Teen turns down plea deal for 25 years in prison, gets 65 years instead

I'm making the point that this is not only Alabama, but also at least 11 other states with similar codes, including the liberal states of California and Massachusetts.

 

Most, if not all, states count causing an accident without having insurance as a crime. Misdemeanor, to bbe exact. My point was to show you the process and how it benefits everyone. In my case - did I drive without insurance? Yes. Did I cause accident - yes. Did I fail to yield - yes. If you go on trial, you don’t argue how stupid a law is - you argue whether you broke existing laws on the books or not. What’s the point in going on trial if you know you broke the laws and you’ll be punished accordingly when you know you can get a prosecutor to drop some charges for your guilty plea? That kid went on trial, was proven guilty and was sentenced according to sentencing guidelines. The only benefit of going on trial in his case is that he can appeal. You don’t argue the laws stupidity in criminal court - you do it in Supreme Court, or you vote against your local lawmakers who came up with this law.
As for the fate of that kid - in most states you can be reliesed after you serve like 60% of the sentence. You can also cut it short with good behavior, taking classes, taking good jobs in prison, etc. I highly doubt he will actually do full sentence, unless he becomes a violent prisoner. He actually has a strong chance of getting out within the next 30 years because of the circumstances of his case and he will have strong arguments in his parole hearings.

 

you are making the wrong point because the examples you are providing and the language you are quoting does not fit the case in Alabama. He did not aide and abet the cop to commit any crime . There was no crime, and he did not contribute the police presence, or actions or response. He is guilty of all sorts of illegal conduct but not that.

 

Or what if someone was committing a (second story) burglary, and fell to his death, only to be revived minutes later by CPR. Could he be charged with his own murder?

 

Of course you won't, it has too much truth in it.

Great, that's means I'm doing the right thing. It's a good compass.

 

We're all better off with him locked up.

Sometimes the system works.

 

....can hang out with people who steal guns and pull triggers though....can hang out in NJ and beat random men walking down the street to death too.

 

The cop committed no crime as fire was laid down against the cop first, and he was returning fire in the killing of the perpetrator. The cop was totally justified. He was cleared by the grand jury.

Lakeith Smith aided and abetted his fellow criminals, not the cop. A death occurred, the death of one of his fellow criminals. That meets the requirements of the law to charge Smith with murder, and also to charge his three surviving buddies with murder.

Smith's three buddies, the other criminal defendants in the murder, each plead guilty, and are awaiting their sentencings.

The courts go by the law.

 

Death is not murder. If death were murder the cop would be responsible for murder. These fellow criminals did not kill this boy. Smith could not have aided or abetted them in their murder of this boy. The only way he can aide and abet the murder of his friend is if he helped the cop and that cop murdered the boy If he helped the cop under the set of facts that exonerates the police, he helped him defend himself. That is not a crime. No crime was committed in associated with this boys death.

 

Take it up with the Alabama legislators who wrote the code of law, the court which administered the code, and the Alabama Supreme Court which has interpreted the code much like the California Supreme Court interprets their code.

Murder is what the code of law of the several states says it is in each state, with states varying one from the other, slightly or greatly.

 

No, guilt for death when committing a crime is shared by all perps involved: it's the law. It's fair.

 

Well, it’s more of an attempted murder and I think this has happened before. I remember reading about a case of when someone was charged with attempted murder of self.

 

Wait.....wait I think a tear might be forming......nope it past.

 

no, a cop killing your teen friend is a cop killing your friend and you should not be charged for the cops actions, only your own actions, this 15 yr old boy murdered no one, the cop did the killing

 

You don't understand the law, because you don't want to. Hint: don't be involved in criminal activity.

 

the 15 yr old boy should do time, no one thinks that is the issue, the issue is the injustice of giving him 65 years for the murder of his friend, when he did not kill his friend, the cop did the killing

 

That’s not what the law of Alabama says.
Life lesson - don’t join a group of people and go around breaking laws, because if someone dies, it’s all on you, because you contributed to that situation, just like everyone in that group.

 

I understand this unjust law, you just do not understand that I think the law is unjust

cop kills kid, you think his friend should be charged with the killing... I disagree

plenty to justly charge him with, but not the death of his friend at the hand of the cop, not his hands

 

yes, Alabama law supported slavery once too, suppose someone back then was defending that too - hint : it's ok to speak out against unjust laws

the logic back then was, they bought the slave, they own it, their property, so blah blah blah... unjust laws are bad laws

 

The law is very specific, you are responsible for any deaths that are a result of your crime. The police would not have shot any of his friends had they not been committing the crimes. Had they stayed home or gone to a movie they would all be alive. The ONLY reason someone is dead is because they decided to commit a crime. Don't forget he was offered 25 years and turned it down.

 

yes, the law is a bad law, we already know that... that is why we are discussing it here

 

this is just the message to send to trigger happy cops, if you shoot and kill a black suspect, all his black friends will go to prison for 25 to 65 years

 

Slavery ended when federal government ended it. Alabama and other southern states didn’t comply, which resulted in civil war.
Alabama’s current law does not violate federal laws. One can argue that this specific law violates cruel and unusual punishment clause in the US constitution and try this law in Supreme Court. If you think the law is stupid - move to Alabama, call your local lawmakers and argue for a repeal.
I, for one, see why the law exists - it punishes association with a violent crime, even if you weren’t the one pulling the trigger. Your very presence in a group that commits the crime contributes and fuels more crime and violent behavior. That’s what this law is intended to punish.

 

Its not a bad law. It should be clear that no matter what your contribution to a crime is you are responsible for the fallout and any harm that happens to anyone because of it. Its literally no different than someone hiring a hitman, both are equally responsible. It is also no different than RICO laws which holds everyone responsible for crimes as well.

I am absolutely not going to shed one tear or lose any sleep over a ****ing idiot who decided he wanted to rob people with his friends.

 

Exactly! If the kid chose to stay home or go to a movie, he wouldn’t be in this mess.