Yet my ex, on his first and only violation of parole, attempted to kill me. At the end of the day, a court order is just a piece of paper. He did receive more jail time because of the parole violation, but that wouldn't have saved me.

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Parole, ideally, is meant to facilitate the criminal's re-entry in society and further the goal of rehabilitating the criminal.

And sadly, it shouldn't just be a piece of paper. Where I work, many folks on parole have to submit to having tracking devices installed on their person. If they go to certain addresses, the police are basically notified and they're immediately (or fairly quickly) arrested. While not a panacea, it has been shown effective in curtailing repeat violent abusers.

Again, I'm sorry for what happened to you. But many, many people in the criminal justice system are trying to work to improve the system and keep what happened to you from happening again. Too often, it's slammed as being classist, racist, and ineffective. And while it is true in many ways, there has been some extensive progress in improving it. The tracking device, isn't perfect but it's been surprisingly effective (the PO's use it for drug cases and other contexts too).

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@Sister Toldja: Is that the case here? We had someone else say that he shouldn't go to jail because so many young black men were in jail. Never mind that Rihanna is a black woman.

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and these harsher sentences alone seem to accomplish nothing, in my experience, except making a person even more bitter, angry and negative. also most likely there are others in jail for the same reason so they have a common bond that does nothing to change their attitudes or behavior about why they're in prison in the first place.

our country is so lacking in effective processes for those who commit crimes... processes that can help those with learned or situational attitudes change for the better.

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i was hoping to read your take on this~~ and i agree with you that simply piling on heavier and heavier jail time achieves nothing productive, especially in situations such as this one.

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I'm also only familiar with the process for domestic assault convictions in Vermont. What I've noticed is that generally folks without a record who plead down to a misdemeanor level won't see jail time, and have a 6 month educational program to complete plus probation for a while. Often, however, these are felony level assaults that are plead down, and then I see the guys in my group. 6 months of group is not enough time to make any change, I consider it a success if someone appologizes without a cue for yelling at me or is honest about the abuse tactics he has used. I rarely see real changing beliefs/attitudes about women/violence/relationships.
Repeat offenders, or guys with a history of violent crime, will usually see jail time. In jail they usually have to complete Cognitive Self Change, which is a behavior therapy. Out of jail they usually get sent to a 3-year intensive domestic violence education program, which has a higher "success" rate (or lower recidivism).

Of course, we can't just send everyone to jail for a long time. Maybe if we legalize pot and make some room.... :)

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I'm always so shocked at this kind of thing that I can never formulate a reply.

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Ignoring his race and appearance---which I recognize as a major reason he received light probation instead of something more severe---I think we need to develop a better system of judging who to and who not to give the "second chance" of rehab and counseling. I mean, how do you tell? Or how can we make it a less dangerous option for victims?

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I'm also really glad and a bit surprised that he pled guilty. I know it was just to get the plea deal, but still, it is an admission of guilt.

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And @J.D.Regent: I completely, utterly agree with this reasoning. Also, when it comes to probation, there is going to be some serious restrictions that Brown will have to follow or else face jail time.

One thing people don't mention much is the issue of resources and the fact that this is taking place in California, a state where the prison system is literally over-capacity and releasing people on suspended sentences. I don't exactly know the degree to which it applies specifically here, but from a resources standpoint, this is why a lot of first time offenders are getting sentences that do not require prison time.

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I don't believe jail time is the best solution for someone like Chris Brown. I agree with the commenters above. For the first offense of a youthful offender, mandatory therapy, a half a decade of probation, 180 days of hard labor, and a fleony conviction is by no means a light sentence. It's actually a quite thughtful sentence.

And I only mention race because I don't believe we can have an honest dialogue regarding sentencing and jail time without it. People of color are often incarcerated as a means to make the problem dissapear from sight with no attempt to actually rehabilitate a life that could be made productive or any other attempt to identify the reasons and and/or try to fix the issues underlying people of color's frequent run-ins with the law. It's a teribe kneee-jerk reaction to think jail is the only way/best way to punish someone.

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I have to point out, respectfully, that being an attorney is an argument from authority, and tells me nothing about your views as a woman or your level of education as to Domestic Violence. I once was approached at a party by a Ph.D who taught, I believe economics, and informed that 'the Jews stayed home on 9/11' so I'm a bit skeptical of citing CVs. For that matter, my own brother informed me that I only had 'one tour in Iraq while I have two college degrees.' In accounting and political science---both nearly thirty years old.

Wife- and girl- friend beaters are extraordinarily privileged, self-pitying and manipulative. Brown already has in place millions of people who sympathized with him and tell him that Rihanna asked for it, often in extraordinarily sexist language. Many of them identify as POC.

Domestic violence offenders need to be taken seriously to give them the message that they will not be getting away with it. I'd urge you to look up the Duluth Project, which these type of abusers tend to despise because it pulls no punches and takes a hard line approach to their excuses and rationalizations.

I'm aware of the problems POC face with the law. HOwever, in this case, it appears that Brown is the one being backed up by his community, not Rihanna, as was the case in several other cases I've seen. The sexism in that kind of thing needs to be addressed. In another post about this subject, another poster brought up the fact that young black men are disproportionately sentenced to jail time, as if Brown should be given a slap on the wrist to right previous wrongs. The solution is to sentence people fairly, not let people off to redress past and current wrongs. The injustice in DV cases almost always goes to the woman. She is not taken seriously, or blamed, or subjected to intense criticism and harassment for getting such a charming guy in trouble.

This is not a knee-jerk response. I have done extensive reading on the subject, and Brown's light sentence is not going to teach him much. All abusers start off like this. His previous statements have not demonstrated any remorse or understanding of what he's done. I've posted links elsewhere in this topic and others. This case needs to be addressed as being an issue of justice to women. Women come first with me, and when the case involves man versus women, that's especially true.

@Trulymadlyme: That only happens if his parole officer takes it seriously. Statistically, male law enforcement personnel have a higher than civilian tendency to be domestic abusers themselves, and they are often protected by other officers, who don't want to see another officer's career ruined. Alas, a Blog has several excellent articles up about this problem.

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You started off commenting to me by declaring "race is not the issue," when I never said it was. I've mainitained that it is part of the discourse, and a part of the discourse that priviliged people tend to ignore.

More than that, your sweeping generalizations regarding "these guys" and "all abusers start off this way" strike a warning chord with me. As does, "In another post about this subject, another poster brought up the fact that young black men are disproportionately sentenced to jail time, as if Brown should be given a slap on the wrist to right previous wrongs."

Not having read that comment, I can't speak for what the poster intended. But my concern is that jail is too often the go-to punishment in cases where it is not warranted and the person on the receiving end tends to be a young person of color. This has nothing to do with righting past wrongs and everything to do with breaking cycles and finding ways to truly rehabilitate.

You've also over-generalized by concluding that "POC" are backing up CB and advocating a light sentence/slap on the wrist. This is incorrect. As with any community, we are divided amongst age, socio-economic status, personal experience, education, etc.

And unless you missed the point of my earlier comment, I'm unsure why you'd be instructing me regarding the solution to unfair sentencing...I've already inidicated that I don't think this sentence is unfair- I think it is appropriate. The overriding theme of all my comments has been that the sentence can be appropriate/fair/tough without jail time. Though, you've failed to address them, my reasons are mentioned above.

I also find it hard to believe that you've done extensive reading on the subject of DV sentencing if you regard this as a light sentence, but I imagine that brings us full-circle since that was my initial point anyway.

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