PARENT'S RIGHTS NOW!

According to "SC man sentenced to 10 years for stealing meat":

A South Carolina man has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for stealing an $80 slab of meat.

The Times and Democrat of Orangeburg reports Thursday that 51-year-old Mark Zachary of Orangeburg received the maximum sentence after jurors found him guilty Wednesday of shoplifting.

Prosecutors said the sentence was justified because the Aug. 26 theft from Reid's grocery store in Orangeburg was his ninth offense.

Authorities said when a store manager approached Zachary about the missing New York strip and the big bulk under his shirt, he fled, right into the arms of an off-duty police officer.

Assistant Solicitor Glenn Justis asked jurors "Where's the beef?" in his opening argument.

Zachary testified he was "massaging" the meat, not stealing it.

Not everyone is pleased with this result. In an on-line post Paul K. Fauteck, Psy. D., DABPS writes:

So in their wisdom, the people of South Carolina will keep Mark Zachary in prison for ten years for stealing an $80 slab of meat. Understandably, the people are annoyed because this is his ninth offense. So the people are going to spend approximately $240,000 to protect themselves against one meat thief??? Well, the people of South Carolina are sure tough on crime, aren't they? Maybe the good people of South Carolina should reconsider their priorities.

We have to say we agree with Dr. Fauteck. This kind of thinking is going to result in the early release of folks who should serve their entire sentences. It is also one of the reasons that the South Carolina prison system keeps exceeding its budget.