Florida woman helps secure release of man who shot her in face as teen 25 years ago - Polidicks

[quote]A man who was sentenced to life in prison as a 13-year-old over 25 years ago is free thanks in part to the woman he shot. In 1991, Ian Manuel was sentenced to three concurrent life sentences in Florida. Although he was only 13 when he committed his crime, he was charged as an adult for shooting then 28-year-old Debbie Baigrie in the face. Manuel robbed Baigrie and her friend Danny Delrosal for change for a $20 bill as an initiation into a gang on the evening of July 27, 1990. He ended up shooting Baigrie through her jaw and out of her left cheek. After the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2010 that juveniles who committed crimes where no one was killed may not be handed a life sentence without possibility of parole, Manuel’s sentence was reduced to 65 years in prison. Baigrie was present for that 2011 hearing and urged the judge to show him favour. “He made a huge mistake but he’s not a bad person,” she said in an interview with People magazine in 2014. “I want him to have a life outside of prison.” On Monday, Manuel, now 39, was released from prison after a judge in Hillsborough County ruled he was eligible for early release. His first meal as a free man was pizza with Baigrie.[/quote] [url=http://globalnews.ca/news/3071270/florida-woman-helps-secure-release-of-man-who-shot-her-in-face-as-teen-25-years-ago/?sf42626686=1]Full Article[/url]

Very good of her. Though, IIRC there isn't much to help someone with education/getting a job right after prison so it'll be tough for him since he'd have left school at 14. But maybe I'm wrong on that part edit: also wow, she doesn't look like she'd been shot in the face at all.

How the fuck did he get life in prison in the first place? He was 13 and no one died. He should've gotten the help he needed instead.

[QUOTE=thelurker1234;51385508]Very good of her. Though, IIRC there isn't much to help someone with education/getting a job right after prison so it'll be tough for him since he'd have left school at 14. But maybe I'm wrong on that part edit: also wow, she doesn't look like she'd been shot in the face at all.[/QUOTE] Well, there are re-entry programs, and he's in one. Also yeah he left school at 14, but education is a big part of juvie. It shouldn't be too hard for him to get on his feet. also [quote]Manuel is now in a re-entry program in Alabama and grateful for Baigrie’s support; [b]both his parents and brother died while he was in prison and he only has Baigrie to call family.[/b][/quote] can't imagine how that must feel

[QUOTE=GoDong-DK;51385553]How the fuck did he get life in prison in the first place? He was 13 and no one died. He should've gotten the help he needed instead.[/QUOTE] US justice system

[QUOTE=GoDong-DK;51385553]How the fuck did he get life in prison in the first place? He was 13 and no one died. He should've gotten the help he needed instead.[/QUOTE] Read up on California's three-strikes law (when it was enforced) and see if you don't have an aneurysm. [QUOTE]California's Three Strikes sentencing law was originally enacted in 1994. The essence of the Three Strikes law was to require a defendant convicted of any new felony, having suffered one prior conviction of a serious felony to be sentenced to state prison for twice the term otherwise provided for the crime. If the defendant was convicted of any felony with two or more prior strikes, the law mandated a state prison term of at least 25 years to life.[/QUOTE] States pass misguided and harmful legislation all the time, and it takes upwards of a decade to recognize the damage it causes. It's often well-intentioned, and billed as being aimed at something noble like 'breaking up gangs' or 'keeping serial criminals off the streets,' but in most cases ends up resulting in the long-term imprisonment of a lot of otherwise rehabilitatable citizens.

[QUOTE=GoDong-DK;51385553]How the fuck did he get life in prison in the first place? He was 13 and no one died. He should've gotten the help he needed instead.[/QUOTE] [quote] In 1991, Ian Manuel was sentenced to three concurrent life sentences in Florida. [/quote] [quote] After the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2010 that juveniles who committed crimes where no one was killed may not be handed a life sentence without possibility of parole, Manuel’s sentence was reduced to 65 years in prison. [/quote] At least it was changed

[QUOTE]After the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2010 that juveniles who committed crimes where no one was killed may not be handed a life sentence without possibility of parole, Manuel’s sentence was reduced to 65 years in prison. Baigrie was present for that 2011 hearing and urged the judge to show him favour. [/QUOTE] I thought law isn't supposed to work backwards

[QUOTE=SirJon;51385755]I thought law isn't supposed to work backwards[/QUOTE] You can't change the law and go back and arrest someone or increase their sentence. But I'm pretty sure it's A-Okay to do it otherwise. That'd be strange if you made the death penalty illegal but for a decade or two kept executing people because they were already on the list.

[QUOTE=thelurker1234;51385772]You can't change the law and go back and arrest someone or increase their sentence. But I'm pretty sure it's A-Okay to do it otherwise. That'd be strange if you made the death penalty illegal but for a decade or two kept executing people because they were already on the list.[/QUOTE] It is fairly unfortunate for situations like giving the american telecom's retroactive immunity for violating everyone's privacy for a decade.

