Posted on 06/09/2008 3:42:31 PM PDT by sirchtruth
TYLER — A 17-year-old who phoned his rival high school on a school bus and threatened to open fire on students has been sentenced to eight years in state prison.
An attorney for Terrance Taylor said Saturday he was surprised by the sentence and had recommended probation for his client, who was a junior at John Tyler High School in Tyler.
Taylor pleaded guilty Thursday to making a terroristic threat. Don Davidson, the student's attorney, said state District Judge Jack Skeen Jr. used the phrase "the times we live in" in handing down the sentence.
(Excerpt) Read more at chron.com ...
In Houston how can you prove that there was no intent to do the real thing? Given the New Orleans influx I would assume the threat was real.
8 years does seem excessive though...
And if he was an inner city gang-banger who actually did open fire on a school bus, then he probably would only get 3 years....
8 years in unbelievably outrageous! This judge ought to be impeached!
Unbelievable! People get less time for actually doing evil vile things. HAS to be a liberal idiot judge, there can be no other explanation.
Interesting.
Under Texas law:
“Sec. 22.07. TERRORISTIC THREAT. (a) A person commits an offense if he threatens to commit any offense involving violence to any person or property with intent to:
(1) cause a reaction of any type to his threat by an official or volunteer agency organized to deal with emergencies;
(2) place any person in fear of imminent serious bodily injury; or
(3) prevent or interrupt the occupation or use of a building; room; place of assembly; place to which the public has access; place of employment or occupation; aircraft, automobile, or other form of conveyance; or other public place; or
(4) cause impairment or interruption of public communications, public transportation, public water, gas, or power supply or other public service.
(b) An offense under Subdivision (1) or (2) of Subsection (a) is a Class B misdemeanor. An offense under Subdivision (3) of Subsection (a) is a Class A misdemeanor. An offense under Subdivision (4) of Subsection (a) is a felony of the third degree.”
I guess the judge thought the threat impaired school bus service. Otherwise the maximum punishment for a Class B misdemeanor was 180 days in jail.
I expect an appeal, unless the lawyer who advised him to plead guilty without prior negotiations is too incompetent to even manage that.
Rather than threatening, he should have just done it, he would have received less time.
forgot the /sarc tag....
The judge is trying to make an example out of this kid I understand his reasoning, but is going completely overboard, and needs to be reprimanded.
Big mistake. Never plead guilty. Ever. I was involved in something in High School...sorta. I caught information about it 4th hand. Someone who heard me being told about the B&E told the investigator I had first hand knowledge. So I told the guy everything I knew...then he started lining up what I was to be charged with. I was a serious psychopath back then and I seriously was plotting this man's murder. He used my info(from a friend of a friend of a friend kinda thing) to extract a full confession from one of the perps. He called me in, patted me on the back and said "we're not going to charge you with anything, aren't you happy". I told him to F-O and left.
My point was, I helped this guy out and was rewarded with more threats. Of course, that was 25 years ago.
this poor kid.....I am sure he'll become a monster after being abused in the prison system.....
he'll probably really be murderous then...
Stupid people do stupid things. I have no sympathy for this punk, he got what he deserved.
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