Fredrik Posted August 21, 2002 Life sentence is 10-20 years here I think. And hey, that's a long time. People can change. 0 Share this post Link to post
fraggle Posted August 21, 2002 Wasnt it a phone poll? Those things prove nothing. 0 Share this post Link to post
Sharessa Posted August 21, 2002 fodders said:In America I think a life sentence means life with no parole? Whereas the blackguard would only serve around 10 years in the UK of a life sentence. I dunno...in the Shawshank Redemption don't they give him 'two life sentances, back to back'? Then he gets to go to the parole board. But the movie does take place back in the 40s-60s, so things may have changed. Also, according to my vocabulary, 'blackguard' is an anti-paladin. What exactly does that mean? 0 Share this post Link to post
fodders Posted August 21, 2002 This rather old-fashioned and now chiefly literary word dates back to the 16th century when it was spelled and most likely pronounced as two distinct words and probably referred literally to a guard of soldiers or perhaps some kind of attendants. By the 18th century the two words had become a hyphenated or a solid compound with the meaning “scoundrel.” As the two parts of the compound lost their separate meanings, so they eventually lost their separate pronunciations. Blackguard is pronounced (blg´d) in British English and (blg´rd) or (blg´ärd´´) in American English. 0 Share this post Link to post
pritch Posted August 21, 2002 gatewatcher said:Pritch, if some guy killed your kid, would you want to help him? Well that is a good question. Until I am a parent I won't even know how to begin answering that, let alone God forbid I should be in the same boat as the Wells and Chapmans. But then I wouldn't consider myself emotionally fit to make any decisions if that had happened anyway... 0 Share this post Link to post
Ichor Posted August 21, 2002 I've always wondered why there are 200 year, 350 year, etc. sentences. What do they expect to do, leave the bodies in prison for a few centuries after they die? To me, anything more than life (or around 100 years) really doesn't accomplish anything, since the end result is the same anyway. 0 Share this post Link to post
IMJack Posted August 22, 2002 You know how California set up a "three strikes" policy for repeat offenders a few decades ago? Your third felony conviction got you a life sentence without parole, regardless. Now, the California penal system is the largest geriatric care provider in the United States. All those people who got life are getting old, and the gummint is required to give them the best health care the taxpayers can afford. Consider: legislators and prisoners are the only ones who get all the health care they want payed entirely by the taxpayers. Just something to think about. 0 Share this post Link to post