Teen picks Army over prison

[douglas9]

Source: Corpus Christi Caller

CORPUS CHRISTI — A Corpus Christi teen has opted to be all he can be by joining the Army instead of possibly serving as much as a two-year prison sentence, police said.

Ralph Mirabal Jr., 18, who was arrested in July and faced felony graffiti charges, agreed to join the military and pay more than $5,000 in restitution as part of a plea agreement, according to DeAnna Rosales, Corpus Christi Police Department graffiti coordinator.

In exchange, prosecutors agreed to drop one felony graffiti charge against Mirabal, said James Sales, prosecuting attorney for the district attorney's office.

Sales said Mirabal passed the required tests to join the Army and he is expected to enlist for four years within 30 days.

Read more: http://www.caller.com/news/2008/dec/12/teen-picks-army-over-prison/?printer=1/

[Atman]

1. Oh, I saw the sub line and thought it was another Palin family story

never mind.

.

[mod mom]

2. Funny, that was my initial response as well.

:hi:

[nebenaube]

3. what is a felony graffiti charge?

[LostinVA]

5. That's what I was wondering

[melm00se]

7. i was thinking the same thing

[douglas9]

8. State Felony for Tagging

http://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2007/01/charging-graffiti-as-state-jail-felony.html

[TechBear_Seattle]

4. A two year commitment and then a free man, versus four years plus "stop loss"

Three squares guaranteed safe by state and federal law and the well established right to sue should it ever get you sick, versus one or two meals ready to eat provided by Haliburton and very likely tainted, with a well established prohibition against any and all legal action.

Bullies and thugs that might get a hold of you and hurt you, versus bullies and thugs that outrank you and will get ahold of you.

A relatively safe environment, versus bombs, bullets, 100 degree weather and drinking water that is more dangerous that these other risks combined.

Some teens are just plain STUPID.

[bertman]

9. yeah, but he gets a felony charge on his record; whereas, he might survive and get an

honorable discharge. Might.

Life is a gamble.

What I'm worried about here is a proliferation of felony graffiti artists tainting our military. What's the world coming to?

[Turbineguy]

17. Yeah...

like we would not want to see "Bush is an asshole" on a wall in the Green Zone.

[PatrynXX]

10. 2 years in jail or the death sentence

2 vs 4 years. o_O yep pretty stupid.

[FreakinDJ]

6. Actually I approve of this

Some kids need direction / discipline

I know at 17 I did and I joined and at the time it was the best thing for me

[Berry Cool]

11. Then again, you came out alive.

This kid might not.

[FreakinDJ]

12. Is being institutionalized in the prison system - alive ?

having seen mis-guided youth who by age 27 have spent 12 years behind bars only to be locked up one more time for lack of skills needed to live on the outside - I must question your interpretation of the word "Alive"

[pattmarty]

15. Well, that's you PAL. See my post on the subject. Obviously.......

........you haven't "smartened" up at all.

[sui generis]

16. problem is the state has an interest in proposing unreasonable punishment

to force kids into the military.

If that's the best we can do then we need a new judiciary.

[Mist]

Yes, that would be a BIG concern--backdoor draft via trumped-up charges. nt

[Mist]

18. Dupe. nt

[Orsino]

20. At least it seems to make some sort of a distinction...

...between punishment/restitution (US$5k worth) and rehabilitation (the Army, apparently).

Shitty recruiting message, though. Join the Army, just like these felons had to!

[pattmarty]

13. Back when I was younger (in the 50's and 60's) this was a............

.........common practice ALL OVER the country. A young kid (poor or lower middle class) would be charged with a minor crime (ie: burglary, b&e, traffic) and because he couldn't afford a lawyer the prosecutor would offer "the deal" of joining (usually) the Army and the "crime" would be wiped from his record. Happened to me when I was 17 yo, so I know, AND it was bullshit then, and it's bullshit now.

[sui generis]

14. gotta love this. Community Service for non-community crimes

army service for our teenagers.

How do we disincentivize our judiciary from engaging in slave labor and backdoor draft practices?

This is so very very wrong.

[WolverineDG]

19. This was the "punishment" for the asshats who tear-gassed my school

never mind that part of the plot involved shooting students as they ran out of the building & chaining the doors shut (parts of the plot that didn't get carried out fortunately).



dg