Fan Demands More Prison Time To Honor Larry Bird:
Bloomberg has the scoop on one of the more unusual criminal law stories I have heard recently:
A 27-year-old man demanded extra prison time because he wanted to honor his basketball hero, Larry Bird.I wonder if he'll feel the same way when he is 57 years old. Thanks to Kristen Murray for the link.
A lawyer for Eric James Torpy reached a plea agreement with Oklahoma City prosecutors for a 30-year jail term on two charges of shooting with intent to kill and one count of a weapons violation, District Court Judge Ray Elliott said in a telephone interview.
Torpy then insisted on getting 33 years to match the uniform number Bird wore when he led the Boston Celtics to three National Basketball Association championships during the 1980s, Elliott said. The judge on Oct. 18 accommodated his request.
"He told his attorney that Larry Bird was his long-time hero, and that if he was going to go to prison he wanted to go down with that number," Elliott said.
They didn't have one.
EH
Bird actually wore No. 7 in the 1992 Olympics, the last time he played. A real fan would have known that and asked for 7 years, instead.
The state clearly felt that some amount of time less than the maximum sentence for armed robbery was appropriate in this case--why does the criminal have any authority to receive more?
I'm not suggesting that the accomodations in prison are worth his extra time there (this guy is most obviously stupid), but even those less-than-ideal circumstances require taxpayer funding.
That was my thought exactly! Great minds named Joshua think alike, I suppose.
Of course if this guy had actually killed someone, he could have been sentenced in honor of (former?) NFL wide receiver Antonio Freeman (#86).
House, feed, and provide medical care.