Results 1 to 10 of 10
  1. #1
    In Uranus
    bsnub's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2009
    Last Online
    @
    Posts
    30,429

    Louisiana Supreme Court upholds Black man's life sentence for stealing hedge clippers

    Louisiana Supreme Court upholds Black man's life sentence for stealing hedge clippers more than 20 years ago


    A Black Louisiana man will spend the rest of his life in prison for stealing hedge clippers, after the Louisiana Supreme Court denied his request to have his sentence overturned last week.Fair Wayne Bryant, 62, was convicted in 1997 on one count of attempted simple burglary. In his appeal to the Second Circuit Court of Louisiana in 2018, his attorney, Peggy Sullivan, wrote that Bryant "contends that his life sentence is unconstitutionally harsh and excessive."

    Last week, though, the state Supreme Court disagreed -- with five justices choosing to uphold the life sentence.

    The lone dissenter in the decision was Supreme Court Chief Justice Bernette Johnson, who wrote that "the sentence imposed is excessive and disproportionate to the offense the defendant committed."

    Johnson is the only female and Black person on the court. The rest of the justices are White men.

    The sentence is sanctioned under the habitual offender law, Johnson noted in her dissent, meaning that Bryant's previous criminal history supports the sentence.

    Bryant was convicted in 1979 for attempted armed robbery, in 1987 for possession of stolen things, attempted forgery of a check worth $150 in 1989 and for simple burglary of an inhabited dwelling in 1992, all before his 1997 arrest for the failed attempt at stealing the hedge clippers.

    But Johnson also mentioned the cost associated with Bryant's sentence, writing that in his 23 years in prison, he has cost Louisiana taxpayers over $500,000.

    "If he lives another 20 years, Louisiana taxpayers will have paid almost one million dollars to punish Mr. Bryant for his failed effort to steal a set of hedge clippers," she wrote.

    Bryant's sentence is a "modern manifestation" of "pig laws," which were created in the years after Reconstruction, Johnson also said. The laws "criminalized recently emancipated African American citizens by introducing extreme sentences for petty theft associated with poverty," she wrote.

    "This man's life sentence for a failed attempt to steal a set of 3 hedge clippers is grossly out of proportion to the crime and serves no legitimate penal purpose," Johnson wrote.

    While Johnson said she would grant the appeal, five justices denied it and one abstained.

    Sullivan, Bryant's appellate attorney, told CNN she agrees with Johnson's dissent.

    Louisiana Supreme Court upholds Black man's life sentence for stealing hedge clippers - CNN

  2. #2
    Thailand Expat AntRobertson's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2006
    Last Online
    @
    Posts
    41,562
    Bryant was convicted in 1979 for attempted armed robbery, in 1987 for possession of stolen things, attempted forgery of a check worth $150 in 1989 and for simple burglary of an inhabited dwelling in 1992, all before his 1997 arrest for the failed attempt at stealing the hedge clippers.
    Only for reasons of recollection for comparison...

    Martin Shkreli was sentenced to just seven years for a series of securities and wire frauds totaling in the millions of dollars. He claimed it was because of unfair perceptions of him.

  3. #3
    Thailand Expat harrybarracuda's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2009
    Last Online
    @
    Posts
    96,555
    Quote Originally Posted by bsnub View Post
    Louisiana Supreme Court upholds Black man's life sentence for stealing hedge clippers more than 20 years ago
    I take it the Governor of Louisiana is a racist c u n t too then?

  4. #4
    Thailand Expat
    taxexile's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2006
    Last Online
    @
    Posts
    19,335
    is this to do with the "three strikes and you're out" policy of a few years back?

    in spite of his poor record involving theft and attempted armed robbery and his inability to learn from his mistakes, even i, as a long term member of the "hang 'em high and flog 'em good to teach criminals a lesson" club, find this punishment somewhat excessive considering he has already served over 20 years.

  5. #5
    last farang standing
    Hugh Cow's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2015
    Last Online
    15-03-2024 @ 01:44 PM
    Location
    Qld/Bangkok
    Posts
    4,110
    Quote Originally Posted by AntRobertson View Post
    Only for reasons of recollection for comparison...

    Martin Shkreli was sentenced to just seven years for a series of securities and wire frauds totaling in the millions of dollars. He claimed it was because of unfair perceptions of him.
    None of your whataboutism Klonant.

    Sadly not the only example of injustice for the poor in America. Although the incarceration rate of black Americans is disproportionately high one wonders what the numbers would be if justice was really meeted out proportionately.
    BTW those judges should be immediately sacked they are a disgrace to jurisprudence and humanity in general.
    They are the sort of judges you would expect in a third world dictatorship. This guy, Mr Bryant and the many others in a similar position would be a better symbol of injustice than a career criminal who invades a pregnant womans' home and threatens to shoot her (IMHO).

  6. #6
    Thailand Expat Saint Willy's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2019
    Last Online
    30-04-2022 @ 02:44 AM
    Posts
    11,204
    the shortened title before opening this thread indicated a slightly different meaning

    Louisiana Supreme Court upholds Black man's life


  7. #7
    Thailand Expat

    Join Date
    Sep 2014
    Last Online
    Yesterday @ 03:24 PM
    Posts
    18,509
    People tend to forget that for the most part the US is in fact a third world/emerging country with a rule of law that institutionally punishes the poor, the stupid, the disadvantaged and the marginalised disproportionately more than the rich and advantaged who are protected by their wealth, nepotism and cronyism.

    Awful society with perhaps the greatest concentration of stupid people on the planet (excluding the UK and LoS of course).

  8. #8
    Thailand Expat

    Join Date
    Aug 2017
    Last Online
    Yesterday @ 04:51 PM
    Location
    Sanur
    Posts
    8,004
    But you are poor stupid and marginalized. Is there no ombudsman you can complain to?
    Oh wait, you are actually the root of all those problems, despite emerging from such a privileged yet unwarranted background.

  9. #9
    I am not a cat
    nidhogg's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2008
    Last Online
    @
    Posts
    18,317
    The title is acutally a bit misleading as he was banged up for TRYING to steal the hedge clippers.


    Anyway, this from the original link:

    Bryant was convicted in 1979 for attempted armed robbery, in 1987 for possession of stolen things, attempted forgery of a check worth $150 in 1989 and for simple burglary of an inhabited dwelling in 1992, all before his 1997 arrest for the failed attempt at stealing the hedge clippers.

  10. #10
    Member
    frank barber's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2008
    Last Online
    @
    Location
    Buriram
    Posts
    185
    I'm with Taxexile on this one

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •