Mike Fleming and I have decided to highlight some of these thugs who keep coming to jail. We'll try to get at least one a week for your viewing and listening "enjoyment."
Looking at the jail website (www.shelbycountyjail.com) tonight I saw a familiar name, one Willie Norfleet. According to what I can see he's been arrested at least 126 times, but there are way more booking numbers for him. I think many of those may be warrant arrests. So far this year, he has been arrested twice in February, three times in March, three times in May,once in June, twice in July,twice in August, once in September and once in November (hey it was only the 1st of the month!) Wonder what happened in January, April and October?
Oh well, here goes our first installment of the Weekly Thug:
Click this link to see all the arrests.
UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE
Since Mr. Norfleet is such an adept "ESCAPE ARTIST", I've decided to keep tabs on his latest case. Here's a screenshot of his court date, which is November 7th. He is to come back to court with an attorney. I think he'll be getting a public defender, but the good thing is - he is still in jail - even though he only has a $100.00 bond! I'll keep tabs on that too, because there is a "jail overcrowding committee" that meets every monday to try to get people out of jail!
11/2/2007 - still in jail
11/3/2007 - still in jail
2 comments:
Here's something for you and Mike Flemming to "talk and think" about:
Assuming that each of Willie Norfleet's crimes were "C" misdemeanors only, punishable by 30 days in jail, and Bill "No Deals" Gibbons had given Willie Norfleet the maximum punishment allowed by law, rather than letting him go, Norfleet would have spent no less than 10.5 years in jail.
The main reason that crime in Shelby County is so rampant is because the District Attorney General keeps letting these thugs back out on the streets.
If he would do his job, there would be no need to have a "sentencing matrix."
All your proposed matrix will/would do is require the DA to do his job. Why doesn't he just do it?
It is time to recall Bill Gibbons and get a real tough-on-crime District Attorney. One who is more concerned with doing his job than with planning for his future political career.
You know, I hate to burst your bubble, but I just don't agree that Bill Gibbons is the problem. I've seen him and director Godwin both trying to get legislation passed that toughens the laws, but the legislature has failed to do so.
The "system" is the problem and he isn't synonymous with the system. The DA makes recommendations to the court on things like bond and pleas, but the judges are the ones who are the final arbiters of the sentencing (subject to the rules of law). Therein lies the problem. The laws were originally written with a focus on assisting the victim. Today they are written to help the criminal become "good citizens" or at least that's what we hear from our more liberal friends.
My matrix would create a system that puts the blindfold back on Ms Justice, so that everyone would get the same punishment for their crimes, irrespective of social station, race, creed, etc.
I'd prefer that we all work on getting a workable plan in place and leave the name calling alone. I could point my finger at more than a few politicians, but that is counterproductive. Let's try to put pressure on the legislature to enact some "common sense" legislation that works. We need a system that turns the heat up on these thugs with every conviction. It's not rocket science, but you'd think it was, since the system is so poorly designed and dysfunctional.
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