CRIME AND CONSEQUENCES

BY DAN MILLER
(originally posted May 31, 2005)

Two crime stories caught my eye in recent days..... and we didn't report either of them.

In West Virginia, a 42 year old man was arrested for wearing a Grinch mask in public.
He said he assumed wearing a Grinch mask was legal, but according to the Wheeling News-Register, state law indicates that anyone using masks, hoods, or other devices to conceal even a portion of the face, "could be potentially committing a crime."

During arraignment, the County Magistrate noted that "masks have been used by bank robbers to hide their identity." Now, that is true.

Of course, so have wigs..... hair dye.... fake beards.... real beards.... make-up.... baseball caps.... and really big Elvis-style dark glasses.

It's probably why Spiderman and Batman never fight crime in Wheeling.
Clark Kent would be OK, because regular glasses are not illegal, yet.

The sad truth is.... our society has evolved (or devolved) to a point where everybody..... every one of us..... is considered by authorities to be a potential criminal at all times.
No one is to be completely trusted any more.

And if you "really look" suspicious..... say, by driving an old car or truck down any Interstate highway, with out-of-state tags.... you'll probably be stopped, questioned, searched and sniffed.
And, if you have dark tinted windows in that vehicle, you're going downtown.

The other story came from Hillsborough, North Carolina, about a man named Junior Allen.
After spending 35 years in prison, Junior was released last week, at the age of 65.

He had been sentenced to life in prison in 1970 for second degree burglary.
His crime..... he sneaked into an unlocked house and walked out with a 19-inch black & white TV worth $140.
It was a crime.... he knew it, and he should be punished.

But, 35 years in prison! Wow!
Good thing it wasn't a color TV.

By the way, in recent years, the penalty for that same crime has been reduced to a maximum of three years.

Now, I'm not saying we should be soft on criminals. Do the crime, do the time.
But punishment should be meted out with fairness, equity, and common sense.

Merle Haggard, the country music icon, spent less than 3 years in prison for armed robbery. And he even admitted to running a gambling and liquor racket from his cell while doing his time at San Quentin.
And Tim Allen, the comic actor, spent less than two years in prison for dealing dangerous narcotics.

I wonder if O.J. Simpson and Robert Blake ever talk about this stuff while sitting in the club house, relaxing with a beer, before teeing it up at the 10th fairway.

___________________________________