Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Escaping from the Pokey

The San Diego resident who has to go back to prison.

I hear people debate this at the water cooler daily. Not the water cooler at the Reader. I don't hang out there.

But, various water coolers. Oh yeah, I go into offices around the city, and listen to what all the buzz is about.

No, but seriously, the times I've been in various places, I hear people talking about this. And, the Union-Tribune has a story on it daily.

It's that woman with three kids, that lives in Carmel Valley and escaped a prison in Detroit.

A lot of people feel that since she is living a good life, it would be disruptive to her children and she's clearly rehabilitated, why send her back?

Well, basically, this issue should not be debated. The simple fact is this: she should be returned to prison. She should have to finish her sentence. And, she should have additional time added on for the escape (that's usually how that works when you escape).

To say that all she did was sell drugs, is ridiculous. She sold heroin. That's not just a bag of weed (she said in one statement, she was just a "John Lennon hippie").

Jail is not just about rehabilitating. I think, first and foremost, going to prison is about being punished for a crime you were found guilty of committing.

If we go down this path, what happens when there's a minority, that stabbed his girlfriend in the shoulder in 1973. We find him now, and he owns his own mechanic business. He has a wife and kids. He hasn't stabbed them. Or anyone else, in 30 years. Does he not get punished for the first attempted murder? We then have that can of worms opened, about why a rich white woman was treated differently.

You can't be so thick as to say "selling drugs isn't like stabbing someone." Really? Why not? Heroin causes addiction, and death. And crime.

Stabbing, in a lot of ways, is a lot less of a crime. You're angry, you grab a steak knife, and you yell, "You're wrong about the Chargers offensive line," as that Pyscho violin plays in your head.

Now, I would have no problem if the state wanted to say to her, "Look, putting you in prison costs money. You obviously aren't committing crimes now. So, we're going to give you 10 years probation; 1,000 hours community service. And, you can pay a fee of $5 million."

Yes, that's a high amount. But, they can sell that three million dollar home they have. Pay a few million there. And, they can work out a payment plan for the rest.

Sure, that disrupts the kids lives a little. But, it gives her a chance to teach them a lesson about crime, not paying the piper, and owning up to your obligations. I guess if she didn't have to go back to prison, they'd learn that doing something wrong can sometimes benefit you, as long as you aren't caught (and by the way, anyone know how she was caught? someone turned her in, but...was she that stupid that she told someone about her past?)

If her and her husband don't like selling that house, because the kids wouldn't be able to keep their big rooms, with posters of the Spice Girls on the wall; well, she can have a much smaller room, with grey bars, and "wanted" posters on the walls.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all

Previous article

Bluefin tuna, three subspecies vary greatly in size

Lobster opener – gotta go deep for rockfish
Next Article

Won't be waiting for horn section in Mahler

The dark night of the adrenal soul

I hear people debate this at the water cooler daily. Not the water cooler at the Reader. I don't hang out there.

But, various water coolers. Oh yeah, I go into offices around the city, and listen to what all the buzz is about.

No, but seriously, the times I've been in various places, I hear people talking about this. And, the Union-Tribune has a story on it daily.

It's that woman with three kids, that lives in Carmel Valley and escaped a prison in Detroit.

A lot of people feel that since she is living a good life, it would be disruptive to her children and she's clearly rehabilitated, why send her back?

Well, basically, this issue should not be debated. The simple fact is this: she should be returned to prison. She should have to finish her sentence. And, she should have additional time added on for the escape (that's usually how that works when you escape).

To say that all she did was sell drugs, is ridiculous. She sold heroin. That's not just a bag of weed (she said in one statement, she was just a "John Lennon hippie").

Jail is not just about rehabilitating. I think, first and foremost, going to prison is about being punished for a crime you were found guilty of committing.

If we go down this path, what happens when there's a minority, that stabbed his girlfriend in the shoulder in 1973. We find him now, and he owns his own mechanic business. He has a wife and kids. He hasn't stabbed them. Or anyone else, in 30 years. Does he not get punished for the first attempted murder? We then have that can of worms opened, about why a rich white woman was treated differently.

You can't be so thick as to say "selling drugs isn't like stabbing someone." Really? Why not? Heroin causes addiction, and death. And crime.

Stabbing, in a lot of ways, is a lot less of a crime. You're angry, you grab a steak knife, and you yell, "You're wrong about the Chargers offensive line," as that Pyscho violin plays in your head.

Now, I would have no problem if the state wanted to say to her, "Look, putting you in prison costs money. You obviously aren't committing crimes now. So, we're going to give you 10 years probation; 1,000 hours community service. And, you can pay a fee of $5 million."

Yes, that's a high amount. But, they can sell that three million dollar home they have. Pay a few million there. And, they can work out a payment plan for the rest.

Sure, that disrupts the kids lives a little. But, it gives her a chance to teach them a lesson about crime, not paying the piper, and owning up to your obligations. I guess if she didn't have to go back to prison, they'd learn that doing something wrong can sometimes benefit you, as long as you aren't caught (and by the way, anyone know how she was caught? someone turned her in, but...was she that stupid that she told someone about her past?)

If her and her husband don't like selling that house, because the kids wouldn't be able to keep their big rooms, with posters of the Spice Girls on the wall; well, she can have a much smaller room, with grey bars, and "wanted" posters on the walls.

Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Rich People and Money

Next Article

Kids in the News -- Some Famous, Some Unknown

Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader