/2011/05/23/364...o-collect.html

I have mixed feelings on it. With the criminal justice system in California (and I suspect other places as well), it's not so much fines and time served as the way they screw with you in myriad other ways. Once they sink their claws in you they won't leave you alone for a long time.

And just what sort of drug convictions are we talking about anyway?

What is right? Toss someone on the streets with no resources to support himself other than theft of some sort and hope he can get his life together, or run the risk of adding to the number of people on welfare who abuse drugs and alcohol on the public dole? Even though illegals may well suck off the welfare tit, I believe the vast majority of welfare cases involve people with substance abuse problems and mental issues.

As I side note, I know someone who attracted the negative attention of a certain police officer and received several DUI arrests. He faced 5 years in jail, but managed to retain an attorney who managed a settlement for a year of home confinement with an ankle bracelet. The local PD department attempted to frame him on a violation of the terms of plea bargain at the end of the year, with the aim that the convicted would spend a full five years in jail, but it didn't fly.

He did spend a few months in the local pre trial facility, and upon being released he was in fact destitute. He applied for and received food stamps, and has now been working enough odd jobs to just pay his way and rent a room without resort to food stamps. He now has a bicycle rather than a vehicle, and one thing is for sure - he may ride his bike one way to get a limited number of drinks, but he pushes his bike home if he's had anything at all to drink.

By the way, the cop stalked the man's girlfriend as well during that time period, one time having her blow thirteen times on the sidewalk until the officer got what he wanted for probable cause for DUI, then then took her around to the front of the squad car windshield camera and had her blow another three times for documentation, whereupon he cuffed her and took her in.