Are you smarter than (most of) the leadership in Philadelphia?

[Bigboss]

Take this hypothetical case:


RH committed a robbery at knifepoint 3 years ago in Philadelphia. While being apprehended, he threw punches at the police and was charged with aggravated assault against police in addition to robbery. The Municipal judge throws out the aggravated assault charges simply because she doesn't like that law or the police in general. At trial, RH is found guilty and sentenced to 3-6 years in prison, despite the sentencing guidelines recommending a much higher sentence given the defendant's lengthy criminal record. There is of course no consecutive sentence for the assault against police because those charges were dismissed. The Pennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole releases the defendant after serving only 3 years. The reasons for their decision is kept secret. Soon after release, RH commits burglary and aggravated assault, is arrested, and released the next day on 10% of $50,000 bail, or $5,000. The bail authority does not seriously take into consideration the seriousness of the crimes, the defendant's danger to the community, or his flight risk at this time, as these factors are not adequately addressed in Philadelphia's bail schedule. RH buys a gun from a straw purchaser soon thereafter, and commits a armed robbery where he murders 3 people before being fatally wounded by police.


What was most responsible for RH's murder spree?

A) The Municipal Judge, for disallowing proper prosecution of aggravated assault.
B) The Commonwealth Court Judge, for imposing a lenient sentence inconsistent with the sentencing guidelines.
C) The Parole Board, for granting parole to RH despite a long history of violence.
D) The bail authority, for setting such a paltry bail amount despite PA law and the bail schedules of virtually every other county in the state.
E) The straw purchaser, for illegally selling the gun to RH.
F) The fact that people without felony criminal records or mental illness can legally buy and carry guns in PA.


---


Well there IS some good news about these kind of things right now actually, as the new Philly DA is criticizing the Philadelphia bail system and how not only do we have criminal running amok and being released on paltry amounts but a huge amount of unpaid bail to boot. In the months to come we'll see how this plays out.

By the way, I don't mean to insult all of Philadelphia's judiciary, as there are still some judges there who are actually sane and who don't assume dictatorial powers to amend the law themselves, believe it or not.

[jahwarrior72]

i picked "A"; what do i win?

[Curmudgeon]

I picked "all that apply", A - E. What do I win?

[jcabin]

A-E............

[jerkin]

I pick RH.

[General Geoff]

What was most responsible for RH's murder spree?

Trick question; the only correct answer is RH.

[TheF00L]

Post deleted by poster, as I am, doing to almost all my posts.

[emsjeep]

Everyone who had the opportunity to stop it is equally accountable, but the perp is ultimatley responsible for his own actions. Hang em high.

[Huggy]

Duh, it's the guns fault.
Robbery at knife point? Guns fault
Assaulting a police officer? Guns fault
Violent repeat offender? Guns fault
Illegal straw purchase? "Gun show loophole"

This is a perfect example of why only police and soldiers should have guns, and they should phase those out towards apologies and hugs.

Even though I'm kidding, I feel like I need to wash the stupid off.

It's unfortunate that cases like this are nothing but job security for many judges and DAs

[Justin2012]

I picked A-E plus RH. In the end though, bad people will always do bad things in this world.