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That example was overblown on reddit (and probably elsewhere).

This is simply 13 separate counts of graffiti, which has a 1 year maximum, and they are supposed to list the incidents separately (or something like that) when they charge him. He won't serve 13 years.

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Yeah OK it's overblown, but the point is the guy should never have been charged with anything. For its decades of bad behavior, BofA deserves a great deal more public criticism than it has received. However, when prosecutors are so obviously its puppets, it's no wonder BofA is so rarely charged with fraud, etc. Public criticism, even when it takes the form of chalking public sidewalks, is a basic right that is guaranteed to the people of the USA.

1. It's just chalk. Children all over the country grew up drawing with chalk on sidewalks, etc.

2. Paint-based (and hence, more permanent) graffiti is a real problem in big cities. But till date I have not heard of a single case where the vandal was threatened with 13 years of jail. It would be interesting to see the track record of this city attorney, and how often s/he has prosecuted _real_ vandals.

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