Charging each image separately does not violate Double Jeopardy
On Friday, in Florida’s Fifth District Court of Appeals, ruled that charging a criminal defendant with separate counts for each image did not violate the constitutional prohibition of being “twice put in jeopardy” for “the same offense.”
In Taylor v. State the defendant was charged with over fifty different counts for over 50 different images. Each count identifying a separate image. He was sentenced to just under 20 years in prison. He appealed, arguing the multiple counts for the same act (possession of CP) constituted double jeopardy. The appellate court, however, ruled that because each count identified a separate image, it did not constitute double jeopardy.
Since most people arrested for possession of CP possess multiple images, it is generally characteristic of the offense, rather than unusual. The result is that the prosecution, if they chose to, can really nail you for offense.
We need to be doing more to educate others to “think before they click”. Share the PSA below:
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How can you even BELIEVE in a country and it’s bullshit “freedom” propaganda when a human being can be sentenced to nearly 20 YEARS for having IMAGES that are inappropriate? Why am I even surprised? A guy in Texas got sentenced to 100 years for the same thing!!
This is borderline Nazi Germany, potentially worse due to all of the people the Military Complex has MURDERED for made up reasons. The Land of the Free?? You have to be blind, deaf and dumb to still believe that lie. This country hasn’t been following the principles that it was founded on at least for the last several decades.
The only JUSTICE I see here is that the Judges/lawmakers should be sentenced to Prison for taking away someone’s life based on Stupidity.
If there wasn’t so much “shame” surrounding these convictions you better believe people would be out on the streets rioting.
Just under 20 years in prison for 50 images? It’s time that public service announcements are hammered home to everyone in this country letting them know of the stringent consequences and how it can ruin their lives and the lives of their families and friends. I truly think many are in the dark. If we can put warnings everywhere about cigarette smoking, I would think warnings could also be vastly distributed about this type of crime instead of just locking everyone up who makes the mistake of clicking on such images. I get bombarded with pop ups on my computer all the time. Why not advertise like that? Kids should be informed in school of the consequences too. Where are the billboards and TV spots on this? Not enough is being done in my opinion to warn of the dangers. Some child abusers, and other dangerous criminals get less than 20 years. I don’t feel the crime fits the punishment of that many years in prison for non contact crime, but if that’s how it’s prosecuted then law enforcement needs to do an all out information campaign about it.
My wife and I recently went to see a movie at the theater and there was actually a short clip about child porn and the consequences of downloading it. Was actually really good.