Watch what reviews you post about Thailand...

[chillyinCanada]

He hasn't had any punishment yet.

 

[tridacna]

He hasn't had any punishment yet.

Like I said previously, he’ll probably be repatriated with a slap on the wrist. Good riddance. Publicity is even worse for touuism.

 

[kelemvor]

He hasn't had any punishment yet.

I thought the article said they took him to jail when he went in to get something done with his visa.

 

[wheeledgoat]

It would be easy to make the case that many (most?) non-violent crimes don't deserve incarceration, so your question DOES THE PUNISHMENT FIT THE CRIME? would get a workout right here in the states. Before we go getting too high and mighty, calling Thailand a 3rd world country, and patting ourselves on the back too hard, we should review rates of incarceration by country.

 

[Barnaby'sDad]

It would be easy to make the case that many (most?) non-violent crimes don't deserve incarceration, so your question DOES THE PUNISHMENT FIT THE CRIME? would get a workout right here in the states. Before we go getting too high and mighty, calling Thailand a 3rd world country, and patting ourselves on the back too hard, we should review rates of incarceration by country.

Exactly. Incarceration in the U.S. is big business. A lot of correctional facilities aren’t even run by the government (Bureau of Prisons)...they’re run by for profit corporations that are funded by the government.

It doesn’t take much effort to process why mandatory minimum sentences for non-violent offenses in the U.S. came about.

 

[kelemvor]

It doesn’t take much effort to process why mandatory minimum sentences for non-violent offenses in the U.S. came about.

I think there's conflicting laws on those issues. I recall reading a recent article about some murderer who'd been released before his mandatory minimum and the judge (and family of victims) was all bent out of shape yet powerless to get the guy back in jail. Sorry, I don't remember any specific more than that.

 

[Barnaby'sDad]

I think there's conflicting laws on those issues. I recall reading a recent article about some murderer who'd been released before his mandatory minimum and the judge (and family of victims) was all bent out of shape yet powerless to get the guy back in jail. Sorry, I don't remember any specific more than that.

As with anything, there are exceptions to the rule. Counter to your example... there was a high profile case in the news not too long ago where the judge literally apologized to the defendant during the sentencing phase of the trial...explaining that she didn’t think the defendant deserved to be incarcerated for that length of time, but that her hands were tied by the mandatory minimum sentencing requirement for the charge in question.

There has been effort recently to undo the existing policy regarding mandatory minimum sentencing in the U.S. The most recent high profile example having the initials JK...spearheading the effort to help out his white collar criminal father...under the guise of doing it for the little man (ex. Minor drug convictions) that had been unfairly put away.

 

[chillyinCanada]

I thought the article said they took him to jail when he went in to get something done with his visa.

His court case hasn't come up yet. So arrested yes but not punished to the full extent of Thailand's law.

 

[chillyinCanada]

As with anything, there are exceptions to the rule. Counter to your example... there was a high profile case in the news not too long ago where the judge literally apologized to the defendant during the sentencing phase of the trial...explaining that she didn’t think the defendant deserved to be incarcerated for that length of time, but that her hands were tied by the mandatory minimum sentencing requirement for the charge in question.

There has been effort recently to undo the existing policy regarding mandatory minimum sentencing in the U.S. The most recent high profile example having the initials JK...spearheading the effort to help out his white collar criminal father...under the guise of doing it for the little man (ex. Minor drug convictions) that had been unfairly put away.

We're not posting in the Pub here. Please keep comments restricted to Thailand.

 

[Centrals]

We're not posting in the Pub here. Please keep comments restricted to Thailand.

It is so obvious, isn't it?