I was doing a job in a prison. I had lunch with the guard that was assigned to me and we started talking. He said that is son was in a different prison.
The son had two strikes against him, and was getting his life straightened out. But his dad kept warning him to not hang out with his old crowd.
Well, he was at one of these friend’s house and they ran out of beer, and money. The friend said “Hey - Joe downtown owes me $20. Drive me down there and I’ll get it and then we can buy some beer.”
The son drove him down, waited outside in the car. His friend came back with the cash. Soon they were pulled over by the cops. The friend had robbed Joe and beaten him up. The son was driving the “get-away-car”.
Thee strikes and you’re out.
I reacted to the dad that it seemed pretty harsh.
“Maybe - but that’s the law. I warned him not to hang out with those guys.”
I don’t actually think that is too harsh. The young man demonstrated that he is a career criminal for years. These are the ones we can’t have living among us.
I see him as getting life for being a career criminal, not for the $20 incident.