Spit yourself to a life sentence

[jonza]

Now this doesn’t sound like a very nice guy at all, but doesn’t the following sound a bit malicious?

OKLAHOMA CITY (Reuters) -- An Oklahoma man arrested on suspicion of beating his wife faced a year in prison and a fine. But when he spat in an arresting officer's face, he got a life sentence instead, officials said Wednesday.

John Carl Marquez, 36, was convicted of "placing bodily fluid upon a government employee," a felony that can carry a life sentence because of the possibility of transmitting a potentially deadly disease.

State judge April Sellers White sentenced Marquez this week even though Marquez and the officer tested negative for any communicable disease.

Marquez also was convicted of assaulting a police officer, and a jury recommended the maximum sentence because he had previous convictions.

Marquez, arrested several months ago, could have received one year in prison and a $3,000 fine for wife beating, according to the Creek County court clerk's office.

His lawyers said they plan to appeal.

"placing bodily fluid upon a government employee," - aren't some of these legal terms cute!

[bnormal]

I don't have a problem with the sentence. Spitting on a Police Officer is generally not a smart thing to do and you might be asking for trouble in doing so. This guy chose to spit on an officer of the law, too bad for him that he didn't realize it was a felony carrying a life sentence...

What I do find interesting is that beating your wife only gets a year in prison and spitting on a government employee gets you life...I think that is the real dilema of this story!

[koxka]

Originally posted by bnormal

What I do find interesting is that beating your wife only gets a year in prison and spitting on a government employee gets you life...I think that is the real dilema of this story!

Yes, that's what I was thinking too..... curious eh?

[bnormal]

koxka, please forgive my ignorance but where exactly is "Catalonia"?

[Logan]

I'm wondering if Oklahoma has one of those "three strikes and you get a life sentence" laws? Some states do, and it doesn't matter what you are arrested for, if they get you three times, you're sentenced to life! Of course, I don't have any facts, but surely that has to be the explanation! I'm still scratching my head over only a small fine and a one year sentence for wife beating!!!

[clara4457]

Originally posted by bnormal
I don't have a problem with the sentence. Spitting on a Police Officer is generally not a smart thing to do and you might be asking for trouble in doing so. This guy chose to spit on an officer of the law, too bad for him that he didn't realize it was a felony carrying a life sentence...

What I do find interesting is that beating your wife only gets a year in prison and spitting on a government employee gets you life...I think that is the real dilema of this story!

Ditto - especially since it is more likely to transfer body fluids (i.e. blood) if you are beating the s*** out of someone.

[jonza]

Originally posted by bnormal
What I do find interesting is that beating your wife only gets a year in prison and spitting on a government employee gets you life...I think that is the real dilema of this story!

I fully agree with that, I just thought that the sentence for spitting was just a tiny weeny bit over the top in any situation.

[RICHARD]

i'd rather take my chances with crazy spitting americans................




Elderly Man Ends Argument with Grenade

Jul 16, 7:57 am ET

BELGRADE (Reuters) - An elderly Serb ended a heated argument with his neighbor by lobbing a hand grenade and severing the man's arm, Tanjug news agency said Tuesday.
Milan Djokic, 70, was charged with attempted murder and illegal weapons possession after attacking Slavko Grujic, also 70, in the northern town of Zrenjanin Monday.

Grujic first caught the grenade and threw it back, but the device exploded on a second try by Djokic. Tanjug did not say what they were arguing about.

[koxka]

Originally posted by bnormal
koxka, please forgive my ignorance but where exactly is "Catalonia"?

You are more than welcome to ask

Here is I come from...the little red dot
The land of Dali, Pau Casals, Gaudi, Miró,Montserrat Caballé... to name some.
If I say "Barcelona" I bet you know, is the capital.
There's another part of Catalonia that belongs to France, nowadays, but that's another story...

[koxka]

I don't know why the image doesn't show up!?!

[lizbud]

Koxka,

The map shows up just fine. I thought Barcelona was part of
Spain. Thanks for the map. It does help me picture
in my mind just what part of the world you live in.

Jonza,

"placing bodily fluid upon a government employee," - aren't some of these legal terms cute!

That's not legal jargon, it's "police speak". It's the way they
framed(no pun intended) the charge against the guy. The charge
then has to be proved to violate a specific law which might read
quite differently, but still carry a felony status. Or the state of
Ok. might indeed have the 3 strikes law and that's what qualifies
the guy to get a life sentence. Wonder how many previous
convictions the man had & for what? The U.S. takes the AIDS
threat very seriously & spitting on a cop? Forget about it....

[bnormal]

lizbud, sounds like we both learned something today!

[KYS]

posted by bnormal:lizbud, sounds like we both learned something today!

Make that three!

I also found it a bit disturbing that beating your wife only
gets 1 year in prison vs spitting can get you life.

[lovemyshiba]

Add me to the educated list!!!

It is disturbing--beat your wife--1 year in prison
spit on a cop--life sentence
The judicial system never ceases to amaze me

[Twisterdog]

Let's see .... he beats his wife, he spits on police officers, he has prior convictions .... I personally think it is a very GOOD thing that this loser is going to be locked up for a long while, before some innocent person dies at his hands. I say good for them for finding some way to put this creep away!