A man who hunted deer on his own property will spend 15 years in federal prison

AP via Boston Glob ^ | 4/30/03 | staff

[Lucas1]

When will the people of the United States wake Up? Mandatory Sentences are cruel and unusual punishment.

[Dick Bachert]

Judicial Discretion is a two-edged sword but generally better than the idiotic "Let's prove how tough we are on crime by imprisoning more people than any Western 'democracy'" mandatory sentencing guidelines.

[Lucas1]

Quote "You ought to retitle the article as "ex con stupidly in possession of weapon gets the sentence he deserves"."

He DESERVES???? You have to be kidding right? You forgot your sarcasm /

[HEY4QDEMS]

I'm sorry but championing a cause for a felon with a firearm only gives ammunition to the gun grabbers.

Felons should never be allowed to possess firearms as long as their felony record is still standing.

I support the right to bear arms, but only for the lawful citizenry.

If this guy has a felony record then he knows right well that his FID is no longer valid, his excuse is BS.

Lawful gun owners always say "If we outlaw guns, only outlaws will have them", now is the time to put your money where your mouth is.

If this man had turned his life around and lived an examplery life, and if ample time has passed, he could have motioned for expungement of his conviction before taking a gun in his hands knowing that he was breaking the law by doing so.

[Hodar]

From article:

Prosecutors said Altsman had two felony burglary convictions

Felons are not allowed to own firearms. I don't care if they use them for hammers and crowbars; Felons have demonstrated the ability to break the law. Part of the punishment is that they may never own a weapon again. This Felon chose to ignore the law again (3rd time, darn this a stupid one), and with that comes a consequence.

[Chancellor Palpatine]

Deserves.

He is a two time loser - and I've never met a con that didn't know he couldn't possess any firearms without drawing Federal time.

In other words, his ignorance of the law is bogus.

He knew.

[ctdonath2]

Do you understand how easy it is to become a felon? How downright PETTY some of the felony-level transgresions are?

[VoteHarryBrowne2000]

There are a few ideas on this thread that caught my attention. The way the laws are written, ones I'm aware of, there is no time limit or expiry date once convicted, hence the problem with many "ex" felons and gun or voting rights. Over the past century, the government has grown in many ways including more and more "felony" crimes being on the books so we have more and more felons in this country. Most states have a pardon process that you can go through or a way to have your crimes expunged. Ultimately, it is up to the offender to know their status and take appropriate steps to change it if they deem it necessary.

On the concepts of rights, there are two competing ideas on where rights originate. One says that the government "grants" rights and the other says that they are "inalienable" rights granted by the Creator. Which side you come down on has a big influence on how you view these issues.

[Ditter]

(I was going to say the same thing.) The fact that he was on his own property had nothing to do with it. Bowhunting would have kept him out of trouble.

[Doctor Stochastic]

They do see it. They approve.

[chuknospam]

Btt

[jjm2111]

How so? For pleading guilty instead of going to trial? Was it the lawyers advice or did he just decide for himself to plead guilty, and what would have been the likely sentance for a conviction if the 15 years was already legislated as being mandatory anyway?

If I was facing a fifteen year mandatory mininum. I would please not guilty just to waste the court's time.

[Dane]

Here's the local coverage from 4/26/03.

Deer-hunting felon gets 15-year prison sentence

By Robert Baird
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Saturday, April 26, 2003

A Beaver County man who has three convictions for violent felonies complained Friday to a federal judge that he didn't know that he was prohibited from hunting deer with a rifle.

But U.S. District Judge Terrence McVerry told Jack C. Altsman, 43, of Fourth Avenue, Beaver Falls, that he had, indeed, violated the armed career criminal provisions of the federal firearms law.

McVerry sentenced Altsman to a mandatory 15 years in prison for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

A deputy game commissioner spotted Altsman with a Remington rifle in Hovey, Armstrong County, after he had been deer hunting on Nov. 26, 2001.

"I wasn't in a bank with an automatic weapon. I wasn't car-jacking someone ... I wasn't in a bar with a gun. I was deer hunting," Altsman said.

McVerry said Altsman had pleaded guilty to the charges in November before U.S. District Judge Donald Lee, who has since retired.

McVerry ordered Altsman to serve three years on supervised release after he completes his prison term.

Altsman said he didn't go to trial and present a defense because he believed he would face additional time if convicted by a jury.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Margaret Picking said Altsman has previous convictions in two burglaries and for criminal attempt.

Altsman said his father, who has Alzheimer's disease, hunts and fishes, and Altsman is the only one who can take him hunting.

McVerry said the sentencing caused him "great difficulty," because Altsman was hunting and may not have known he wasn't permitted to possess a gun.

He told Altsman he had no alternative but to impose the mandatory 15-year sentence and that he could have been sentenced to nearly 19 years.

LINK

[GhostofWCooper]

I support the right to bear arms, but only for the lawful citizenry.

With 22,000 gun laws in place, with a little investigation, many on this board would find themselves in violation of at least one. Not to mention the ridiculous and arcane tax laws.

I would allow people another chance, once they've served their time. Otherwise, once a criminal, you might as well go career, know what I mean? If they can't regain respectability, all sentences might as well be life without parole.

[jjm2111]

I'd think freepers or conservatives would support this guy's sentence if he was an ordinary felon on the city street who had that weapon and wasn't supposed to (even if he wasn't bothering anyone or robbing a bank).

Hell no! Fifteen years for weapons possesion is ridiculous, esp. when armed robbery get you 6. Also, felons should get their rights back after they've served their time. Maybe they should have to wait another 10 years before owning weapons, but they shouldn't lose their rights forever.

[Chancellor Palpatine]

Perhaps he had an equally poor lawyer and trapped in poor circumstances when he was turned into a convicted felon.

Would you be so solicitous if this was a black man in the ghetto?

[snopercod]

I'd be interested to hear what you ladies have to say on this.

Personally, I am opposed to jailing people for victimless crimes. Had the man used a firearm in the commission of a crime, then sure, lock him up. But otherwise...

Let's recall that the man was convicted of burglary, which means he was not carrying a firearm at the time, and did not commit violence. Otherwise, he would have been charged with robbery, armed robbery, battery, rape, or something other than burglary. Hell, this could have been a pantie raid in college, we just don't know.

Burglary:

Definition - The unlawful entry of a structure to commit a felony or theft. For reporting purposes this definition includes: unlawful entry with intent to commit a larceny or felony; breaking and entering with intent to commit a larceny; housebreaking; safecracking; and all attempts to commit any of the aforementioned.

I would like to hear what the NRA says on this, too, since they are one of the biggest pushers of mandatory sentances for "gun crimes".

[Chancellor Palpatine]

He had two chances in the past.

[PISANO]

Throw your new born into a trash can get a year and a half, kill 6 cats get 12 years, hunt on your own property (given the constitutionally protected right to bear arms) and get 15 years. Does all this seem like we are peering through the looking-glass of wonderland or not?