> He explained his case isn’t the worst: Timothy Jackson, a man caught stealing a jacket from a shop more than 20 years ago, is set to spend the rest of his life in Angola. The average sentence in Angola is almost 90 years.
How can a civilised country allow this to be?
“After this conviction under La.R.S. 14:67, Mr. Jackson was sentenced in accordance with R.S. 15:529.1 A(1)(c)(ii), which states in pertinent part:
If the fourth or subsequent felony or any of the prior felonies is a felony defined as a crime of violence under R.S. 14:2(13) ․ the person shall be imprisoned for the remainder of his natural life, without benefit of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence.
After a sentencing hearing at which the State proved Mr. Jackson's multiple offender status, the trial court simply stated that “because of the specific provisions of the law ․ the sentence must be ․ life imprisonment without benefit of parole, probation or suspension.” Mr. Jackson has prior convictions for simple burglary in 1991 and in 1986 and for simple robbery in 1979. Simple robbery is listed as a crime of violence under La.R.S. 14:2(13).”
Life sentences are not necessary to deter crime, as evidenced by crime and recurrence statistics of other countries.
The idea of thousands of black men that are forced under threat of violence to pick cotton, fruits and vegetables and receive only a symbolic amount of money for it (in Louisiana!) does seem more than slightly suspicious given the state's history.