Black man sentenced to 30 years for writing bad checks. Under investigation.

[PeerlessMack]

http://www.foxnews.com/wires/2007Sep27/0,4670,BadCheckSentence,00.html


30-Year Term for Bad Checks Investigated

Thursday, September 27, 2007

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BALTIMORE — The state attorney general's civil rights unit is investigating a 30-year sentence given to a black man convicted of writing bad checks who had no prior convictions.

Carl O. Snowden, the attorney general's director for civil rights, said Wednesday he is investigating the sentencing of Andrew M. Fisher in response to a complaint filed by the Baltimore County branch of the NAACP.

Fisher, 24, was convicted in August of two counts of writing $23,500 in bad checks for an electronic security system for the apartment he shared with his mother.

Baltimore County Circuit Judge Patrick Cavanaugh sentenced Fisher to two consecutive 15-year prison terms and ordered him to repay A-1 Security Systems, in a case first reported in The (Baltimore) Examiner.

Pat Ferguson, president of the local NAACP chapter, called the sentence "blatant discrimination." She also compared the situation to that of the Jena 6 case in Louisiana in which six black teens were arrested after an attack on a white student. Critics accused officials of prosecuting blacks more harshly than whites.

An assistant said it is the judge's policy not to comment on his cases.

Cavanaugh, who is white, offered to release Fisher if he paid $23,000 in restitution, according to a motion filed by Fisher's attorney Alvin Alston. Alston asked the judge to correct the "illegal sentence" against Fisher, saying that Maryland's highest court has held that "imprisonment for a lack of financial resources is illegal."

Nancy Fish, the owner of A-1 Security Systems, said she did not object to the sentence.

"Murderers don't get that," Fish said. "But the judge saw the type of personality that this guy was. It's not like he was sick or on drugs. He knew exactly what he was doing."

Fisher does have an arrest record, including several assault charges, but no convictions.

 

[Gemma]

That sentence is insane two 15 year sentences for bad checks that were less than 25 grand.

 

[twancrissy]

dont get me wrong that shit is crazy & dude dont desire that kinda time for bad checks. but that other article left out alot of other shit this guy have gotten into.



State probing 30-year sentence for bad checks
Civil right unit responds to complaint by NAACP
By Jennifer McMenamin and Gina Davis | Sun reporters
September 27, 2007
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The civil rights unit of the Maryland attorney general's office is investigating the sentencing of an African-American man with no previous criminal convictions to 30 years in prison for writing bad checks.

Carl O. Snowden, the attorney general's director for civil rights, said yesterday that he is looking into the situation in response to a complaint filed by the Baltimore County branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.


Describing the sentence of Andrew Maurice Fisher as "blatant discrimination," Pat Ferguson, president of the local NAACP chapter, likened the situation to that of the "Jena 6" case, in which claims of racial discrimination have been made involving the prosecution of a group of black students in Louisiana.

"There are many cases where people have committed murder and got less time," she said. "If this African-American has to do 30 years when no one else had to for similar crimes, it is a sad day for Baltimore County. It's definitely a travesty of justice, and shame on Baltimore County."

Fisher, 24, was convicted in August of two counts of writing $23,500 in bad checks for a high-tech, electronic security system at the apartment he shared with his mother in the Woodlawn area, according to court documents.

The equipment included a biometric card reader that scans fingerprints, a computer worth more than $3,000 and a 42-inch flat-screen television with surround sound, according to a letter sent to the judge by Nancy Fish, the owner of A-1 Security Systems.

Baltimore County Circuit Judge Patrick Cavanaugh sentenced Fisher to two consecutive 15-year prison terms and ordered him to repay the security company.

An assistant who works in Cavanaugh's chambers said yesterday that it is the judge's policy not to comment on cases he hears.

Fisher had attended classes at the Catonsville campus of the Community College of Baltimore County, Snowden said.

Fisher was charged in 2004 with first-degree assault, second-degree assault, reckless endangerment, possession of a deadly weapon and malicious destruction of property, charges that were dismissed by Baltimore prosecutors, court records show. An additional charge of second-degree assault that was filed in 2005 also was dismissed, according to court records.

