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Post by Californian on Jun 14, 2010 9:11:17 GMT -6
If you can read this sob-sister crap about how he's been "rehabilitated" without feeling a great urge to hurl, I commend you. And how depraved is it to make the argument that he's been in prison 32 years? I mean, whose fault is that?! Crime and punishment: After 32 years, has Powell's execution lost its meaning?"Heavily armed, deeply paranoid and strung out on drugs, David Lee Powell was a nightmare personified in 1978. Sitting in a car that had been pulled over on a dark Austin side street, Powell sighted his AK-47 through the rear window. Police radios caught officer Ralph Ablanedo's scream as the first bullet penetrated his bulletproof vest. Nine more shots found their mark. The well-liked father of two young sons died shortly after the 12:30 a.m. attack . Barring the unexpected, Powell will be executed for that crime on June 15 — 32 years, three weeks and five days after Ablanedo was buried with honors. Texas has never executed a man after so much time has passed, giving rise to a question that speaks to a basic concept of punishment and justice: Has Powell's execution been robbed of its meaning and purpose? The clean-cut 59-year-old man who will be strapped to the Huntsville gurney to receive a trio of lethal drugs is nothing like the nightmare from another era. Powell's time in prison long ago removed the methamphetamine taint that helped turn a promising honors student into a jittery, lank-haired killer, and a fiercely loyal group of supporters insists that putting him to death now would be a travesty." (whiny load of crap continues...http://tinyurl.com/254uxj8)
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Post by spinaltap on Jun 14, 2010 9:51:11 GMT -6
Message: Stay off drugs, don't kill anyone and you won't have to rehabilitated or executed
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Post by davebowman on Jun 15, 2010 2:08:14 GMT -6
"Crime and punishment: After 32 years, has Powell's execution lost its meaning?"
I´d like to answer this question with "Yes".
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Post by reapwysow on Jun 15, 2010 2:19:13 GMT -6
"Crime and punishment: After 32 years, has Powell's execution lost its meaning?" I´d like to answer this question with "Yes". I think we should let Ralph Ablanedo decide. Oh wait...nevermind.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Jun 15, 2010 5:33:54 GMT -6
Calling all pro's to get the violins out,Fairdinkum!!!Exemplary' inmate to be put to death in Texas (AFP) – 11 hours ago WASHINGTON — Death row inmate David Powell, 59, is scheduled to be executed in Texas on Tuesday for a murder he committed 32 years ago, despite calls for clemency from supporters who say he has repented his crimes and reformed his life. Powell was deemed a dangerous criminal when he was arrested in 1978 at the age of 27 for the murder of police officer Ralph Ablanedo. Powell's unusually long stay on death row is a result of various legal proceedings in his case, all of which have affirmed his death sentence. But supporters said that David Powell's 32 years on Death Row have proved the power of human redemption. Amnesty International is one of many advocate groups pleading his case, saying in a report that over time, Powell has become "a model prisoner and an extraordinary human being." "For more than three decades he's lived an exemplary life on death row, embodying and living human virtues as few of us do," the human rights group said urging state officials to commute his death sentence to life in prison. "People can change. Will Texas?" the report asked, saying that now elderly, Powell poses no danger to anyone and has shown deep remorse for his crimes. Defense attorneys said that Powell at the time of the murder was a high on drugs and that he kicked his habit once in prison. The Amnesty International report also cites testimony gathered from prison guards, inmates and a psychotherapist -- all attesting to the genuineness of Powell's transformation. Even an Austin Texas policeman in letter to Powell's attorney, wrote that "the man who will be put to death... is not the man who committed the crime." "This David Powell is an elderly man who has shown what I believe to be true understanding and remorse for the crime," the officer said. But so far, the pleas for clemency have not been heeded by penal officials in Texas, the state with the most executions and which currently has more than 300 inmates on Death Row. If his execution goes forward, Powell will be the 28th person put to death in the United States in 2010. prodp.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=cases&action=post&thread=30798&page=1
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Post by The Tipsy Broker on Jun 15, 2010 5:55:02 GMT -6
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forgesfire
Old Hand
The masses of humanity have always had to suffer
Posts: 546
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Post by forgesfire on Jun 15, 2010 6:33:54 GMT -6
That letter is pretty heartbreaking. I have to say, it doesn't seem to me like it serves any purpose at all to execute him after all these years. It seems like he had a panic attack while strung out and went into autopilot mode and committed a travesty, but this doesn't compare to a crime like rape and murder and I don't think it's a "worst of the worst" because their obviously was no premeditation.
