Whoa ... Former Illini RB Steve Feagin charged with rape

Charges stem from the 1990s when a serial rapist patroled the campus ...

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/ct-met-illinois-player-rape-cases-20110919,0,7946064.story

 

No wonder they didn't catch the suspect if a serial rapist was patrolling campus. Police are usually a better option.

On a serious note, great police work by the detective. Case would have never been solved otherwise.

 

Seeking comment from Jason Verduczo.

 

BUMP ...

Feagin sentenced to as long as 90 years.
Jury convicted him in less than hour.

http://www.news-gazette.com/news/courts-police-and-fire/2012-06-13/jury-convicts-ex-ui-football-player.html

 

Lou Tepper would just say they are taking it one day at a time.

 

That's insane. He's not going to live 90 years. The way sentencing is today, no one has any idea what a number means.

 

Wait, they don't just leave him in the cell for 90 years and then release him in whatever state of decomposition he's in? Huh.

Your takes on the judicial system are quickly becoming one of the more entertaining options in this joint.

 

They haven't sentenced him yet, so I have no idea what the decision will be.

I'm just saying giving ANYONE a 90-year sentence makes no sense whatsoever. If the offense is that bad, just call it a life sentence, because that is what it is.

I'm not familiar with parole laws in Illinois, but in some other places it's so darn confusing no one understands what a number means. Two people get 20-year sentences. One serves 8 years, the other 18, go figure.

 

Well, as of right now (at least in Kentucky, which is the only state I'm up to date on) violent crimes have to serve 85 percent of the sentence. Non-violent can be paroled after 30 percent. So .. there are actually guidelines. Now, with overcrowding and good behavior (not an option for violent crimes) that changes. But there are numbers that mean something.

 

And I know because of overcrowding, there are states that give you a day's credit for every day served with good behavior. So even if the sentence was 90 years, it would equal 45 years served. Plus like IJAG said, the chance for parole after a certain percent of the sentence is served.

It's far more complicated than saying, "He'll never live that long" and being done with it.

 

That's my point. There are all these different formulas: violent vs. non-violent, parole guidelines, etc.

So when a jury hands down a sentence, they have little or no idea what will actually be served.

 

Juries generally don't sentence, judges do. And the judges in the individual jurisdictions do understand the formulas and craft their sentences accordingly. It's obviously confusing to the general public, but the person doing the sentencing understands it.

The only exception is in death penalty cases where the jury, not the judge, must decide to give a death sentence.