Fisher was charged Aug. 7 with theft of less than $500 and writing bad checks in Anne Arundel County, court records show. That case is pending.

A number of active civil cases filed in Baltimore County District Court list as a defendant Andrew Fisher of the same address where the security system was installed, although it could not be confirmed yesterday whether that Andrew Fisher is the same person serving the 30-year sentence.

A mattress company sued for $2,083, a company called Budget Bath sued for $9,000, and a carpet company sued for $500, according to court records.

Another carpet company was awarded a judgment of $1,753.35 in July, court records show.

In the case for which Fisher was sentenced to 30 years - which was reported this week in The Examiner - he wrote a check to A-1 Security Systems for $7,551 on March 6 after technicians installed the electronic security equipment, according to court records. When the check bounced, Fisher told the security company that he would give the technicians another check from a different account.

The company owner took that check - written March 10 for $7,576 - to the bank, where she was told that the account had been closed, according to records.

Told that he had to pay by money order or a cashier's check, Fisher gave the technician $300 in cash and said he would go to the bank that afternoon to get the remaining $23,244.15, according to court records.

The judge offered to release Fisher if he paid $23,000 in restitution, according to a motion filed by Alvin Alston, an assistant public defender who represented Fisher in his case. Alston asked the judge to correct the "illegal sentence" against Fisher, noting that Maryland's highest court has held that "imprisonment for a lack of financial resources is illegal."

Cavanaugh - who has developed a reputation in his nearly five years on the bench for handing down tough sentences and verbal lashings to defendants convicted in his courtroom of violent crimes and drug dealing - denied Alston's request Sept. 11

The case is scheduled for a hearing before a three-judge review panel in November.

Cavanaugh sentenced a teenager convicted in the 2004 Randallstown High School shootings to 100 years. He imposed three life terms on a man who orchestrated the killing of a teenager who was choked and set on fire to keep her from testifying in a statutory rape case. And when he sentenced that man's co-defendant, Cavanaugh tacked a life term onto a sentence of life without the possibility of parole, just in case "somewhere down the road some liberals down in Annapolis" water down the meaning of life without parole, the judge said at the time.

Fish, the owner of the security company, said she did not object to the judge's sentence.


"Murderers don't get that," Fish said of the sentence. "But ... the judge saw the type of personality that this guy was. It's not like he was sick or on drugs. He knew exactly what he was doing."

She characterized Fisher's request for a device that scans fingerprints as "very unusual" for a residence. She said Fisher did not indicate why he felt he needed the security system.

Snowden, the attorney general's civil rights director, said Fisher's sentence - compared with those typically given to people with no criminal record who are convicted of writing bad checks - raises questions.

"There's no question that what he did was wrong," Snowden said of Fisher's actions. "The question is whether or not the punishment fit the crime."

Snowden said he is gathering information about the case and about Fisher. The attorney general does not have the authority to change a judge's sentence but could use his office to speak out about the case, Snowden said.



jennifer.mcmenamin @baltsun.com
Sun reporter Josh Mitchell contributed to this article.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/lo...27sep27,0,1475498.story?coll=bal_tab01_layout

 

[AtlSportsFan]

That sentence is insane two 15 year sentences for bad checks that were less than 25 grand.

How would YOU FEEL if you owned the Business that got shafted for $25 grand?

Be honest!

You would want to kill him yourself!

BTW 30 yrs. is wayyyy too much jail time!

 

[FlatbushNicca]

First of all dont business have insurance on shit like that and get there money back regardless.!!!!

THIS IS A PRIME EXAMPLE OF THE INJUSTICE BLACK PEOPLE ARE HANDED IN THE JUSTICE SYSTEM!!!!!

look at them corporations that steal money from peoples pension funds........them crackaz dont get Blammed with 30 years......they get a year or two and its back to the beach to party with Martha Stewart and the rest of the crooks!!!

