Burglary on par with murder
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Legislators are proposing “The Petit Home Invasion Protection Act” and one of the options they will consider is increasing the penalty for Burglary to 25 to life.
Connecticut has only one other felony with that kind of punishment: Murder.
This stiffer punishment being proposed can be easily accomplished by using some of the other statues already on the books and I’m not talking about persistent offender statutes.
Let’s take a look at burglary:
Sec. 53a-101. Burglary in the first degree: Class B felony. (a) A person is guilty of burglary in the first degree when he enters or remains unlawfully in a building with intent to commit a crime therein and: (1) He is armed with explosives or a deadly weapon or dangerous instrument, or (2) in the course of committing the offense, he intentionally, knowingly or recklessly inflicts or attempts to inflict bodily injury on anyone.
(b) An act shall be deemed “in the course of committing” the offense if it occurs in an attempt to commit the offense or flight after the attempt or commission.
(c) Burglary in the first degree is a class B felony provided any person found guilty under subdivision (1) of subsection (a) shall be sentenced to a term of imprisonment of which five years of the sentence imposed may not be suspended or reduced by the court.
So not only does it cover entering a building unlawfully, but also inflicting bodily injury. Death is, of course, bodily injury.
Someone gets hurt? Charge Assault, run them consecutive if you must.
A Class B felony carries a maximum sentence of twenty years. Heck, make it a Class A felony (10-25). Why does it need to be equated to murder? It’s not the same.
What’s the difference between burglary and sexual assault? Why is one more deserving of a stricter punishment than the other? Or kidnapping…or arson…. they are all Class A felonies.
Lawmakers said they are introducing a new initiative, called The Petit Home Invasion Protection Act, not just as a reaction to the brutal crime, but also as a meaningful step to making the public safer.
Oh, to make the public safer. Then I’m sure there’ll also be a bill to make DUI a Class A felony…or robbery…
“In the past, people who have done this kind of thing have been charged under burglary statutes. We want to see very tough penalties for those who commit home invasions,” said Jim Papillo, the state victim’s advocate.
You mean those that enter a building with the intention to commit a crime.
Papillo said he thinks the stiffer sentence will cut down on home invasions and keep dangerous criminals locked up longer.
Like this guy.
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I was just discussing this last night. I personally believe that homicide calls for imprisonment in virtually every case, and often long periods of incarceration (negligent homicide an exception to this general rule). But that is because homicide is unique; you can never undo the damage.
Moreover, this reform creates a kind of perverse incentive. If your punishment is the same for burglary as it is for murder, why not just kill the occupant you discover while commiting the offense? The utilitarian calculus works both ways.
Alec is correct. You need a graduated response.
Which is why the Supreme Court screwed up when they got rid of mandatory death penalty schemes.
The punishment for home invasion should be very severe, especially when armed.