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I don't suffer from anyone's syndrome, Jeff (except maybe my own), and take umbrage at your suggestion. To say otherwise would lead one to believe that I am unwilling to take personal responsibility for the consequences of my decisions because of some "debilitating, stress-induced connection with my long-term captors".

Hardly the case.

The only connection I had with my captors was that I knew all of their kids from school, and knew that most of those kids were probably heading to the mountains with at least as much beer as we had. We just got caught.

Plain and simple, I chose to be in a vehicle where the law was being broken, and I accepted the consequences. About the only possible claim I may have had to any mitigating circumstances was that at 19, an excess of testosterone clouded my judgment. I'm sure there would have been some scantily clad girls involved somewhere.

The judge (actually the father of a friend, and a friend of my father's) was constrained by state statute, and not wanting to show favoritism, did what he had to do.

A night in the hoosegow (probably just to keep us off the streets), was enough to convince me I didn't ever want to repeat that experience.

And a $15.00 fine (the minimum the state allowed), was really pretty soft.

And, I learned to choose my associates wisely.

Plain and simple, I chose to be in a vehicle where the law was being broken, and I accepted the consequences. About the only possible claim I may have had to any mitigating circumstances was that at 19

Actually, the overriding mitigating claim would be that you didn't commit a crime. You may be disappointed with yourself that you put yourself in that situation, but the point still stands that you did not commit a crime.

To thank the police and judge for charging you and finding you guilty of crime you didn't commit is a form of police state boot licking. I don't mean to offend you with this, so please don't take it that way.

It is just a very disturbing situation when the justice system charges people with crimes they didn't commit and conservatives cheer them on so they can be taught a lesson.