 

[djdez]

THIS IS A PRIME EXAMPLE OF THE INJUSTICE BLACK PEOPLE ARE HANDED IN THE JUSTICE SYSTEM!!!!!

what he said ^^

 

[PLASMA CANNON]

First of all dont business have insurance on shit like that and get there money back regardless.!!!!

THIS IS A PRIME EXAMPLE OF THE INJUSTICE BLACK PEOPLE ARE HANDED IN THE JUSTICE SYSTEM!!!!!

look at them corporations that steal money from peoples pension funds........them crackaz dont get Blammed with 30 years......they get a year or two and its back to the beach to party with Martha Stewart and the rest of the crooks!!!

WHAT MY MAN SAID



DIDNT THAT DUDE FROM WORLD COM OR TYCO OR ENRON GET LIKE 30 YEARS BUT HE STOLE MILLIONS ..WE HAVE 2 WATCH OUT 4 SHIT LIKE THIS


AND WHERE IS THE SECURITY SYSTEM ? DID HE SELL THAT CANT HE GIVE IT BACK 2 THE COMPANY AND DID THEY GET ANY FROM THE CHECKS?...IF THEY DID NO WAY IN HELL HE SHOULD GET 30 YEARS

 

[bromack1]

dont get me wrong that shit is crazy & dude dont desire that kinda time for bad checks. but that other article left out alot of other shit this guy have gotten into.




Fisher was charged in 2004 with first-degree assault, second-degree assault, reckless endangerment, possession of a deadly weapon and malicious destruction of property, charges that were dismissed by Baltimore prosecutors, court records show. An additional charge of second-degree assault that was filed in 2005 also was dismissed, according to court records.

Fisher was charged Aug. 7 with theft of less than $500 and writing bad checks in Anne Arundel County, court records show. That case is pending.


A mattress company sued for $2,083, a company called Budget Bath sued for $9,000, and a carpet company sued for $500, according to court records.

Another carpet company was awarded a judgment of $1,753.35 in July, court records show.


jennifer.mcmenamin @baltsun.com
Sun reporter Josh Mitchell contributed to this article.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/lo...27sep27,0,1475498.story?coll=bal_tab01_layout

When I first saw the title, I thought there had to be more to this story. I'm on the side that says this is excesssive... but I also take the position.... don't do the crime, if you can't do the time.

 

[bromack1]

How would YOU FEEL if you owned the Business that got shafted for $25 grand?

Be honest!

You would want to kill him yourself!

BTW 30 yrs. is wayyyy too much jail time!

You're correct... I always caution people to put themselves in the other guys place. No one, and absolutly no one likes being ripped off...

25 thousand is "grand larceny." He wrote a check on an account that was closed... he did not use a gun but its the same thing.

30 years might be too much time... but this guy did have a prior history of associations with the criminal justice system.

 

[dasmybikepunk]

How would YOU FEEL if you owned the Business that got shafted for $25 grand?

Be honest!

You would want to kill him yourself!

BTW 30 yrs. is wayyyy too much jail time!

Now are you guys serious??? .... No wonder white america don't give a fuck about black people!!!....You slave mentality motherfuckers are your worst enemies.


I'd admit I would be pissed if someone fraud'd me or my business out of 25k but that's why I have business insurance and my bank covers and fraud via checks and credit cards....THAT'S HOW YOU REALLY DO BUSINESS!!!

Secondly yes if given the chance I'd want to slug the guy and his mom...give them both a piece of my mind

Maybe even have him do my windows for a year and do 2-4 years community service or jail.

I might even say the max I could see with no priors is 2-5yrs...


BUT 30 fucking years that's OUTRAGOUS and anybody with a god fearing soul would know and agree ain't shit gone happen redeemble by putting that man away for longer than a LIFE sentence....and you think that sentence is going to stop check fraud in MD....Hell NO!

In two years he could work and payback the money w/interest!....

I own a business, my family has a business in MD and yes I'm being honest this is some straight bullshit.

I've seen a dude slice up his wife with a razor...she's fucking scared 4 life physically and mentally and he only got 15yrs....plus he sold dope!!!

WTF!!!!

Every post on BGOL pissing me off this week!!!!