You don't know the details of the crime. For a sentence that long, it likely involved a firearm or some type of physical violence. Protecting the public probably meant locking this guy up until he reached middle age.
Having said that, now that he's paid his debt, it does seem like the system should do more to help him return to productive society.
Yes, a firearm was involved. It was not, however, discharged. Nor was anyone injured during the offense. This was his first offense; he thought (irrational, of course) it was his only option after his small business started falling apart.
Involving a firearm in the commission of a crime is an instant ticket on the Felony Express. If he hadn't had a gun (first offense or not, discharged or not, loaded or not, real or not) he likely would have been out a long time ago.
When you have a gun in that situation the number of things that can go wrong increases by an order of magnitude. The adrenaline could make him pull the trigger when he didn't really mean to. Someone in the bank tackling him could make it go off. Hell, it could jam and he could blow his own hand off.
I'm glad he's turned his life around but we can't have people committing armed robbery and going back out onto the street in three months.
> I'm glad he's turned his life around but we can't have people committing armed robbery and going back out onto the street in three months.
I think this is a straw man. Most of us agree that armed robbery is a crime that deserves some punishment. However, if 18 years was his sentence, I want his sentence to be 18 years, not a subsequent lifetime of being unable to contribute meaningfully to society. He's not out in three months, he's spent half of my life in prison.
What if the gun wasn't even loaded? Of course, this is absolutely irrelevant to the question. What's done is done. He just wants to move forward and I'm really more interested in helping him to find options.
A bank teller can't know the gun isn't loaded. PTSD is a real bitch and could easily have ruined the tellers life permanently. If there were any customers in the bank they could have been a victim too. Families could have been destroyed.
Frankly 18 years sounds kinda cheap. If you have to rob a bank, at least tie a chain around the atm at 1 am -- more money and less hurt to all concerned.
However long it takes to make them not be worth it, though no minimum sentences. An normal of 30 years might do it, with some real incentives for reintegrating into society upon release as well as possible time of for good behavior (but not getting into fights is not enough to qualify for good behavior).
I agree, it is pretty strict but that is because it is a very serious crime due to the direct impact the gun has on people. Steal the ATM, break into the place in the night, sell cocaine, whatever, but don't fucking threaten peoples life.
Even if you have a plastic toy you spray painted black, that's the same thing as having one in the chamber. The teller still thinks s/he is going to die.
Oh, that's good to know. What if a security guard had pulled a weapon on him? Would anyone have been injured then? Or what if one of the other customers had rushed him?
I used to think that a man (it's almost always a man) brings a loaded gun to a crime for one reason - to murder someone who got in his way. I've since mollified my stance on that, but still, the fact that no-one was injured isn't in itself really exculpatory.
Having said that, now that he's paid his debt, it does seem like the system should do more to help him return to productive society.