[sarasmom]

Sounds more to me like he also raped the elderly woman, and the family and the police didnt want riots all over town because of it.
Thirty years ago, it would have touched off mob violence by the local men on a massive scale, to have a bum assault and rob an elderly woman.
But that was thirty years ago, and things have changed.
And for all you "compassion" filled people who think poverty causes crime, and criminals are just misunderstood victims of an unjust society-KMA!
You now think nothing of letting violent criminals off easily, and soonest, due to your "compassion" for them.
Screw the crime victims past, present and future.
Some of you still think OJ is not guilty of murder,because he was not convicted, and Castro just needs a little more time to manifest utopia.
Rant off!

[liberallarry]

It's arguments like yours that lead to injustice.

The Supreme Court in 1971 found that the State couldn't even prove the house was occupied at the time of the crime. Do you know what that means? Think about it. Why was it so difficult? And if he assaulted her why wasn't she seriously injured? Why didn't she require hospitalization? An 87 year-old woman fought with a young physical laborer and didn't suffer serious injury? Almost impossible.

The most probably conclusion to draw from all this is that there was no confrontation and the house was unoccupied. Rather than do that you go to incredible lengths to justify the punishment.

Why?