Young black man jailed since April for alleged $5 theft found dead in cell

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Mental health problems + theft of $5 = four months in jail + death.

Sounds like taxpayers got a great deal there....

All kinds of wrong.

Jamycheal Mitchell, 24, had been held in Virginia jail without bail for nearly four months, accused of stealing a Mountain Dew, Snickers bar and a Zebra Cake

A young black man arrested by police in Portsmouth, Virginia, on the same day that one of the citys officers fatally shot an unarmed black 18-year-old, has been found dead in jail after spending almost four months behind bars without bail for stealing groceries worth $5.

Jamycheal Mitchell, who had mental health problems, was discovered lying on the floor of his cell by guards early last Wednesday, according to authorities. While his body is still awaiting an autopsy, senior prison officials said his death was not being treated as suspicious.

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http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/aug/28/jamycheal-mitchell-virginia-jail-found-dead?CMP=share_btn_tw

[TENBILLIONDOLLARS 216]

You steal $5 today and get away with it, you steal $10 tomorrow. Tigers don't normally eat people, but once they get a taste for human blood they come back and back and back. Until it's put down.

[decocker 7,198]

portsmouth, norfolk, va beach - all really terrible places to live. just a general fyi.

[Voice of Reason 10,298]

I wonder why the article wasn't titled:

Young man jailed since April for alleged $5 theft found dead in cell

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

The justice system can be awful in USA. I remember having to be a character witness for a friend's son who was charged with 1st degree rape (he had told his g/f that if she broke up with him he would send naughty photos to her mum).

They pulled this kid into the court room in an orange jumpsuit in chains to try and charge him with the same crime as a guy who pulls a woman into bushes with a knife.

A complete circus and a waste of time and money for everyone concerned. Had he not had a family and friends behind him, he would have been charged, convicted and put away for 25 years.

[aaron2020 11,651]

You steal $5 today and get away with it, you steal $10 tomorrow. Tigers don't normally eat people, but once they get a taste for human blood they come back and back and back. Until it's put down.

You must be the most pious person in the world. We all have stolen something in our lives. We all have taken something that did not belong to us without permission. Can you honestly say that you have never took anything that did not belong to you without permission?

It's not justice when a person is jailed for 4 months for stealing $5 worth of food.

How much do you think it cost the taxpayers to jail him for 4 months? $10,000?

The punishment should fit the crime. Excessive punishment for little things is not justice. It's tyranny.

[TENBILLIONDOLLARS 216]

Had he not had a family and friends behind him, he would have been charged, convicted and put away for 25 years.

And if he was black, especially the scary looking kind (you know, with dreads and non-caucasian facial features), it wouldn't matter how many family and friends he had.

Can you honestly say that you have never took anything that did not belong to you without permission?

I can.

[decocker 7,198]

I wonder why the article wasn't titled:

Young man jailed since April for alleged $5 theft found dead in cell

if you're familiar with that particular portion of virginia, and understood institutionalized racism, you'd understand why his race is important.

[TENBILLIONDOLLARS 216]

The punishment should fit the crime.

Disagree. Punishment should be designed to make the future state of society more safe. Certain behaviors have strong correlations with future criminal behavior. Put those people away now before they harm a pretty white child or steal a rich guys money. For the sake of all us.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Well frequently I think it's because these cases are often tried by public defenders who just don't bother, probably because they have three dozen other cases and after a while one black guy is much like another.

And crazy bail figures means you're exposing people to the worst of the worst for having actually done very little, except not having any money to avoid being jailed.

Edited August 28, 2015 by Venkman

[TENBILLIONDOLLARS 216]

Well frequently I think it's because these cases are often tried by public defenders who just don't bother.

And crazy bail figures means you're exposing people to the worst of the worst for having actually done very little, except not having any money to avoid being jailed.

The stories I heard in municipal court when I was there to plead no contest to a parking lot would make your head spin, I kid you not.

The number of people who got caught in a cycle of court appearances and short times behind bars all because this one time,many years ago, they missed a payment on a parking ticket due to an unexpected layoff.. is staggering. Just staggering.

I was fortunate that I could pay a few hundred USD and just walk away from it all.

I don't take that fortune for granted except when trolling all the poor losers on VJ.

[Janelle2002 3,865]

"Before his arrest her nephew was on prescriptions for the antipsychotic drugs Prolixin and Zyprexin, and the mood stabiliser Depakote, according to Adams. She said prison officials then prescribed him the antipsychotic drug Haldol and Cogentin, which is intended to reduce the side-effects of the other medication, but he refused to take the drugs."

Maybe he just needed some food and a drink in order to take his bounds of medication. Ow well, he don't need them now. I did't know theft=death.

[Expat1 971]

And if he was black, especially the scary looking kind (you know, with dreads and non-caucasian facial features), it wouldn't matter how many family and friends he had.

Sometimes family and friends should stay off the witness stand

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdzrBw-x8Xc

Edited August 28, 2015 by Expat1

[Voice of Reason 10,298]

Maybe he just needed some food and a drink in order to take his bounds of medication. Ow well, he don't need them now. I did't know theft=death.

America has some of the most lenient punishments for crimes, as I am sure we all know.

In Somalia, a 13-year-old girl was buried up to her neck and stoned to death by 50 men in a stadium with 1000 spectators. After her death it was revealed she had been raped by three men and she was arrested after trying to report the rape to militants who control the city. (Although there is no mention of stoning in the Koran, supporters argue it is legitimized by the acts and sayings of the Prophet Mohamed.)

Also in Somalia: Four teenagers had a leg and arm amputated after being found guilty by Sharia court of stealing mobile phones and guns. The rare public amputation occurred in front of a crowd of 300 spectators. “Their right hands and left legs have been cut off. They are due to be taken away by ambulance now for treatment,” resident Mohamed Noh said.

CANING - Countries: Singapore, Brunei, Malaysia and some African countries.

Crime: Range of offences including kidnapping, robbery, drug abuse, vandalism, rioting, sexual abuse, possession of weapons and for foreigners who overstay their visa by more than 90 days.

[Janelle2002 3,865]

America has some of the most lenient punishments for crimes, as I am sure we all know.

In Somalia, a 13-year-old girl was buried up to her neck and stoned to death by 50 men in a stadium with 1000 spectators. After her death it was revealed she had been raped by three men and she was arrested after trying to report the rape to militants who control the city. (Although there is no mention of stoning in the Koran, supporters argue it is legitimized by the acts and sayings of the Prophet Mohamed.)

Also in Somalia: Four teenagers had a leg and arm amputated after being found guilty by Sharia court of stealing mobile phones and guns. The rare public amputation occurred in front of a crowd of 300 spectators. “Their right hands and left legs have been cut off. They are due to be taken away by ambulance now for treatment,” resident Mohamed Noh said.

CANING - Countries: Singapore, Brunei, Malaysia and some African countries.

Crime: Range of offences including kidnapping, robbery, drug abuse, vandalism, rioting, sexual abuse, possession of weapons and for foreigners who overstay their visa by more than 90 days.

Ok, let me see if I got this correct. You want the U.S., a modern, first world country,the hegemony of the world to kill people for stealing who have mental issues. As a first world country we shouldn't even have these issues.

How about we eliminate the sources of these issues; inequality (we need equal access to medical insurance, doctors, psychiatrists, family counselors, drug and alcohol abuse counselors, create jobs, tougher laws on people who are caught discriminating against others for sex, race, religion, sexual preference, etc).

Studies have proven that people who are discriminated against for whatever reason have mental issues, as well as mothers are most likely to be on anit-depression and anxiety medication. I need you to look a little further than your own two feet.