Felony Friday: Man Facing Felony Charges for Stealing Cookies
I’ve not had the pleasure of eating a Pim’s raspberry cookie. But if the actions of an Altoona, PA man are any indication, then they must be pretty darn tasty.Police in Altoona, a town nestled in the mountains of Central Pennsylvania, say James Kaylor stuffed a box of Pim’s raspberry cookies down his pants at Martins on E. Chestnut Avenue and tried to leave without paying. When Kaylor checked out he paid for some items, but was confronted by an employee who noticed the cookies shoved in his trousers as he attempted to leave.Kaylor is facing such a serious charge for a petty crime because it is not his first retail theft arrest.WJAC TV reports:
In a criminal complaint, Kaylor admitted it was a stupid thing to do. This is Kaylor’s sixth previous retail theft arrests. According to police because of his record he is facing more serious charges.“If you have three convictions of retail theft, any offense there after becomes a felony in the future. In this particular case I would not want to go to jail over a small package of cookies and rack up more felony charges,” Pratt said.
Much of the disdain for the current criminal justice system is directed towards reforming drug laws, and rightly so. The War on Drugs has been a disaster from all angles. Lives have been ruined and families torn apart. An immeasurable amount of potential has been drained from society by robbing the victims of the drug war of productive years, where the impact they could have made on society is not quantifiable, but surely could have been significant.However, there are other "victims" of the criminal justice system who are also impacted by arcane laws that have nothing to do with drugs. The plight of James Kaylor is an excellent example of this issue.Did James Kaylor break the law multiple time by stealing or attempting to steal from retail outlets?Absolutely. Stealing is not acceptable in a civilized society and should be met with the appropriate punishment. An individual who steals a car should face more extensive penalties than an individual who steals a bag a potato chips.Throwing a man in jail and labeling him a felon for the petty crime of retail theft - even repeated retail theft - seems a bit excessive and unnecessary. While the circumstance of Kaylor's previous arrests were not stated in the previously linked article, if his previous crimes were of a comparable level of retail theft, then this charge is entirely out of line. If his previous run-ins with the law were more extreme, then the legal systems should be aligned to address them appropriately at the time, not at some point in the future when he slips up stealing a pack of cookies.Kaylor deserves to be punished and penalized for his unacceptable behavior, but a felony charge makes a mockery of the legal system. This case highlights a pattern of inconsistency and favoritism in our legal system that routinely pardons incredible theft by elitist banks and crony corporations, while bringing the long arm of the law crushing down upon the Average Joe.We live in a world where investment bank employees can fleece unknown fortunes from the public and walk away unpunished, even while the banks themselves pony up billions of dollars in fines thus confirming the criminal behavior. But a man can face a felony charge for stealing a box of cookies.If convicted, the felon label will hang over the head of Mr. Kaylor for the rest of his life, sapping opportunities and making sustainable success more difficult. It's a sad story, but unfortunately it's a common theme in today's America.Check out the full archive of Felony Friday!The Lions of Liberty are on Twitter, Facebook & Google+Check out our YouTube Channel!Receive access to ALL of our EXCLUSIVE bonus audio content – including “Conspiracy Corner”, “Degenerate Gamblers” and the “League of Liberty Podcast” by joining the Lions of Liberty Pride and supporting us on Patreon!Join our Facebook Group: The Lions of Liberty Forum
