‘She has no reason to stop stealing because there are no significant consequences’
More female sentencing discount. From 76-year-old woman arrested for 73rd time (Associated Press, 11/18/08):
A New York City woman with a criminal record stretching back nearly four decades says she didn't steal the wallet that led to her 73rd arrest.
Police say 76-year-old Katherine Kelly was in a Manhattan supermarket last month when she snatched a wallet that officers had left in a shopping cart as bait and stuffed it in her bra.
Kelly used a cane to hobble into Supreme Court on Monday and pleaded not guilty to charges of grand larceny and possession of stolen property.
Well, prosecutors believe it was Kelly who showed up in court.
They say the woman has used at least 36 aliases since December 1971, when she was arrested as Charlotte Martinelli and was charged with forgery.
They say she's been convicted at least 16 times in her criminal career.
Ron, the reader who sent me the article, comments:
Here's an example of the consequences of gender bias in the legal system. She has no reason to stop stealing because there are no significant consequences for stealing.
A man who behaved similarly would have served extensive jail time and, probably, would long ago have been put away forever under a "habitual offender" statute.
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