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[Arc]

Man shoots lawn mower, could face up to six years in prison.

[Zaratustra]

man if he shot an actual human being I bet he'd get less

[Norondor]

Mmm. I understand the harsh sentence, but... that lawnmower clearly provoked him. Don't tell me there's no legal precedent for things like this?

[Fredward]

What you all fail to realize is that the mower was a minor.

According to the criminal complaint, Walendowski said he was angry because his Lawn Boy wouldn't start

 

[Norondor]

Oh, fuck. I hope they put him away for life.

[Brentai]

He's charged for owning a shotgun illegally.  The lawnmower shooting is just how they found out about it.

If you're of the opinion that jail exists to get crazy, dangerous people out of public society, then 6 years is too damn little.

[Thad]

He's charged for owning a shotgun illegally.  The lawnmower shooting is just how they found out about it.

It's also the basis for the disorderly conduct charge.

[Mongrel]

I don't know.... that's the initial reaction, but I'd be lying if I didn't admit that I and planty of other people I've met have occasionally been tempted to commit great violence against some intractable mechanical device.

I don't mind weapons charges for the guy - waving a shotgun around in public is pretty damned stupid - but 6 years may either be excessive or not enough, depending on his true state of mind.

... and that is already too much analysis.

[Brentai]

He's charged for owning a shotgun illegally.  The lawnmower shooting is just how they found out about it.

It's also the basis for the disorderly conduct charge.

Sure, but that's a misdemeanor.  He's not going to jail for six years on that.  He's going to jail for bypassing a set of laws set up to keep people like him from having god-damned shotguns.

...although to be fair one of those years probably IS for shooting his lawnmower, which is sorta nutty.

[Norondor]

i was just being ridiculous, i know why he is being jailed

i was trying to make funny but maybe i should go back to making bales of hay

[Arc]

He's charged for owning a shotgun illegally.

Actually, the article is just vague enough that one can infer that he is charged with owning an illegal shotgun (short-barreled). The disorderly conduct charge is horseshit though, and needs to be dropped. Getting drunk and shooting shit in your own yard is as Americana as Norman Rockwell and Superman.

[TA]

I feel as though when a person is prone to venting frustration by unloading a shotgun at the source of said frustration, he needs to be taught in a pretty specific manner that this is not an okay way to deal.

Some drunk dude wandering out into his yard and shooting up a lawnmower while screaming would scare the shit out of me, because with the sort of mind that thinks that's a cool thing to do, I have no idea if I'll be next.

[Thad]

Yeah, I'd say that should mean mandatory anger management classes, even if he'd done it with a LEGAL firearm.

[Kazz]

Six years is a long, long fucking time.  One year will probably send the right message.

[Thad]

Do you really expect he'll get the max?

I'm guessing he does less than a year in the clink, gets a sizable fine, probation, and anger management classes.

[Brentai]

Six years is a long, long fucking time.  One year will probably send the right message.

Well, again, it depends on what you think jail is for.  If you think it's a very stern way of saying "Using illegal firearms is a very bad thing" then yeah, a year is more than enough.  If you think it's more about "Get that guy who uses illegal firearms the fuck away from me" then no it's not, the guy will still be a lunatic in a year, if a different kind of lunatic.

Also Thad's entirely correct, the 1+5-year max is for people who have egregiously violated the law (i.e. possessed the gun for the purpose of committing actual crimes with it).

[Kazz]

Do you really expect he'll get the max?

No.  The language of the thread (and the headline, for that matter) is implying that six years is somehow reasonable.

[Joxam]

I'll preface my comment by reminding everyone that I'm from Texas. Okay, now comment.

I like guns. I like shooting guns. I even like shooting guns at things. Why, I've bought things simply to shoot. I'm not talking about clays or targets. I'm talking old toys (big ones), tonka trucks, glass bottles by the dozen, and once, an old broken down car.

Now, I also believe strictly in private property.

You guys seem to be under the impression that he apparently goes around doing this shit all the time, despite the story mentioning nothing about previous arrests, charges or anything like that.

You can say that he needs anger management course, but come on... he was shooting an old broken down lawn mower. His old broken down lawn mower.

[Thad]

Well, again, it depends on what you think jail is for.  If you think it's a very stern way of saying "Using illegal firearms is a very bad thing" then yeah, a year is more than enough.  If you think it's more about "Get that guy who uses illegal firearms the fuck away from me" then no it's not, the guy will still be a lunatic in a year, if a different kind of lunatic.

It also bears mentioning that prison does a pretty good job of turning criminals into better criminals.

I like guns. I like shooting guns. I even like shooting guns at things. Why, I've bought things simply to shoot. I'm not talking about clays or targets. I'm talking old toys (big ones), tonka trucks, glass bottles by the dozen, and once, an old broken down car.

Now, I also believe strictly in private property.

You guys seem to be under the impression that he apparently goes around doing this shit all the time, despite the story mentioning nothing about previous arrests, charges or anything like that.

You can say that he needs anger management course, but come on... he was shooting an old broken down lawn mower. His old broken down lawn mower.

In ANGER.

The man's got a fucking illegal weapon and is waving it around when he's drunk and angry.

Since you see the need to compare his behavior to your own, I'm going to ask if that's the sort of thing you do.  And if so, then you should be put away too.

[Brentai]

Well, again, it depends on what you think jail is for.  If you think it's a very stern way of saying "Using illegal firearms is a very bad thing" then yeah, a year is more than enough.  If you think it's more about "Get that guy who uses illegal firearms the fuck away from me" then no it's not, the guy will still be a lunatic in a year, if a different kind of lunatic.

It also bears mentioning that prison does a pretty good job of turning criminals into better criminals.

I dunno if that works if they didn't really intend to be criminals in the first place.