MANY WANTED C-BREEZY TO GO TO STATE-PREEZY - INSTEAD, SENTENCE PROPERLY FOCUSES ON REHABILITATION
Monday, June 22, 2009 at 10:00PM 
Rihanna & Chris Brown in happier dayChris Brown is now a convicted felon for life. Today, he pleaded guilty to felony assault, stemming from an alleged altercation with then-girlfriend, Rihanna, on February 8, 2009. Article here.
Brown will serve five years probation and 180 days in jail or the equivalent -- about 1,400 hours -- in "labor-oriented service," said Sandi Gibbons, spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County District Attorney's office. He must also undergo a year-long domestic-violence counseling class, she said. He must check in with his probation officer every three months.
OVERCROWDING IN CALIFORNIA PRISONS
California is home to the largest prison population in the country, housing approximately 150,000 inmates. In fact, just several months ago, in February, a 3-judge panel ordered California to cut its prison population by 55,000 inmates in the next 3 years. NY Times article here.
Over-crowding is so severe that the state has failed to provide medical and mental health care to its inmates, killing at least one inmate every month. The panel found that this type of treatment is considered cruel and unusual punishment, which is prohibited by the Constitution.
California is not alone. Our country is the most incarcerating country in the world: 1 in 100 people in the U.S. are in prison. This number is astonishing and shameful. We cannot continue to put every person who commits a crime behind bars.
FOCUS MUST BE ON REHABILITATION - NOT INCARCERATION
What's the point of throwing Chris Brown into the prison system? I am not suggesting that he is better than any other inmate; however, the prison system is lacking rehabilitation services. Even if Chris Brown were sentenced to the maximum 4 years in prison, he would eventually get out prison. Then what? Do you really think that slapping the orange jumper on him for awhile will get him to change his violent behavior upon release? Of course not!
Instead of prison, the judge sentenced the young, 20-year old Chris Brown to a hefty amount of probation. Probation ain't no joke. He will have to check in with an officer every 3 months; he'll probably have to submit to random urine drops; and if he gets in any trouble whatsoever, his probation could be revoked at any time. Chris Brown will be under the microscope for 5 years.
Besides the monitoring, Brown is required to attend a year of domestic violence therapy. Good! This is not a service he would have received in jail. He clearly has violent tendencies. I would much rather he receive adequate counseling for 1 year while on probation than no counseling while in prison. Rehabilitation is the goal. I'm sure no other woman wants to get her face bashed in by an angry C-Breezy.
If some guy beat me up, I would want him to go to prison...or, I would want my dad to have a "talk" with him for a little bit. (Just kidding.) But, if you think about it, prison in America today is not the best form of punishment. That person will eventually be placed back into society, whether it's in one year or in 30 years. You don't want that person to come out of custody even more angry or simply unable to deal with the behavior that put him behind bars in the first place.
In my opinion, this is the best situation for Chris Brown. Five years probation is a very long time to be monitored by the court. A year of therapy is quite substantial. He's a convicted felon for life. Chris Brown has a long road to rehabilitation and, hopefully, today was his first step down that road.
P.S: Michael Lindsey, a domestic violence expert, saved my life. His daughter was killed by her boyfriend after he was released from prison. Michael was left to raise his grandson. Maybe if he received rehabilitation in prison, the outcome would have been different.
The day I went to Michael for help, at the age of 14, was the day I turned my life around. No, I wasn't a victim of domestic violence, nor was I a violent person. Instead, he came into my life at a time when I needed help, guidance and support. Thank you, Michael, for truly saving my life.
www.tamaraholder.com and www.xpunged.com
Chris Brown, Geragos, Rihanna, assault, domestic violence, plea, probation, sentence in Criminal Defense