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Why Haley got 16 years
In 1997, Haley was arrested for stealing a calculator from a Wal-Mart. At trial, he was convicted of theft. Because Hale had two prior theft convictions, his relatively minor crime was punishable by up to two years in prison.
Not satisfied, Haley's prosecutors also charged him with the separate offense of being a habitual felony offender, under Texas's "three strikes" law.
The jury found Haley guilty of being a habitual offender and recommended a sentence of 16 1/2 years -- a recommendation that the sentencing judge followed. The judge deemed Haley a "habitual offender" on the ground that he had two prior felony convictions -- one for attempted robbery, the other for delivery of amphetamines.
http://www.cnn.com/2004/LAW/06/11/lazarus.dretke/
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Note that the nytimes is the source of the article.
And, the nytimes has little credibility in the real world.
I suspect that there is more to this story than the
media would like us to know about.
Zim.
Mad Poet Strikes Again.
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