JP> VH>I propose making it work properly by making a minor structural
JP> change - VH>adding an office solely responsible for the prosecution
JP> of these two VH>crimes (use of a firearm in a violent crime, and
JP> possession of a firear VH>by a previously-convicted violent
JP> offender.)
JP> Why not make that read "deadly weapon" instead of "firearm?"
What's a "deadly weapon"? Do you intend to add pencils, hands and feet 
to the list? You can kill with all three, you know.
I don't think new laws are necessary at all. The main problem is the 
lack of will and resources. If we are determined to put violent 
criminals away and to protect the rights of law-abiding citizens, then 
there won't be plea-bargains and light sentences for violent criminals 
and repeat offenders.
There's a guy I went to high school with who was the U.S. Attorney in 
Philadelphia for about eight years. He has an interesting perspective on 
this problem. They are totally bogged down prosecuting drug cases. Both 
the White House and Congress have given top priority to the "War on 
Drugs." As a result, prosecutors on the state and federal levels have 
had to cut back on resources for prosecuting other crimes.
He told me that it's not unusual for a prosecutor to go into court in a 
rape case with less than a couple of hours to prepare his case. They 
plea-bargain in such cases because the lack of preparation leaves them 
with too many holes in their arguments. It would be likely that a good 
attorney could exploit those weaknesses to get his client off 
completely.
Many times they have to drop the charges because the crime labs don't 
have the time to process the physical evidence. There are time limits 
built into each stage in the prosecution of an accused criminal in order 
to insure a speedy trial (with good reason, I might add). When the 
evidence needed for an indictment isn't available in time, the charges 
have to be dropped. If the trial is delayed too long waiting for crucial 
evidence, the charges can be dropped.
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 X RM 1.3 02881 X It takes a government to raze a village.
--- Maximus/2 2.02
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