# Star HS basketball star recruit collapses in despair when he is sentenced to 3 years in prison **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 23, 2012, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-hs-basketball-star-recruit-collapses-in-despair-when-he-is-sentenced-to-3-years-in-prison/632350 "2012-08-23T04:05:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2012, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-hs-basketball-star-recruit-collapses-in-despair-when-he-is-sentenced-to-3-years-in-prison/632350/61 "2012-08-24T04:59:33Z")
> [@Martin\_Hyde](#): > > So it’s probably a mix of a judge’s innate hubris (they don’t like anyone who flaunts court orders of any kind) and the reality that they probably see people dumb enough to openly violate court orders while trying to work out a sweetheart sentencing deal as precisely the type of person who doesn’t deserve a sweetheart sentencing deal. Bingo IMO. The only thing that was missing was a “in the first place” at the end of the sentence. ---
**Author:** ![tesseract](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bb73d2/32.png) [@tesseract](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tesseract)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2012, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-hs-basketball-star-recruit-collapses-in-despair-when-he-is-sentenced-to-3-years-in-prison/632350/62 "2012-08-24T05:01:57Z")
She had a restraining order on him. After brutally attacking her, he sent her threatening text and voice messages saying he should have done something worse to her. Um…let me see if I feel sorry for him…yeah, nope. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2012, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-hs-basketball-star-recruit-collapses-in-despair-when-he-is-sentenced-to-3-years-in-prison/632350/63 "2012-08-24T05:16:50Z")
> [@tesseract](#): > > She had a restraining order on him. After brutally attacking her, he sent her threatening text and voice messages saying he should have done something worse to her. Um…let me see if I feel sorry for him…yeah, nope. Yeah. Really. My bleeding heart liberal ass says “fuck this guy.” ---
**Author:** ![Lochdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/edb3f5/32.png) [@Lochdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lochdale)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2012, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-hs-basketball-star-recruit-collapses-in-despair-when-he-is-sentenced-to-3-years-in-prison/632350/64 "2012-08-24T05:48:44Z")
> [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](#): > > Of course she does; Afterall, she claims to be an “inner-city” teacher struggling every day to Make A Difference to the hard-scrabble kids trying to make it on the infamous mean streets of Denver… I don’t know anything about the poster but the comment that was made was ill conceived. ---
**Author:** ![Locrian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/locrian/32/14146_2.png) [@Locrian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Locrian)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2012, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-hs-basketball-star-recruit-collapses-in-despair-when-he-is-sentenced-to-3-years-in-prison/632350/65 "2012-08-24T05:55:37Z")
Nope. No sympathy here. He beats her up on TWO seperate occasions, was told not to contact her by a court and continues to threaten. This guy hasn’t been told the word “no” enough. If he smacked her once then let it go, I’d only expect probation and that’s only because the victim pleaded for leniency. I can see how it can bring up some controversy though. Someone mentioned Pat Tillman in comments on Huff Post. That victim wanted him sentenced to the max and he got squat. That was years ago, though, and I don’t know the details. ---
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2012, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-hs-basketball-star-recruit-collapses-in-despair-when-he-is-sentenced-to-3-years-in-prison/632350/66 "2012-08-24T05:59:31Z")
So is the 3 years firm, or could he get out earlier on good behavior? Admittedly, 3 years is a little long. I would hope after a year or 2 he would have learned his lesson. Still don’t feel sorry for him one bit at all, and if committers of violent rape are getting less than 3 years, that is a tragedy. ---
**Author:** ![JLRogers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ce73a5/32.png) [@JLRogers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JLRogers)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2012, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-hs-basketball-star-recruit-collapses-in-despair-when-he-is-sentenced-to-3-years-in-prison/632350/67 "2012-08-24T07:14:13Z")
Petition to change the thread title to “Violent criminal collapses in despair when he is sentenced to 3 years in prison.” ---
**Author:** ![pullin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c57346/32.png) [@pullin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pullin)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2012, 10:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-hs-basketball-star-recruit-collapses-in-despair-when-he-is-sentenced-to-3-years-in-prison/632350/68 "2012-08-24T10:19:32Z")
> [@Mosier](#): > > Some people need to be removed from society because they can’t function in it. Do you think that’s applicable here? Should he really get the same punishment a fifth-time drunk driver gets? No, he shouldn’t. The 5-time drunk driver should be put away for life. As far as the main subject of this thread: Animals should be in cages. Judge made a good call. ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2012, 10:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-hs-basketball-star-recruit-collapses-in-despair-when-he-is-sentenced-to-3-years-in-prison/632350/69 "2012-08-24T10:42:27Z")
