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That Canucks Fan
Dec 27, 2006
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A man who said he robbed a downtown Shreveport bank because he was out of a job and hungry has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for first-degree robbery.

Roy Brown, 54, of Audrey Lane, pleaded guilty in Caddo District Court to robbing the Capital One bank in December 2007.

Brown admitted walking up to a teller with one of his hands under his jacket and telling her it was a "stickup." The teller handed the man three stacks of bills and he took a single $100 bill, told her he was homeless and left, police said.

Brown surrendered to police the next day, telling them his mother didn't raise him that way.

Police let him sober up and interviewed him two days later. Police said Brown told them he needed money to stay in a downtown detox center, had nowhere to stay and was hungry -- so he walked up the street and robbed the bank.

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Very unfair considering the situation and the fact the man did turn himself in the next day. Sure, it was wrong of him to pull this stunt but to be sentenced to fifteen years in prison is just insane.
 
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It's still considered robbery. The teller didn't know he wasn't carrying a gun. Guy made a dumb mistake.

Yes he broke the law, but do you really think it was necessary to sentence the guy to fifteen years in prison?
 
Nah, you're right on that bit, 15 years does seem a bit much for an un-armed robbery. And he turned himself in, as you said.
 
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I'd say 4 years at most. 15 is indeed too much.

On a similar note,

A former executive of insurance heavyweight American International Group was sentenced to four years in prison yesterday in a fraud case that authorities say cost shareholders more than US$500 million ($947 million).

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I'd rather be in jail than be homeless, I'm actually surprised more homeless people don't try and break the law more to have a warm place to stay and have three meals to eat.

A lot of them though, they stay outside because they love drugs and once they go to jail they can't do that anymore.

Either way 15 years for that guy is ridiculous.
 
That's what I meant to say too CGAW, I screwed up my words. Yeah as you said, why bother starving and freeze when you can go to prison and be properly cared for (to an extent)?
 
I'd rather be in jail than be homeless, I'm actually surprised more homeless people don't try and break the law more to have a warm place to stay and have three meals to eat.

A lot of them though, they stay outside because they love drugs and once they go to jail they can't do that anymore.

Either way 15 years for that guy is ridiculous.

Some homeless people choose to be homeless. They could easily get a job paying minimum wage, and I'm sure they have relatives.
But was this guy homeless or what?
 
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Some homeless people choose to be homeless. They could easily get a job paying minimum wage, and I'm sure they have relatives.
But was this guy homeless or what?

This is going to be a long post.

Some homeless people choose to be homeless.

Excuse me, but not all homeless people choose to be homeless. It's not like they wake up one morning with an epiphany that they're going to spend the rest of their lives living on the streets struggling to make it day to day. Not everyone in life is given the same opportunities as say you or I have and so some have no options. This in turn may also be related to mental issues and health.


They could easily get a job paying minimum wage

And how exactly do you suppose they do that? They do live on the streets after all and the chances of a company employing them for work is very very slim. Actually, more like not likely. If you live on the streets you have no home, probably a poor hygiene and companies wont be interested in offering you a job. And, as mentioned before, many homeless people suffer from mental illnesses. Lastly, the general public loves to live by the notion of "out of sight and out of mind". At least, that's what I've viewed while spending time in the poorer parts of Vancouver.

I'm sure they have relatives

If you were to get word that a close uncle or aunt has recently been diagnosed with a severe mental illness and has taken to living on the streets and has taken up drugs your family, in most cases, wont be too open to taking that person in. Sure, there may be some cases where families do try to step in, but it seems to me that they would not want to deal with the stress involved in making sure that person can once again gain the needs to support themselves.

If the homeless person were to suffer from issues of drug abuse, addiction and or mental illness they would require lots of help. Most likely classes which involve living with a mental illness and defeating their addiction. And no, neither of these will magically disappear within a week. It takes a lot of time and patience and if your family members don't have the time I don't think they will be the ones to step in.

But was this guy homeless or what?

Was that supposed to be a joke? I mean, come on, grow up. If you're going to make such comments as the ones you made above I suggest you take the time to do a little research.
 
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