Welcome to my, and just about every other prosecutor's, life.twenty 8 wrote:My state has a serious prison overcrowding problem. This includes the Martha Stewart cupcake facilities. State legislatures are engaged in keeping non-violent offenders out of jail cells.
Granted, in years to come when minor drug offenders are treated differently the overcrowding might be alleviated but until then we’re dealing with serious overcrowding. Doesn’t that factor into your decision on house arrest and negotiating the length of time to be served?
OUr state department of corrections dictates how long a prisoner sits in prison, regardless of what the Judge "sentenced" him to.
So I can be a big-swinging dick and DEMAND that this meth addict get 10 years in prison. But the state parole and pardons board is gonna let him/her out in 18 months.
So why even waste the ink on the paper when everybody knows what the deal is?
Same goes for just about every "non-violent" offense on the books.