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Post by Californian on Jun 15, 2010 7:36:07 GMT -6
but this doesn't compare to a crime like rape and murder.... It WAS murder, you dolt. When you take an automatic weapon and gun down a cop, that would be "murder."
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Post by whitediamonds on Jun 15, 2010 7:36:08 GMT -6
That letter is pretty heartbreaking. I have to say, it doesn't seem to me like it serves any purpose at all to execute him after all these years. It seems like he had a panic attack while strung out and went into autopilot mode and committed a travesty, but this doesn't compare to a crime like rape and murder and I don't think it's a "worst of the worst" because their obviously was no premeditation. I agree, this case due to all appears he should not have ben giveen the DP in the first place. Not sure how courts ruled back 32 yrs ago but, hope this would not be the sentencing if happened todays time. No premeditated, horrible to murder an innocent yet not a heinous crime either. "Not the time spent incarcerated", but due to the above he should not be executed in my opinion. Real LWOP in this case of murder should have been the sentencing.
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Post by Charlene on Jun 15, 2010 7:56:39 GMT -6
That letter is pretty heartbreaking. I have to say, it doesn't seem to me like it serves any purpose at all to execute him after all these years. It seems like he had a panic attack while strung out and went into autopilot mode and committed a travesty, but this doesn't compare to a crime like rape and murder and I don't think it's a "worst of the worst" because their obviously was no premeditation. I agree, this case due to all appears he should not have ben giveen the DP in the first place. Not sure how courts ruled back 32 yrs ago but, hope this would not be the sentencing if happened todays time. No premeditated, horrible to murder an innocent yet not a heinous crime either. "Not the time spent incarcerated", but due to the above he should not be executed in my opinion. Real LWOP in this case of murder should have been the sentencing. What is your definition of heinous? Using a machine gun that you know will destroy a life, even one protected with a bullet-proof vest, having plenty of time to get the aim just right while an innocent man walks naively towards his death, leaving two young boys without a father and a wife without her life partner, just so you can continue being a criminal - this all sounds pretty heinous to me. Murder does not need to be premeditated in order to result in a death sentence. Especially murder of a police officer. In most states with capital punishment, the murder of a police officer is a capital qualifier of its own, simply because they are the first line of defense for the rest of us against these horrible people who would kill without thought. Had Ralph Ablanedo not been a police officer doing his job to protect and serve, he would not have been in the sights of Powell's gun that night. This most definitely is deserving of the death penalty, in every sense.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Jun 15, 2010 8:08:08 GMT -6
That letter is pretty heartbreaking. I have to say, it doesn't seem to me like it serves any purpose at all to execute him after all these years. It seems like he had a panic attack while strung out and went into autopilot mode and committed a travesty, but this doesn't compare to a crime like rape and murder and I don't think it's a "worst of the worst" because their obviously was no premeditation. I think there is a duty, not to get drunk or high on drugs as you know it can cause trouble
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Post by Californian on Jun 15, 2010 8:09:12 GMT -6
I can't find a news story saying this guy was whacked. Anybody else? It's usually up in a few hours, and so far on Google news, zip.
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Post by Charlene on Jun 15, 2010 8:48:26 GMT -6
I can't find a news story saying this guy was whacked. Anybody else? It's usually up in a few hours, and so far on Google news, zip. It's tonight, usually 6:30 pm.
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Post by D.E.E. on Jun 15, 2010 9:00:44 GMT -6
This should have taken place 31 years ago, justice is long over due in his case.
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Post by davebowman on Jun 15, 2010 9:05:17 GMT -6
I read the letter and I believe him. Now execute him to get this chapter closed. And next time don´t wait 32 years, that´s way too long.
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Post by Californian on Jun 15, 2010 9:08:18 GMT -6
I can't find a news story saying this guy was whacked. Anybody else? It's usually up in a few hours, and so far on Google news, zip. It's tonight, usually 6:30 pm. DOH! Tuesday night. Of course. Thanks, Char.
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Post by Californian on Jun 15, 2010 9:45:46 GMT -6
I agree, this case due to all appears he should not have ben giveen the DP in the first place. Not sure how courts ruled back 32 yrs ago but, hope this would not be the sentencing if happened todays time. This is the stupidest post you've ever made. I'm typing this sentence reeeal slowly and putting the salient part in boldface for you so that you can rethink your position. Ready? HE MACHINEGUNNED A COP TO DEATH IN TEXAS.[/size] Hope this helps.
