
The Life of a South Central Statistic - wallflower
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/07/24/the-life-of-a-south-central-statistic
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ng12
> Before his arrest, Michael did not have a criminal record. That day, he
> gained one with a vengeance. For the watch and the wallet, Michael was
> charged with robbery; for the car, attempted carjacking. Both charges were
> “enhanced” because of the gun. He was also charged with the two earlier
> robberies. Four felonies, two from one incident, and all in one week.

The tone here confuses me. Robbing somebody at gunpoint certainly seems
felony-worthy.

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QAPereo
Yeah it does seem like the system worked pretty well in this case, in so far
as you want to see a rapid escalation of charges in response to violent or
potentially violent crimes. Brandishing a firearm in any context is very
serious, and when you're downright using it to intimidate and rob people when
you've committed an act which not infrequently leads to death or at least
serious injury. Worse you are using that for the violence and you know it, so
this guy is about as far from the victim as possible.

By contrast the kid who was shot after allegedly robbing someone in a
convenience store without a weapon was a very very different story. There are
many issues with how the system treats minorities especially black people, and
poor people in general, but this article doesn't seem like it's describing one
of them.

~~~
28mm
I think it's a stretch to say the system worked well in this case. Even if you
accept the charges and sentencing, the correctional system clearly fails in
its goal of rehabilitation.

Michael (the subject of the article) has only limited access to books, while
in prison. education is shown to reduce recidivism, but Michael is limited to
courses that don't require hardcover books. (Not many courses, in my
experience.)

Few employers will seriously consider felons for jobs, and it is hard not to
see this as a contributing factor to his recidivism and death.

I don't think the system worked here, very well, at all.

~~~
thereisnospork
How much can one reasonably expect of the system though? The young man in the
article walked out of prison to a job, a co-signed apartment, and a college
admission* -- and he still threw his life away. Is there no point where his
failure to coexist with society is his own responsibility?

*Not that the system gave these things to him, but clearly it wouldn't have mattered if they had.

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RhysU
TL but definitely read; despite multiple warning signs and chances and an
extended attempt to intervene by loving family members, an individual with a
bad early family situation ends up dead as a consequence of only his own adult
decisions.

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JBReefer
Jesus Christ, what a story.