Shooting a woman in the face as a 13 year old kid is horrible sure. But putting that kid behind bars until the day he dies..? That's.. Maybe even more horrible. Wtf.

Hopefully he doesn't fuck this chance of freedom up.

He was willing to shoot someone in the head, that she lived was pure luck for her. At 13 though I don't think he was capable of understanding the full extent of what he was doing. That's why you can't vote at 13, or consent to sex, or drive, or...yet commit a crime and "Try him as an adult!".

[QUOTE=cecilbdemodded;51390059]He was willing to shoot someone in the head, that she lived was pure luck for her. At 13 though I don't think he was capable of understanding the full extent of what he was doing. That's why you can't vote at 13, or consent to sex, or drive, or...yet commit a crime and "Try him as an adult!".[/QUOTE] Guns kill things, its not rocket science.

[QUOTE=cecilbdemodded;51390059]He was willing to shoot someone in the head, that she lived was pure luck for her. At 13 though I don't think he was capable of understanding the full extent of what he was doing. That's why you can't vote at 13, or consent to sex, or drive, or...yet commit a crime and "Try him as an adult!".[/QUOTE] This. Honestly, there are circumstances where maybe sentences are justifiable, like the few cases of excessively violent/heinous crimes on the part of 16-17 year olds who are already close to adulthood but in cases like this it's not serving the public interest. I mean for fuck's sake, in many ways it could be argued that these kids are themselves victims of the gangs - it's a waste of money and opportunity to stick them in cells for X amount of years rather than giving them a chance to rehabilitate. This kid shouldn't have served ten years, let alone twenty-five.

[QUOTE=GordonZombie;51390083]This. Honestly, there are circumstances where maybe sentences are justifiable, like the few cases of excessively violent/heinous crimes on the part of 16-17 year olds who are already close to adulthood but in cases like this it's not serving the public interest. I mean for fuck's sake, in many ways it could be argued that these kids are themselves victims of the gangs - it's a waste of money and opportunity to stick them in cells for X amount of years rather than giving them a chance to rehabilitate. This kid shouldn't have served ten years, let alone twenty-five.[/QUOTE] They're absolutely victims, no doubt about that. Our justice system is just so inherently broken, to the point that privately owned prisons actually became a thing. And nobody cares.

imagine being told and having to accept you will grow up in prison and die in prison, then to get a call saying you're being forgiven. Damn what a rollercoaster

[QUOTE=thelurker1234;51385772]You can't change the law and go back and arrest someone or increase their sentence. But I'm pretty sure it's A-Okay to do it otherwise. That'd be strange if you made the death penalty illegal but for a decade or two kept executing people because they were already on the list.[/QUOTE] They upped the lenience on what's a considered a non-violent felony here recently, but they can't remove felon status from someone who got caught under the old rules.

It takes a lot of courage to not only know that person who shot you is free but to have such a close relationship with them. I know someone who is the victim of a shooting and she has nightmares about the guy all the time. Unfortunately she was not given the same experience to forgive as the man who did it was and still is just an evil individual. Mother fucker laughed at her in court and mocked her. She will never get the chance to forgive and because of that she will always have nightmares and anxiety. The case in the OP couldn't have ended better, to be friends with the man who could have killed you is probably the best healer you can get.

[QUOTE=GoDong-DK;51385553]How the fuck did he get life in prison in the first place? He was 13 and no one died. He should've gotten the help he needed instead.[/QUOTE] He shot someone in the head over a $20 bill to prove he was blooded, her living was pure chance.

[QUOTE=27X;51393688]He shot someone in the head over a $20 bill to prove he was blooded, her living was pure chance.[/QUOTE] He was 13 and got three life sentences. That's [I]fucking ridiculous.[/I] Shouldn't have been treated as an adult. That's 2 and a half years away from driving, 3 years away from the age of consent, 5 years away from being able to legally own a gun/vote/go to war/smoke/be legally considered an adult, and 8 years from being able to buy alcohol. He wasn't a fucking adult, he was on his first fucking year of being a [I]teen[/I].

[QUOTE=27X;51393688]He shot someone in the head over a $20 bill to prove he was blooded, her living was pure chance.[/QUOTE] Young people are horribly impressionable, especially by older peers. Chances are this kid(now man) grew up knowing only how to get by on the streets by doing bad shit and gaining rep. It's a systemic flaw that has some extremely deep roots both in our culture and in how we create or deny opportunities in these sort of neighborhoods. I'd definitely say he was strongly pressured/brainwashed into doing it.

[QUOTE=cecilbdemodded;51390059]He was willing to shoot someone in the head, that she lived was pure luck for her. At 13 though I don't think he was capable of understanding the full extent of what he was doing. That's why you can't vote at 13, or consent to sex, or drive, or...yet commit a crime and "Try him as an adult!".[/QUOTE] I think you might have had some sort of issues as a 13 year old because when I was 13 I knew full well that shooting someone in the face would kill them

Can't say i sympathize with the wannabe gang banger who shot a woman in the face, but the victim definitely has a heart of gold.