Good Thinking...

A California court actually did the right thing recently by overturning a 26-years-to-life sentence for Keith Carmony.Carmony had been charged with failing to register as a sex offender. Calling the sentence a violation of the state and federal prohibitions against cruel and unusual punishment, the court ruled that the defendant's failure to register, was "completely harmless and no worse than a breach of an overtime parking ordinance."

"If the constitutional prohibition is to have a meaningful application," Blease wrote, "it must prohibit the imposition of a recidivist penalty based on an offense that is no more than a harmless technical violation of a regulatory law."

It's important to note that Carmony got the life bid for failing to update his records. He'd already registered but was required to review a form within five days of his birthday even though nothing in it had changed.