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Post by whitediamonds on Jun 15, 2010 10:00:11 GMT -6
I agree, this case due to all appears he should not have ben giveen the DP in the first place. Not sure how courts ruled back 32 yrs ago but, hope this would not be the sentencing if happened todays time. No premeditated, horrible to murder an innocent yet not a heinous crime either. "Not the time spent incarcerated", but due to the above he should not be executed in my opinion. Real LWOP in this case of murder should have been the sentencing. What is your definition of heinous? Using a machine gun that you know will destroy a life, even one protected with a bullet-proof vest, having plenty of time to get the aim just right while an innocent man walks naively towards his death, leaving two young boys without a father and a wife without her life partner, just so you can continue being a criminal - this all sounds pretty heinous to me. Murder does not need to be premeditated in order to result in a death sentence. Especially murder of a police officer. In most states with capital punishment, the murder of a police officer is a capital qualifier of its own, simply because they are the first line of defense for the rest of us against these horrible people who would kill without thought. Had Ralph Ablanedo not been a police officer doing his job to protect and serve, he would not have been in the sights of Powell's gun that night. This most definitely is deserving of the death penalty, in every sense. Heinous to me is premeditated, crimes against the most vulnerable like rape and murder of our children or extreme torcher before killing. To ward the disabled or elderly who cannot fight back,or defend themselves as easy as the average citizen. I do agree, if one given the DP it certainly should not take many years to carry out an execution, that is causing much debate to the anti side, of this issue adding fuel. Yes, one should be responsible for themselves and what could happen on drugs or alcohol yet, many too when young may try drugs and many admit they have. This was a young guy who was not a drug addict, no criminal past I am aware of that is" and no problem that I know of all these yrs inside, nor kill another while inside 32 yrs. He should never get out of prison though, and I am not taking any of the pain away from family and friends at all in this matter. It does not excuse never will, what has been done at all, he does not strike me as most murders do, the have no remorse and would kill again in a heart beat, hard wired. Yes having been an officer is probably the main reason he got the DP, and yes officers are our line of defense. Hard lesson of drugs are killing our youth, directly and by proxy,too many innocents are paying the price. Evil is truely evil when one is not on drugs and enjoys killing. Drug use should not make the crime lesser, but if not a record and a bad effect made him paranoid, LWOP is fair to me, even his life is gone in many ways anyhow and not a danger inside to others or anyone else again..
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Post by whitediamonds on Jun 15, 2010 10:39:33 GMT -6
I agree, this case due to all appears he should not have ben giveen the DP in the first place. Not sure how courts ruled back 32 yrs ago but, hope this would not be the sentencing if happened todays time. This is the stupidest post you've ever made. I'm typing this sentence reeeal slowly and putting the salient part in boldface for you so that you can rethink your position. Ready? HE MACHINEGUNNED A COP TO DEATH IN TEXAS.[/size] Hope this helps. [/quote] Sorry if all my post are stupid, and this being the stupidist post ever, also for being dumb as mud. Note: IQ has nothing to do with differing perceptions, the most noted intellects disagree on issues, only most are respectful to each other.
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Post by D.E.E. on Jun 15, 2010 11:24:49 GMT -6
What is your definition of heinous? Using a machine gun that you know will destroy a life, even one protected with a bullet-proof vest, having plenty of time to get the aim just right while an innocent man walks naively towards his death, leaving two young boys without a father and a wife without her life partner, just so you can continue being a criminal - this all sounds pretty heinous to me. Murder does not need to be premeditated in order to result in a death sentence. Especially murder of a police officer. In most states with capital punishment, the murder of a police officer is a capital qualifier of its own, simply because they are the first line of defense for the rest of us against these horrible people who would kill without thought. Had Ralph Ablanedo not been a police officer doing his job to protect and serve, he would not have been in the sights of Powell's gun that night. This most definitely is deserving of the death penalty, in every sense. Heinous to me is premeditated, crimes against the most vulnerable like rape and murder of our children or extreme torcher before killing. To ward the disabled or elderly who cannot fight back,or defend themselves as easy as the average citizen. I do agree, if one given the DP it certainly should not take many years to carry out an execution, that is causing much debate to the anti side, of this issue adding fuel. Yes, one should be responsible for themselves and what could happen on drugs or alcohol yet, many too when young may try drugs and many admit they have. This was a young guy who was not a drug addict, no criminal past I am aware of that is" and no problem that I know of all these yrs inside, nor kill another while inside 32 yrs. He should never get out of prison though, and I am not taking any of the pain away from family and friends at all in this matter. It does not excuse never will, what has been done at all, he does not strike me as most murders do, the have no remorse and would kill again in a heart beat, hard wired. Yes having been an officer is probably the main reason he got the DP, and yes officers are our line of defense. Hard lesson of drugs are killing our youth, directly and by proxy,too many innocents are paying the price. Evil is truely evil when one is not on drugs and enjoys killing. Drug use should not make the crime lesser, but if not a record and a bad effect made him paranoid, LWOP is fair to me, even his life is gone in many ways anyhow and not a danger inside to others or anyone else again.. He had an AK, took careful aim and pulled the trigger on an officer who was not expecting trouble, the officer could not fight back because it was unexpected. This is as bad as any of the other things you listed. He was prepared to kill and did. So he had no record does that mean he was not a criminal or does it just mean he never got caught?