> [@JLRogers](#): > > Petition to change the thread title to “Violent criminal collapses in despair when he is sentenced to 3 years in prison.” Actually, at the time he collapsed Farmer believed he’d been handed three terms that were sending him to prison for a total of seven years. The judge had not yet said his terms were to run concurrently. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2012, 11:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-hs-basketball-star-recruit-collapses-in-despair-when-he-is-sentenced-to-3-years-in-prison/632350/70 "2012-08-24T11:21:34Z")
> [@Simple\_Linctus](#): > > This is ridiculous. I stand by my characterisation of the US justice system as unduly harsh as well as racist. That isn’t a xenophobic judgement unless you want to call any characterisation of a foreign justice system as being so. Surely you can see the statistics that show the US as being a huge outlier here? It isn’t ridiculous - you’re painting with the wrong brush. Again - your issues are worthy of their own discussion, but on the face of what he did, doesn’t apply here in a significant way. He did genuinely bad things. ---
**Author:** ![Fionn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Fionn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fionn)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2012, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-hs-basketball-star-recruit-collapses-in-despair-when-he-is-sentenced-to-3-years-in-prison/632350/71 "2012-08-24T11:25:35Z")
> [@Mosier](#): > > Who advocated a slap on the wrist? For many people, a lack of jail time or a year would be considered a slap on the wrist. Of course, no one ever explicitly advocates a slap on the wrist, so they will usually call it a second chance. ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2012, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-hs-basketball-star-recruit-collapses-in-despair-when-he-is-sentenced-to-3-years-in-prison/632350/72 "2012-08-24T11:54:59Z")
> [@Martin\_Hyde](#): > > Part of it is probably hubris, judges are important powerful people. > > \ > > So it’s probably a mix of a judge’s innate hubris (they don’t like anyone who flaunts court orders of any kind) . . . [pedantry] _Hubris_ is not really an effective word here, for while it does indicate pride, it also connotes pride that leads to regret, or negative consequences prideful. [/pedantry] ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2012, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-hs-basketball-star-recruit-collapses-in-despair-when-he-is-sentenced-to-3-years-in-prison/632350/73 "2012-08-24T12:10:22Z")
He’s lucky he’s not in Norway. They might have sentenced him to prison for a whole _day_. I mean shit…the guy who murdered 77 people in that rampage not long ago only got 21 years! ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2012, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-hs-basketball-star-recruit-collapses-in-despair-when-he-is-sentenced-to-3-years-in-prison/632350/74 "2012-08-24T12:42:11Z")
> [@Mosier](#): > > There are lots of signs for psychopathy. Hell, wetting the bed is a sign of psychopathy. Luckily, we have a court system that is supposed to punish people in proportion to the actual crimes they commit. He’s getting a sentence stricter than most forcible rape convictions. He got a harsher sentence than many child pornographers or arsonists get. He deserves to be punished, but three years is just too much. That’s all I’m saying. You want to punish him for crimes you’re sure he’ll commit later, “before he kills or cripples someone.” But that’s not how it works, and thankfully so. The thing you don’t seem to get is that, if this isn’t proportional to the crime, it’s actually too light. It doesn’t matter if the guy is a psychopath or just can’t control his anger. What matters is that he has done something we as a society don’t condone, and that it’s dangerous to society not to give a substantial punishment to said people. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2012, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-hs-basketball-star-recruit-collapses-in-despair-when-he-is-sentenced-to-3-years-in-prison/632350/75 "2012-08-24T13:27:05Z")
> [@tesseract](#): > > She had a restraining order on him. After brutally attacking her, he sent her threatening text and voice messages saying he should have done something worse to her. Um…let me see if I feel sorry for him…yeah, nope. Yes, and this was after he was out on bail, so he should have known he needed to be very, very good. As far as the claim that the kidnapping was simply because he dragged her a few feet: > [@](#): > > Farmer assaulted Lane, dragged her by her hair outside the building and then took her cell phone, bank card, computer and car keys, prosecutors said. It sounds like he was trying to keep her from getting help, which explains why the kidnapping charges were a lot more appropriate. And for those who think he should be sentenced for more: > [@](#): > > The judge said she would review his sentence in 180 days, according to the Plain Dealer. Another reports specifically says that the judge said he could apply for a reduced sentence. It sounds like the judge could very well be letting him know that this is very serious shit he’s done and it could have been a hell of a lot worse for him. By giving him the tough sentence first, it should help him wake up. Having seen domestic violence up close, I believe this is the right approach. Given that not only did he attack her, but then took her cell, car keys, computer, etc., \*then \*after was out on probation violated a protection order, anything sort of some jail time would be absolutely wrong, and would send him the wrong message, that he doesn’t have to play by society’s rules – and laws. And since we’re on the subject. > [@](#): > > I couldn’t help but to think that him being black influenced the judge :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2012, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-hs-basketball-star-recruit-collapses-in-despair-when-he-is-sentenced-to-3-years-in-prison/632350/76 "2012-08-24T13:40:26Z")
