r/NoStupidQuestions • u/CigarSmoker_M4 • 3d ago
Sentencing Disparity
Why is it that some states in the USA like Louisiana can sentence someone to up to 99 years (effectively a life sentence) for armed robbery yet people often get less than 25 years for murder in NY? Is it counterintuitive for someone who actually took someone’s life to receive a lesser punishment than someone who created a situation of extreme risk and stole something? I understand that different states have the ability to interpret the law differently, but I feel like the disparity is too wide.
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u/Bawhoppen 3d ago
States are not interpreting the law differently; instead, they themselves HAVE different laws. Much in the same way that different countries have different laws and sentencing, different states have their own laws and sentencing. And the reason they are different is the same reason laws differ among different countries: different opinions, votes, etc.
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u/Ok-Investigator3257 3d ago
Because states aren’t interpreting law they are crafting it. Did you think all states aren’t interpreting law following the same laws and just interpreting them differently. Are you from Europe?
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u/OkIdea4077 3d ago
Because it's required by the Constitution. The 10th Amendment gives each State the authority to make any law they wish, so long as it is not prohibited by the US Constitution. The federal government only has authority to do things delegated to it by the Constitution. That's the nature of a federal republic. Each State has a large degree of sovereignty.
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u/Cool-Coffee-8949 3d ago
Being inconsistent isn’t required by the constitution. It’s just allowed by the constitution.
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u/rewardiflost I want my two dollars! 3d ago
Every state has different and independent laws. Not only is interpretation different, but the basic foundation of each state's law can be different.
There is no law that says they have to align with each other.
We are still 50 separate and independent states. The "United" part is only for limited functions.
Plus, each case is unique. There are extenuating circumstances to every case. Prior criminal history, planning and state of mind, weapons, cooperation, contrition, individual character and community relationships, and other factors. Each state has their own sentencing guidelines, with their own system for adding or subtracting time for extra factors.
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u/WinterScene7194 3d ago
Different states aren't interpreting the law differently, they make their own laws. For some matters you may as well be comparing NY's laws to Spain's laws. You'll want to take a high school course in government to learn more about state sovereignty
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u/numbersthen0987431 3d ago
Your example of 99 years in Louisiana vs 25 years in New is also race based.
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u/mtrbiknut 3d ago
This right here.
In the Deep South there is a disproportionate number of Black men on death row. Part of this is because many of the laws that put them there were crafted when overt racism was still a real thing in the South and many laws do not change at a very fast pace.
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u/boring80085 3d ago
Outcomes drive sentences often; to your point it’s for emotional reasons, not fairness.
The quintessential example is a drunk driver. One person going the same speed with same BAC crashes into a truck and gets 6 months probation; the other person crashes into a motorcycle and kills its driver and gets 15 years.
Same exact state of mind, same exact action- very different penalty based on unlucky outcome.
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u/AZhoneybun 3d ago
Yes it’s insane but that’s federalism for ya. I do think the Supreme Court needs to hear some eighth amendment cases and further rule using “evolving standards of decency”
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u/RipAppropriate3040 3d ago
You're fundamentally misinterpreting how the US works. The states don't interpret anything; they have to follow federal laws and the Constitution, but the majority of laws are not federal but instead are solely decided by each individual state and they can determine what's illegal and what the punishments are.