Mari's dad
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Got his sentence commuted today. Think it’s possible he could go to a half way house in 2024. I’m very happy for him. I realize some probably won’t agree. I know coach worked on this for Mari.
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@Crimsonorblue22 I think it is wonderful that so many people came to aide Mari and his dad from the Innocence Project. Considering the other 3 guys got such lighter sentences. Glad President Obama did this.
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@Crimsonorblue22 Im very happy about that. Mari deserves to have his dad back. Im glad Barack did that. I hope he had KU in the back of his mind during that process.
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If only Neocon and Neolib Presidents would just pardon the wrongly convicted by the hundreds of thousands (millions?) and not pardon the international drug and arms money launderers that reputedly contribute laundered monies to their campaigns and maybe kill whistle blowers for them after. Oh, and not the pedophile ring members, either.
The launderers and the ped ringer pardons kind of make the do-gooding pardons seem like PR DISTRACTIONS sometimes.
But I’m glad someone found a way to work the apparent political corruption of pardons to the favor of a Jayhawk’s dad, assuming he was wrongly convicted.
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@Lulufulu It was nice of President Obama not to hold the resentments of his two busted brackets against Jam Tray’s dad.
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PHoF
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It will be interesting to see who President-Elect Trump pardons at the end of his Presidency. Will he pardon like Neocon Bush and Neolibs Clinton and Obama, or something else? It’s difficult to assess a President’s unspoken base until his pardons.
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No, there was never a doubt about the guilt and he was correctly convicted. The only issue was the severity of the sentence in relation to that of his partners and I belive the 3-strile law might have had something to do with it.
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Tough call.
Hope they did the right thing.
Wonder why the normal corrective measures for sentencing failed to the point a President had to step in?
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@jaybate-1.0 There are no other corrective measures for a mandatory sentence. Presidential action is the only out.
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I wonder if Mr. Traylor, if that’s his name, truly appreciates the high improbability of this having happened?
And while we’re on the topic, where is the Jam Tray and is he playing?
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@jaybate-1.0 In another thread, someone noted that he scored 16 and boarded 9 in his latest Euroleague game.
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What a momentous time for Jamari to be in Europe. I hope he takes notes and reports back to his KU fans about what life is like there behind the spun headlines of today. I also hope The Tray can find a vintage Porsche come summer and drive the high country leisurely and stay in some inns. Rock Chalk!
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@Crimsonorblue22 Wow! Go JT. Can’t believe how well he is playing. And for a really good team! Hope this is the start of a very long European career for him.
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I think our justice system needs a ton of work. I believe Mari’s dad was in for dealing cocaine, in which he should be punished but he had too much time IMO. We have people in jail less time for killing folks than we do guys busted for dealing even soft drugs like weed, its just stupid. But good news for Mari, I know he struggled with this and I don’t blame him.
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Holy Crap! Did you guys see the LJW comment section? Makes me so glad we have this site… That other site is an embarrassment.
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Sadly, the war on drugs has resulted in unbalanced sentences.
If you have a drug offense, you do not qualify for many types of grant in aid for college. For many kids, that means no college. So even non-violent drug offenses such as possession could potentially eliminate an opportunity for college, particularly if a student cannot get that drug charged pleaded down or diverted into something that won’t keep them from getting scholarships and grants.
As a result, drug offenses have created a bit of a criminal class - individuals that are prevented from moving up the social chain because of even a single offense. Do you know how many jobs simply will not consider someone that has a drug offense? Even jobs that are lower level will often not consider someone with a drug offense because of the stigma. So if you can’t get even an entry level job, and you can’t further your education, what options does that leave?
We declared a war on drugs without ever figuring out who the casualties would be. We never pondered who the POW’s of that war would be - often the young children of fathers that are either serving time or the single mothers raising those kids.
I think that’s why part of Obama’s positive legacy has been commuting so many of these non-violent sentences (more than any other president, ever). Having seen what has happened in far too many inner cities, I think he recognized the need for reform and, realizing that getting Congressional action would probably never happened, used Executive power to commute sentences.
The laws haven’t changed, but it has changed the conversation, particularly since many states now have legalized marijuana, which makes long prison sentences for possession of marijuana now seem very much out of step with the way laws are currently enforced.
Although it is January 20, so things may change.
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@justanotherfan Very true my friend, I wondered with you being a lawyer what you would have to say subject. I think the country needs to just make it legal when it comes to weed. I dont use it nor would I if it was legal but balance in important.
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The war on drugs has been devastating for many. Here’s a couple articles about people struggling to find work after being convicted of felonies.
That’s just a couple of stories about the criminal class being created. There are many more. It’s just a shame because people are supposed to be able to put their lives back together after they get out of prison, but often that simply isn’t the case, which forces people back into a subculture of crime, either working without a license in a profession, or working off the books, or simply engaging in criminal activity.
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I’ve first-hand worked with felony-record holders trying to turn the corner on life. To be honest, I don’t think I could do it myself. They aren’t looking for sweet rides and gold jewelry… just trying to provide for their families.
What do you do when no one will hire you?
The cop out answer is, “they should have thought about that before committing the crime?”
Problem with that is it doesn’t give them a path forward now. And it is a problem for all of us because many go back to crime.
One guy I’ve been working with for three years now is resting in the county jail. He was just trying to stay warm so he committed a very small crime that didn’t hurt anyone just so he didn’t have to freeze his butt off living this winter under a bridge.