One week til Christmas Eve.
Two weeks til New Year's Eve.
Two weeks and one day til the New Year of 2012.
This morning I was bugged to read that up in Washington the Barefoot Bandit, Colton Harris-Moore, was sentenced to seven years in prison after pleading guilty to dozens of charges in the State of Washington. Colton faces additional federal charges and additional time, to be served concurrently, at a later sentencing.
The Barefoot Bandit is only 20 years old. He was a teenager when he was doing his banditting.
The Judge in Colton's sentencing, Vickie Churchill, said, "this case is a tragedy in many ways, but it's a triumph of the human spirit in other ways." She described Harris-Moore's upbringing as a "mind numbing absence of hope," and believed he was genuinely remorseful and contrite.
The Barefoot Bandit has said he plans to make restitution using the money coming his way for book and movie rights. He is banned from using such money for himself.
I know of at least one criminal in Washington who stole hundreds of thousands of dollars, made no restitution, plead guilty and did only 3 days jail time and six months house arrest and did not pay any of the court ordered restitution. And this was a 40 something woman committing this crime. The only lasting debt paid to society by this particular criminal is the idiot is banned from voting due to being a convicted felon.
Methinks all would be better served if the Barefoot Bandit was put in college, with close supervision. This is obviously a very smart kid. He taught himself to fly a plane. Flying a plane is not easy.
In other Washington news of the sort that is not possible to happen in Texas.
Flotsam is washing ashore on the Washington Pacific Coast from the Japanese Tsunami. Beachcombers are finding all sorts of interesting things, including giant fishnet floats.
Beach combing is a fun thing to do. I can't remember the last time I did any beach combing in Texas.
