Comments on: Hiccup Girl lawyer may blame Tourette’s

By: Frank

Frank — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 14:06:10 +0000

re: locking people away without punishment.

Civil commitment for life for sex offenders after they have completed their punitive sentences is claime to be non-punitive.

By: Nobody Special

Nobody Special — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 02:08:47 +0000

Or you could change the phrase, ‘Locking People Away’ to ‘Sending on an All Expenses Paid Holiday for Life’.

Or you could call the bill the “Secure Provision of Free Healthcare Act”

By: Walter Olson

Walter Olson — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 18:19:25 +0000

Just to be clear, of course, that’s a joke; police think one of the others present most likely pulled the trigger. She’s up on a felony murder rap for allegedly luring the victim to a robbery that then turned lethal.

By: Reformed Republican

Reformed Republican — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 18:15:28 +0000

She just happened to be holding a gun, and pointing it at the victim, when she was afflicted by a tic. It was completely involuntary.

By: John Burgess

John Burgess — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 16:53:33 +0000

Has anyone seen a response from any of the Tourette’s advocacy groups? I’m sure they’re thrilled to the core with this theory of defense.

By: Mark Phaedrus

Mark Phaedrus — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 16:02:10 +0000

Well, I guess that if there's a videotape that makes it utterly clear that your client did it, and your client refuses to plead guilty, then you've gotta come up with something.

By: John Burgess

John Burgess — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 13:34:56 +0000

Or you could change the phrase, ‘Locking People Away’ to ‘Sending on an All Expenses Paid Holiday for Life’.

By: Bob Lipton

Bob Lipton — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 12:12:31 +0000

By legislation, of course. One need simply title the bill “The Locking People Away Without Punishing Them Act” and hey presto, it go up there with all the other laws we make fun of here.

Bob

By: David Schwartz

David Schwartz — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 09:10:21 +0000

When you can figure out how to lock people away without punishing them, let us know.

By: Malcolm Smith

Malcolm Smith — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 05:55:12 +0000

A person who commits a crime because of a medical condition should not be punished. However, he/she is still a danger to society, and should be locked away for the sake of the rest of us.