Sentencing, Plea Bargains Colorado man sentenced to 448 years in prison, longest sentence ever imposed in the US for human trafficking

T

Tax Counsel

Well-Known Member
Jurisdiction
Colorado
A man was sentenced yesterday in Denver District Court to 448 years in prison, with a 200 year concurrent sentence for human trafficking, pimping, sexual abuse and other offenses. It the longest sentence ever imposed in any court in the U.S. for these kinds of crimes. It's unfortunate, really, that he'll die only having served just a fraction of his sentence. You can read the Denver Post article for more details.
 
Some judges believe extreme 400 year sentences send a message.

I agree, certain sentences might send a message to a few potential, budding, or active criminal types.

I think the message, as received by the populace for which it is intended, becomes I'll beat a 400 year sentence because my life expectancy is less than 15% of the 400 years.

Suddenly, the sentenced party realizes he/she/it probably won't be alive another 60 or so years.

Bottom line, a 400 year sentence can be imposed, but the shelf life of human beings rarely exceeds 100 years, much less 400.

Methuselah

Age at death: 969

Despite Methuselah's small mention in Genesis, he's become well-known for his near-millennium of life, outliving all other pre-Flood patriarchs. After the Flood, lifespans gradually shortened, with Noah's sons living only a few hundred years, with other famed figures like Moses only living to 120.

Lamech

Age at death: 777

Lamech, son of Methuselah, is descended from Seth's line, though he's easily confused with the Lamech (son of Methushael) descended from Cain. In addition to his extended life and being Noah's father, Lamech is notably the first mentioned polygamist in the Bible, taking both Adah and Zillah as his wives.

 
Tax Counsel said:
A man was sentenced yesterday in Denver District Court to 448 years in prison, with a 200 year concurrent sentence for human trafficking, pimping, sexual abuse and other offenses. It the longest sentence ever imposed in any court in the U.S. for these kinds of crimes. It's unfortunate, really, that he'll die only having served just a fraction of his sentence. You can read the Denver Post article for more details.
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I posted that down the street. Justice...I love it.
 
justblue said:
I posted that down the street. Justice...I love it.
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The way the Colorado law is on parole, this sentence at least guarantees he will never be eligible for parole and will serve a true life sentence. Justly deserved, though I wish we taxpayers didn't have to pay for housing this scumbag for the next 40+ years that he might live. Whatever assets he does have will be taken to help compensate the victims.
 
army judge said:
I think the message, as received by the populace for which it is intended, becomes I'll beat a 400 year sentence because my life expectancy is less than 15% of the 400 years.

Suddenly, the sentenced party realizes he/she/it probably won't be alive another 60 or so years.

Bottom line, a 400 year sentence can be imposed, but the shelf life of human beings rarely exceeds 100 years, much less 400.
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I agree, but... I think the message it sends the rest of us is that some crimes are worthy of the perpetrator never to see the light of day. Yes, there is the death penalty. Apart from the arguments that there are too many people on Death Row who truly may not be guilty of the crime they're convicted of (even one is too many, IMO), I also believe that making those convicted of such heinous crimes live in a cage for the rest of their lives may well be the most onerous punishment we can impose. I would not be opposed to forcing them to see their victims' faces 24/7 (and we have the tech for that). I don't believe in Hell (or Heaven, though I sometimes wish I did), so I believe the death penalty is actually an easy way out for these animals. Let their Hell be on earth. And if they "find Jesus" (or other)? Let them believe they will burn for Eternity.
 
stealthy1 said:
Yes, there is the death penalty.
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Not in Colorado. The state legislature abolished the death penalty in 2020. Prior that, in the period from 1975 to 2020 Colorado had the death penalty as an option, but only one person in all that time was actually executed. The rest of those who were given death sentences during those years (and there weren't many) either ended up dying in prison before appeals could be exhausted and the sentence carried or had their sentences commuted to life in prison instead. The most punitive sentence is a life sentence without parole or, as in this case, sentences that stack so many years on the sentence that the prisoner will never serve enough time to be eligible for parole.
 
Tax Counsel said:
Not in Colorado. The state legislature abolished the death penalty in 2020. Prior that, in the period from 1975 to 2020 Colorado had the death penalty as an option, but only one person in all that time was actually executed. The rest of those who were given death sentences during those years (and there weren't many) either ended up dying in prison before appeals could be exhausted and the sentence carried or had their sentences commuted to life in prison instead. The most punitive sentence is a life sentence without parole or, as in this case, sentences that stack so many years on the sentence that the prisoner will never serve enough time to be eligible for parole.
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Thanks, TC - I didn't look it up for CO. I guess I was "speaking" in generalities.
 
Death penalty sentences in most of the US states still imposing such a punishment tend to become life sentences.

Texas, Ohio, Alabama, and Oklahoma tend to be the national exceptions.

Ohio seems to have recently racheted up their rate of executions, markedly.

deathpenaltyinfo.org

Upcoming Executions

The Death Penalty Information Center is a non-profit organization serving the media and the public with analysis and information about capital punishment.…
deathpenaltyinfo.org deathpenaltyinfo.org
 

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