NEW ORLEANS –A man faces life in prison for stealing candy.
Jacobia Grimes is accused of taking $31 worth of candy bars from a store in Louisiana.
Grimes has five prior theft convictions.
Under state law, that makes him eligible for a harsher sentence ranging from 20 years to life.
Orleans Parish prosecutors chose to charge Grimes under that statute.
“Isn’t this a little over the top,” said Judge Franz Zibilich at the arraignment. “Twenty years to life for a Snickers bar, or two or three or four.”
Grimes’ attorneys say all their clients thefts were for less than $500.
Stolen items include socks and pants from a Dollar General store.
!snip!
Does this guy deserve life??
Life isnt the answer, he’s sick. Need psychiactric care. Who steals 31.oo in candy?
No worry, his sentence will be commuted January 19th.
Just like THOUSANDS of others…
I would be for canning petty criminals on their bare ass on the public square. It is hard to be all gangsta when your ass is bleeding and you’re crying like a baby. It would serve as a deterrent to other would be thieves. It would save a heck of a lot on warehousing his but in a penitentiary.
butt
If this poor misfortunate bastard gets life I know a lot of politicians who should get eternity, which ever comes last.
Do you think that he got caught every time he committed a crime or do you think he got away with a couple?
Shariah Law dictates that he lose his hand, correct?
Hey, we might as well start practicing it since it would be intolerant not to.
Is he black?
I would think a couple years in a mental institution might do better at changing his criminal lifestyle. The guy obviously lacks some marbles.
Parish law is unlike laws in other states. Don’t know if an insanity plea would work, but it doesn’t sound like they are dealing with a sane person.
Angola prison probably has a few “openings” they need to fill with new “workers”.
Bring back the “chain gang”. He can learn somewhat of a skill (making big ones into little ones (rocks) among other things) while actually paying for himself by his labor. In my younger days (as a summer job), I worked with a bunch of people on a “county road crew” that had previously been on the chain gang (apparently the govt. had decided that was no longer acceptable by then and upon release, they had nowhere else to work).
The people there weren’t all that skilled necessarily, but they could build wooden bridges on dirt roads, some could operate heavy equipment (front end loaders, dump trucks and road graters, etc.) and others were good workers that would actually do what they were told and accomplish the goal at hand quite readily. Most of them didn’t want to be put back on the “chain gang”. Teach them something while they are there and many of them won’t have to go back there.
“Orleans Parish prosecutors chose to charge Grimes under that statute.”
Murders and other truly wicked monsters get parole in no time at all, but for this sorry sap, a misfit to say the most, it’s twenty to life.
First, throw the prosecutors in jail (until they come to their senses). Then modify the unjust law to fit the crime(s).
Idiots.
Yer Holiday Update:
There are only 263 shoplifting days left until Kwanzaa
The proposed penalty is 20 years . . . for a five-time convict.
Maybe the opportunity for parole in 5-7 years plus the chance to learn a trade in the joint, or the opportunity to do the full life term if he is convicted a sixth time, will cause him to rethink the rights of others.
The candy man can….
yes, you cannot jail this man for stealing $31 worth of candy and let hillary walk after selling government favors to foreigners for millions can you?
why do we even need laws anyway?
stealing isn’t so bad if your not being stolen from, am I right?
anyone excusing this habitual criminal is just plain wrong.
If he were a major drug dealer and a “real” threat to society obama would parole him.
Hmm…is it cheaper to house him in a prison or pay him welfare? I’d go with whatever will cost the taxpayers less.
As is typical, a call to emotion and almost no information.
How many arrests does the guy have? 50, 100?
What about convictions for other crimes, like DUI?
Why did they ‘chose’ to apply this in his case?
I bet if you scratch the surface you will find that this cretin has been a big problem for a lot of people for a long time.
Nobody “deserves” life in prison for stealing candy.
PERIOD.
That isn’t the issue.
The guy’s either retarded or he’s mentally defective.
Or he’s a career criminal and this is the only thing they could get to stick (similar to Capone and the taxman).
izlamo delenda est …
The waste of skin is not risking life in prison for stealing candy.
That is a blatant distortion.
He is facing that punishment for leading a life of crime. One of his many crimes was stealing some candy.
Does anybody really believe that all a career criminal need do to absolve himself is to steal some candy?
The thieving piece of shit costs us all more money. His thefts eat into the profits of some business owner who then in turn must raise prices to compensate for the loss. However, rather than locking the thief up forever and costing tax payers even more, I think he should be sentenced to a period of indentured servitude. If he won’t work, then tie him to a post and shoot him.
In 2012 the average annual cost to house an inmate in Louisiana was $17,486. That average times 20 years comes to $349,720 out of the taxpayer’s pockets.
Unless the bastard is committing more than $1457.17 worth of crimes every month, or endangering others, it’s not worth locking him up, financially speaking.
But ….. there seems to be a very good reason to keep this guy off the streets: “His lawyers say he has a heroin problem. ”
And another thing nobody mentioned, that driver’s license picture looks like it was taken under water. WTH?
Unruly, why did you leave out the costs of social services that support the idiot when not in prison?
In most states the cost of supporting people on the street exceeds the cost of imprisoning them so tossing them in a cell saves taxpayer money.
JohnS, go ahead and list those services if it make you feel better. Don’t know how you are going to verify them.
Louisiana is one of the cheaper states to house inmates in. The Arkansas governor is talking about sending inmates down to the swamps in LA to save some money.
I went to the link and read the story. When I scrolled down further, I saw stories that are far worse than this chumps. They all need to be put behind bars and throw the key away – EXCEPT for the woman being imprisoned for not cleaning and cooking for her husband. WTH!
Petty crimes become greater with repetition until a casual disconnect with the law becomes a lifestyle.
One year hard labor.
Moving cannonballs from one pyramid to another Wild Wild West style (the William Conrad version), all day, every day for a year.
See if he likes candy then.
This guy already did a couple years for theft. And he’s a junkie, according to other news articles. I don’t care how long they lock up a heroin addict — they can never be trusted.