> [@Mosier](#): > > t’s a sentence that completely ruins any chance for a reasonably productive future, for a first time offense for a crime of passion that did not result in substantial bodily harm. I don’t understand why the judge would make that decision. It is raw luck that she was not badly injured or worse. The thing about assault is that you don’t get to precisely choose how badly you will hurt the victim. You are always using a deadly weapon. I was assaulted once by some petty neighborhood thugs who wanted to steal my cell phone. When they hit me, I went down at just the wrong angle, and I broke three vertebrae. It turned out to add up to nothing but a few bad weeks and a couple of years of flashbacks, but it still scares the hell out of me that I was literally a matter of inches from being paralyzed or killed. I’m sure that’s not what they meant- they just wanted to give me enough of a scare that I’d hand over my wallet without making a fuss. But you can’t throw punches without taking on the knowledge that you might kill the person you are punching (kicking in the head, whatever.) Likewise, you can’t give people too much of a pass because they didn’t happen to hit the wrong angle this time around. This kid was given a gift- a strong, large body. He could have used that gift to make millions of dollars, but instead he chose to use it beating up his girlfriend. Anyone who has those options in front of them and makes that particular choice has something seriously, seriously wrong with them. They need to be kept out of a society while they are still this unable to make appropriate choices, and given some time to think about what is or is not the right way to use their strength. Again, this was not a “crime of passion,” which implies being temporary blinded by rage. He did this twice, and then wrote back to say that he wished he had hurt her worse. That is not a moment of raw emotion, that is a systematic and conscious choice to try to use violence to hurt and control the young woman. We do not accept violence as a way to manage romantic relationships. Nor is his chance at a productive future ruined. He may have lost his magic ticket, but it’s not like basketball is a very sustainable career anyway. He would have had a few good years and a good chunk of cash, but in the end he’d most likely still need to find a lifetime career. And while that is harder for an ex-con, it’s not impossible. His life is different, but not ruined. Life hands everyone some tough cards now and then, but this guy was actively reaching out and grabbing the tough cards. He’ll get the life he chose. ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2012, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-hs-basketball-star-recruit-collapses-in-despair-when-he-is-sentenced-to-3-years-in-prison/632350/77 "2012-08-24T13:50:44Z")
I’m going to agree with Sailboat and Chimera in one thread. Good grief! Mind you, I doubt that I’ll aver agree with Simple Linctus on anything. ---
**Author:** ![Satchmo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/satchmo/32/4223_2.png) [@Satchmo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Satchmo)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2012, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-hs-basketball-star-recruit-collapses-in-despair-when-he-is-sentenced-to-3-years-in-prison/632350/78 "2012-08-24T14:40:30Z")
> [@Mosier](#): > > Is there a hypothetical sentence which you would have considered to be too harsh? 5 years? 20? 100? Play fair here, **Mosier** , unless I’ve missed it, you have not said what you thought would be a fair sentence. I don’t believe his sentence has anything to do with him being black. Nor do I believe his victim forgiving him has anything to do with anything being discussed here. I have personally witnessed a woman with a black eye, cuts and contusions and a broken arm, (that she received from her boyfriend, in front of her kids), fighting with police because “She didn’t want them to arrest him, just make him not hit her any more.” Well, the judge can’t make this person never hit her anymore, all she can do is put him in prison. Eventually he’ll be out and he’s already shown he doesn’t care what anyone tells him to do or not to do. ---
**Author:** ![Spud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spud/32/347_2.png) [@Spud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spud)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2012, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-hs-basketball-star-recruit-collapses-in-despair-when-he-is-sentenced-to-3-years-in-prison/632350/79 "2012-08-24T14:47:07Z")
> [@Lochdale](#): > > Based on no evidence whatsoever There is clear video evidence that he is in fact “black.” ---
**Author:** ![Regallag\_The\_Axe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/regallag_the_axe/32/445_2.png) [@Regallag\_The\_Axe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Regallag_The_Axe)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2012, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-hs-basketball-star-recruit-collapses-in-despair-when-he-is-sentenced-to-3-years-in-prison/632350/80 "2012-08-24T15:04:08Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > He’s lucky he’s not in Norway. They might have sentenced him to prison for a whole _day_. I mean shit…the guy who murdered 77 people in that rampage not long ago only got 21 years! [hijack]21 years that can be extended if they think he’s still dangerous, which is exactly what they’ll think.[/hijack] [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-hs-basketball-star-recruit-collapses-in-despair-when-he-is-sentenced-to-3-years-in-prison/632350.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-hs-basketball-star-recruit-collapses-in-despair-when-he-is-sentenced-to-3-years-in-prison/632350.md?page=5)