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Post by whitediamonds on Jun 15, 2010 11:28:49 GMT -6
Heinous to me is premeditated, crimes against the most vulnerable like rape and murder of our children or extreme torcher before killing. To ward the disabled or elderly who cannot fight back,or defend themselves as easy as the average citizen. I do agree, if one given the DP it certainly should not take many years to carry out an execution, that is causing much debate to the anti side, of this issue adding fuel. Yes, one should be responsible for themselves and what could happen on drugs or alcohol yet, many too when young may try drugs and many admit they have. This was a young guy who was not a drug addict, no criminal past I am aware of that is" and no problem that I know of all these yrs inside, nor kill another while inside 32 yrs. He should never get out of prison though, and I am not taking any of the pain away from family and friends at all in this matter. It does not excuse never will, what has been done at all, he does not strike me as most murders do, the have no remorse and would kill again in a heart beat, hard wired. Yes having been an officer is probably the main reason he got the DP, and yes officers are our line of defense. Hard lesson of drugs are killing our youth, directly and by proxy,too many innocents are paying the price. Evil is truely evil when one is not on drugs and enjoys killing. Drug use should not make the crime lesser, but if not a record and a bad effect made him paranoid, LWOP is fair to me, even his life is gone in many ways anyhow and not a danger inside to others or anyone else again.. He had an AK, took careful aim and pulled the trigger on an officer who was not expecting trouble, the officer could not fight back because it was unexpected. This is as bad as any of the other things you listed. He was prepared to kill and did. So he had no record does that mean he was not a criminal or does it just mean he never got caught? Now that I can relate too, good point .... I have not and would not call the Gov to stop this execution no matter if my personal view has I admit some emotion misplaced, but this "has to stop yrs later being executed" somehow !!!
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Post by D.E.E. on Jun 15, 2010 11:32:51 GMT -6
He had an AK, took careful aim and pulled the trigger on an officer who was not expecting trouble, the officer could not fight back because it was unexpected. This is as bad as any of the other things you listed. He was prepared to kill and did. So he had no record does that mean he was not a criminal or does it just mean he never got caught? Now that I can relate too, good point .... I have not and would not call the Gov to stop this execution no matter if my personal view has I admit some emotion misplaced, but this "has to stop yrs later being executed" somehow !!! It should be mandatory to execute within 5 years at the most.
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Post by whitediamonds on Jun 15, 2010 11:37:30 GMT -6
Now that I can relate too, good point .... I have not and would not call the Gov to stop this execution no matter if my personal view has I admit some emotion misplaced, but this "has to stop yrs later being executed" somehow !!! It should be mandatory to execute within 5 years at the most. I agree, a fair amount of time and would really help if that could be made a reality.
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forgesfire
Old Hand
The masses of humanity have always had to suffer
Posts: 546
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Post by forgesfire on Jun 15, 2010 12:47:13 GMT -6
What meant was rape\murder together. Also, I'm trying to say that this seemed to be a crime of panic and temporary insanity rather than a well thought out brutal murder. Yes, it may be deserving of the death penalty, but now that 32 years have elapsed it just seems like a tragedy to kill this man who is no longer a danger to society.
