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Slavery only gets you 10 years in the bing? Whiskey Tango Foxtrot?!
posted by Josh Glover @ 7/18/2006 08:39:00 PM
5 comments
5 Comments:
That seems like a light sentence, doesn't it? The Texas Code reads, in part: "§43.05. COMPELLING PROSTITUTION. (a) A person commits an offense if he knowingly: (1) causes another by force, threat, or fraud to commit prostitution; or (2) causes by any means a person younger than 17 years to commit prostitution. (b) An offense under this section is a felony of the second degree." Nothing about sentencing guidelines, though...
Remarkably it is within the rather broad range of 2-20 years for a 2nd degree felony in Texas ... Also from the Texas Code:
§ 12.33. SECOND DEGREE FELONY PUNISHMENT. (a) An
individual adjudged guilty of a felony of the second degree shall be punished by imprisonment in the institutional division for any term of not more than 20 years or less than 2 years.
(b) In addition to imprisonment, an individual adjudged guilty of a felony of the second degree may be punished by a fine not to exceed $10,000.
I hate to say it, but I think you're right, Josh. If this person had forced a group of young white women into prostitution and was keeping them as slaves, the punishment would have been far more severe. 10 years in jail and a $460K fine doesn't seem like much of a punishment--not compared to what these poor girls went through. What's worse, chances are that the INS will deport these women to Korea too.
Here's a question for you: to discourage this kind of thing from happening again (although I'm sure this is not an isolated incident) and to curb all forms of illegal prostitution, what if the punishment for soliciting a prostitute was made more severe, i.e. 10 years in prison and a $500K fine? As long as there are people still willing to pay for sex, there will continue to be illegal and/or forced prostitution. Or, should we legalize prostitution, let the prostitutes organize, demand better, healthier working conditions, etc.?
Legalize prostitution. Legalize drugs. Legalize gambling. Then regulate, tax, and ensure the revenues necessary to provide counseling and related health and services. It would go from being a part of the seamy underside of society to being a part of the commercial and economic norm.
Maybe we could use the tax revenue to fund Head Start. Spending for that was just frozen by Senate Approps, FYI...
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