Hypocrisy and zero tolerance....Florida janitor could lose job over shoplifting..27 years ago.

[madfloridian]

I get so furious at the irrational way laws are applied anymore. I hope the ACLU takes her case.

I am glad to see the fighting spirit of this lady's lawyer. She referred to a school board member and former mayor, and she really put them on the spot.

Rhodes said that if the law was employed fairly, School Board member Frank O'Reilly would face the consequences of the Lunsford Act for his 1963 and 1967 conviction of public drunkenness and of relieving himself in public.

But School Board lawyer Wes Bridges said that bringing up O'Reilly's youthful indiscretions is a "red herring" in Belmares' case.

The hypocrisy of our Republcan elected officials here makes me furious. And yes they are all Republicans but one. And she acts like one.

Wide Net Could Snare Janitor



80 Arrest Jeopardizes School Janitor's Job

The Polk School Board chose not to include a provision in its adoption of the Jessica Lunsford law that allows school districts to grant exemptions for convicted felons whose crimes were committed more than three years ago.

...."Belmares, 52, was arrested in 1980 for felony grand theft. She was caught shoplifting clothing for herself and two daughters, then 6 and 2, from a Winter Haven department store. The clothing was valued at $110.38, which constituted grand theft in 1980. By today's standards, the same crime would be a misdemeanor because grand theft's threshold now is $300.

For her crime, Belmares paid a $500 fine and served two days in jail and three years of probation. Since then, she's had no other criminal convictions.

But the one-time offense is enough to fire Belmares, because the School Board makes little distinction between any of the felonies listed under the Lunsford Act and has no statute of limitations, Wilson said.

Former Mayor and now school board member, O'Reilly, speak up for her. You really should.

Another article says more about her case:

At the time of her arrest, 24-year-old Belmares said she was married to an abusive, alcoholic husband. She was caught shoplifting clothing for herself and two daughters, then 6 and 2, from a Winter Haven department store. The clothing was valued at $110.38, which then constituted grand theft.

http://theledger.com/article/20070619/NEWS/706190390

Yoo hoo, Frank on the School Board. Let's put an end to this hypocrisy.

[madfloridian]

1. Zero tolerance editorial....school board gets a zero.

http://www.theledger.com/article/20070621/NEWS/706210453/-1/xml

"In years past, we've written about how the Polk County School Board policy of "zero tolerance" has placed the board in embarrassing situations. For instance: A child who gives another student an off-the-shelf vitamin is treated the same as one who would pass around prescription narcotics from the family medicine cabinet. A pocket knife with a 2-inch blade absentmindedly left in a pant pocket is regarded with the same illegality as a samurai's sword.

Other examples abound. But this one takes the cake.

..."The act may be a law, but being the law doesn't make it right. School Board members need to change their policy so it keeps children safe while letting honest, hardworking employees keep their jobs.

When it comes to common sense, compassion, and fairness, it's easy to rate the Polk County School Board's current policy on a scale of 1 to 10:

Zero."

[Serial Mom]

2. Zero tolerance is one of the biggest problems in this society

starting with kindergarten - when a 5 year old brings a squirt gun to school or something similar and gets suspended!

This case is just another example - they (those that inacted this stupid rule)cannot tolerate situations individually, yet when somebody they know (e.g. DUBYA) violates the constitution and laws, it is accepted!

I loathe zero tolerance!

[Name removed]

3. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[madfloridian]

6. Oh, there's more today. I posted it but it dropped quickly. Here you go.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=1160293&mesg_id=1160293

[VP505]

4. Where is it

chiseled into stone besides in the minds of "authoritarian wing nuts" that "zero tolerance" always has to mean "MAX PUNISHMENT" regardless of any extenuating circumstances or other irrational facts???

[Tsiyu]

7. This works very well for them you must understand

When we create a huge class of "felons" we also destroy their right to vote, hold certain jobs, get student aid, the list goes on and on.

For a paltry $110.00 this woman's life is considered over.

Now, consider the massive amounts of money Republicans have made off of torture, prisons, war, pollution. And we gladly paid for their kids' clothes.

If you want this to stop, you have to lobby your legislators as hard as the prison contractors do. You have to tell them that you do not feel safer knowing that a desperate woman trying to get some clothes for her kids 27 years ago can't get a decent job today.

Mistakes are made by all of us, but the poor pay so dearly for theirs.

[provis99]

5. oh, for ....

Where does the silliness end? Zero tolerance, my ass. Exceptions are always made for conservatives and the powerful. Does the Chimp-in-Chief's drunk driving convictions now prohibit him from ever having a job in Texas? Lamebrained, hypocritical fools on the school board.

[madfloridian]

8. More...a teacher with 3 DUIs, some recently...still in classroom.

School board member judging the janitor is no angel either.

This case is making me so angry. I know so many skeletons in so many closets here....and this is just plain outright stupidity and hypocrisy.
So forgive me while I gag about all the good white Christian men here who get away with most everything every day of their lives. But zero tolerance for others. They started using that term "zero tolerance" here a couple of decades ago, and it has run its course. Time for some common sense.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=1160293&mesg_id=1160293