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Post by whitediamonds on Jun 15, 2010 12:50:46 GMT -6
What meant was rape\murder together. Also, I'm trying to say that this seemed to be a crime of panic and temporary insanity rather than a well thought out brutal murder. Yes, it may be deserving of the death penalty, but now that 32 years have elapsed it just seems like a tragedy to kill this man who is no longer a danger to society. When I agreed with you your a guy, and you were not told it was the stupidist post reply. I was lol
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Post by D.E.E. on Jun 15, 2010 14:23:16 GMT -6
What meant was rape\murder together. Also, I'm trying to say that this seemed to be a crime of panic and temporary insanity rather than a well thought out brutal murder. Yes, it may be deserving of the death penalty, but now that 32 years have elapsed it just seems like a tragedy to kill this man who is no longer a danger to society. The tragedy is that he is still alive. It has nothing to do with being a danger it has to do with his sentence.
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Post by spinaltap on Jun 15, 2010 14:43:07 GMT -6
strap this POS down and end it tonight
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Post by Stormyweather on Jun 15, 2010 15:23:33 GMT -6
Austin cop killer to be executed for 1978 slaying HUNTSVILLE, Texas — Condemned Texas prisoner David Lee Powell looked to the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday to keep him from execution for using an assault rifle to kill an Austin police officer during a traffic stop 32 years ago. Powell's lawyers asked the Supreme Court to halt the lethal injection scheduled for Tuesday evening, saying Powell's exemplary behavior on death row over the past three decades showed jurors were wrong they decided he would be a continuing danger and should die for killing 26-year-old Ralph Ablanedo. Powell, now 59, would be the longest-serving inmate executed in Texas since the state began carrying out executions again in 1982 and one of the longest-imprisoned in the nation to die. In 2008, a prisoner in Georgia was executed after spending more than 33 years on death row. In May 1978, Ablanedo pulled over a car driven by Powell's girlfriend because it had no rear license plate. A background check showed Powell, riding in the passenger seat, was wanted for theft and passing bad checks. Powell shot the officer 10 times with a Soviet-made AK-47. He was sentenced to death three times, most recently in 1999. The Supreme Court overturned his original conviction from 1978, and the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals threw out his death sentence from a 1991 retrial. "I am infinitely sorry that I killed Ralph Ablanedo," Powell said in a December 2009 letter, intended for the officer's family and kept in the inmate's court file. "In a few frightful seconds, I stole from you and the world the precious and irreplaceable life of a good man." Bruce Mills, an officer who was Ablanedo's backup the night of the slaying and accompanied his mortally wounded partner to the hospital, said it was time for the punishment to be carried out and assertions by Powell's attorneys about his good behavior were irrelevant. "I'm a big believer in due process," Mills said. "He's had every single T crossed and I dotted to have this reviewed and that reviewed and reviewed again. "He worked the system. And by working the system it prolonged it and now at this juncture they say: 'Foul! You've taken too long.'" Mills eventually married Ablanedo's widow and adopted their two sons. They all planned to be in the death chamber to watch Powell die. Powell was not a typical criminal. He grew up on a dairy farm near Campbell in Hunt County, graduated a year early as valedictorian from his small high school and went into the honors program at the University of Texas at Austin. He was majoring in physics and math and aspiring to be a doctor when he got hooked on methamphetamines and never finished college. Powell was on his way to a drug deal when Ablanedo pulled over the car, said authorities, who later found .45-caliber handgun and about $5,000 worth of illegal drugs in the vehicle. Ablanedo was able to describe the car before he died. Powell and his girlfriend, Sheila Meinert, were arrested after a shootout with police. "I remember what a terrible tragedy it was, for the community and Ralph Ablanedo's family and the family of the Austin Police Department," said Ronnie Earle, the now-retired Travis County district attorney who prosecuted Powell's first trial. "And also a tragedy for David Lee Powell, who just went off the deep end." Meinert received 15 years in prison for attempted capital murder, served just over four years and was paroled in 1989. She testified against Powell. Powell would be the 13th Texas inmate executed this year. Only five of the 322 prisoners on Texas death row have been there longer. www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/tx/7054385.html
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Post by Stormyweather on Jun 15, 2010 15:25:08 GMT -6
It's tonight, usually 6:30 pm. DOH! Tuesday night. Of course. Thanks, Char. That's okay Bob, we all have those senior moments. ;D
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Post by Stormyweather on Jun 15, 2010 15:27:51 GMT -6
What meant was rape\murder together. Also, I'm trying to say that this seemed to be a crime of panic and temporary insanity rather than a well thought out brutal murder. Yes, it may be deserving of the death penalty, but now that 32 years have elapsed it just seems like a tragedy to kill this man who is no longer a danger to society. Baloney. He had a panic attack for being wanted for theft and writing bad checks? Guess he shouldn't have done that then. But instead of taking the consquences (which he probably would have been out by now) he chose to up the consquences.
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