General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsMaryland's longest-imprisoned woman is 60 and sick. Hogan should send her home.
https://www.baltimoresun.com/opinion/columnists/dan-rodricks/bs-ed-0503-rodricks-20200501-fez43qz4drcedokrifwgt3mlge-story.htmlPretty did not do the shootings, her boyfriend did. But Baltimore prosecutors said Pretty was party to both crimes: She allegedly disposed of the murder weapon in the Cornish case and, two months later, helped set up the armed robbery that ended with Thomass murder in his Reisterstown Road store.
Later that year, Pretty, her boyfriend and her boyfriends accomplice pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and other charges. Each received sentences of life plus 15 years. Pretty has been in the Maryland Correctional Institution for Women in Jessup ever since.
I tell you this now because Eraina Pretty is among dozens of Maryland inmates who have contracted COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the coronavirus. Her daughter, Kecha Dunn, says she heard through Facebook that her mother went to an undisclosed hospital for treatment last week, a fact later confirmed, she says, in a phone call with the warden of the prison.
Decarcerate now.
Karadeniz
(22,599 posts)WhiskeyGrinder
(22,473 posts)She shouldn't have been given life, and she shouldn't have been turned down for parole twice.
JustABozoOnThisBus
(23,375 posts)It makes no sense to send cv-positive people out to the streets.
KentuckyWoman
(6,697 posts)Something needs to be done about the prison system. This I agree wholeheartedly. Prisoners given harsh sentences like this that seem out of place with the crime committed, need to have better avenues for appealing.
However, Covid is not a reason for get out of jail. It is a reason to demand better protections for prison inmates and workers.
WhiskeyGrinder
(22,473 posts)What does?
Botany
(70,620 posts)No pity from me
WhiskeyGrinder
(22,473 posts)dware
(12,449 posts)she participated in a crime that ended in murder, she's just as guilty as the person who pulled the trigger.
Sorry, but she's where she belongs, no sympathy from me either.
WhiskeyGrinder
(22,473 posts)dware
(12,449 posts)then yes, but I just can't generate any sympathy towards her if she's denied parole.
Did you think Charles Manson's sentence was too harsh even though he wasn't at the actual crime scene?
He was denied parole every time he became eligible for it, do you think that was wrong?
WhiskeyGrinder
(22,473 posts)I'm a prison abolitionist.
dware
(12,449 posts)Then what would you do with those that commit heinous crimes?
WhiskeyGrinder
(22,473 posts)dware
(12,449 posts)who don't belong there, but there are also thousands upon thousands who do belong there, so what do you do with those that have proven by their actions that they are a danger to society?
WhiskeyGrinder
(22,473 posts)dware
(12,449 posts)pedophiles, armed robbery, etc.
Do you think these criminals should not be in prison.
WhiskeyGrinder
(22,473 posts)are lots of people who have committed those crimes who aren't in prison. So what is prison for?
dware
(12,449 posts)you have your beliefs, and I respect them even though I disagree with them, so let's just agree to disagree and you have a great evening.
WhiskeyGrinder
(22,473 posts)Stay safe.
dware
(12,449 posts)Drahthaardogs
(6,843 posts)Too bad. Serve your time. Period
Jake Stern
(3,145 posts)Don't be a party to TWO murders, including setting up one of them and you won't have to worry about dying in prison from COVID-19.
I'll save my sympathy for the families of Preston Cornish and Louis Thomas.