Sunday Morning Hot Tea - No. 1
In this edition:
Temporary Intro Section which makes this letter longer than it would normally be
Topic of the Week – Starting New Things
Legal Question – Back-to-Back Life Sentences
WHAT IS HAPPENING?
Why are you getting this letter? Well, at some point you gave me your email address. Probably a while ago. I intended to get my newsletter out far sooner but couldn’t figure out MailChimp. By “couldn’t figure out” I mean “refused to watch several short explanatory videos on Youtube.” Nevertheless, now we’re here. We’re together. Let’s have a nice Sunday!
Pretty sure you know what this is about/why it’s called what it’s called, but just in case, let me lay it out for you. Every week, I’ll write you a letter with two parts – first, some paragraphs on a topic that I choose, then an answer to a fun legal question that you submit. That’s it. Future letters won’t have this dumb introduction, and as such, they won’t be so long.
It’s called Sunday Morning Hot Tea because that was my weekly ritual until this cursed plague ripped it away. I’d go to my favorite breakfast place, sit at the bar, have my hot tea, and reflect on the week. Sometimes I’d meet with friends. Other times I’d chat with the bartender (I MISS YOU, RYAN!) I’d order the exact same breakfast, and the exact same drink - Earl Grey with steamed almond milk and ONE stevia. They turned the TV on ESPN for me so I could watch whatever random sports were on. It was my dream come true.
One time, Paris came along, and I told him, “I could die right now, and I would be happy. I hope if I did die, I would come back right here.” A truly chilling thing to hear over breakfast, but welcome to life with me!
TOPIC THIS WEEK: Starting New Stuff
I write stuff all the time and put it all over the place. Blogs, Facebook, Twitter, Medium, and notes for the podcast. Plus my Morning Pages which no one even reads. The other day, I asked myself, Why do I write? Who is this for? Why do we do any creative endeavor? Because we feel compelled to. Plus, at least for me, I like making people laugh. I also like teaching. This snappy little newsletter is another fun way to do both.
Initially, when I thought about doing this, I got scared. I’ve started things and asked people to follow them before. There’s no dearth of digital ways for us to ask for support – follow me on here, subscribe here, like this. When you’re a creator trying to get your work in front of people, it can feel like constant favor-asking. Please check it out, we beg our family and friends.
One of my biggest fears is being a burden on people, so asking for something, even something as simple as subscribing to a newsletter, is scary. But then I got to thinking about the newsletters, podcasts, Twitter feeds, and YouTube channels that I subscribe to. When they publish new stuff, I get excited. And even if I don’t want to read/watch it, I just keep scrolling.
Starting something new is always scary because articulating our wants and desires, especially those held deep and secret-y within us, can feel almost like getting naked in the frozen food aisle at Target. Your bits are out. It's cold. People around you are gawking. The lights follow you as you move. There is ice cream and frozen pizza. The manager asks you to leave.
To combat that, we try to stop ourselves, to warn ourselves of the myriad reasons why we are wrong. Self-policing is a crushing force on our creativity. I’m not just talking about writing either. When we set our sights on anything we want to do, our first inclination is to say it sounds silly. It’s too late for me, you tell yourself. Someone has already done that better than me. Who am I to want that? Expressing our desires makes us vulnerable, and in an act of self-preservation, we shit on our own ideas before someone else can.
This is a habit I am trying hard to break. I challenge you to do the same. Remember two things: (1) It’s never too late to do anything. Timelines are a way for THE MAN (aka society aka capitalism) to control us and keep us complacent. (2) Everything has already been done before. Literally everything. Probably by The Simpsons. But if not them, then someone else. The endless cycle of comparison is crippling and can get out of control if we don’t put a tight leash on it.
Pursuing what we truly want also requires an audacity from ourselves in taking that first step. You imagine faceless critics saying, Who is she to start a business? Who is he to take up dancing? Who are they to quit this job and apply for a new one? Apply for school? Write a screenplay?
But those voices? They’re all dicks. Do your best to ignore them. Make the best thing you can, that only you can make. Who am I to start a newsletter? asked the imaginary judgmental voices in my head when I got going on this. Great question! I am nobody, I guess, but also somebody who has something to say. And somebody who likes thinking about legal questions and talking about Forensic Files.
Speaking of which…
QUESTIONS FROM YOU
This question comes from Jackie B. via my Instagram DMs.
“Hi Heather! I was watching Forensic Files, and I thought of a random question. What’s the difference between one life sentence versus two or three? If you’re already serving a life sentence, does it make a big difference if you serve more than one? I know you are super busy, but I am fascinated by this stuff and want to learn more.”
Excellent question, Jackie. First of all, the Forensic Files is a sweet show. One of my vacation go-to shows. Pop that on, order some room service, never leave the bed. Perfect vacation.
I don’t have any details on the underlying crimes in this case, but there are a few reasons why a defendant would be sentenced to multiple or “back-to-back” life sentences. In the transactional law world, we would refer to something like back-to-back life sentencing as “belt and suspenders.” You use both so if one fails, your ass doesn’t show.
Back-to-back life sentences are belt and suspenders for people who commit multiple murders or other heinous crimes like terrorism. If someone is sentenced to a single term of life in prison with the possibility of parole, the person may be eligible to be released from prison after just 25 years.
On the other hand, if they are sentenced to multiple, consecutive life sentences, that won’t happen. That way, when they are paroled for their initial life sentence after 25 years, they won’t be automatically released. Instead, they would begin serving their next life sentence. Then, after serving 25 years of that second life sentence, only then would they be eligible for parole, having served a combined total of 50 years.
Additionally, convictions and sentences are not final until they’re final. By “final,” I mean appealed to the highest possible court and affirmed at all levels. At sentencing, it is impossible to know whether a conviction will be successfully appealed or if it will be affirmed. So back-to-back life sentences prevent possible early release based on a conviction/sentence being thrown out by a higher court.
Let’s say someone is convicted of crimes A, B, and C, and they are sentenced to 3 consecutive life sentences, one for each crime. At first glance, that may seem duplicative. But imagine things played out like this:
Crime A: Defendant serves this sentence and becomes eligible for parole after 25 years.
Crime B: Defendant successfully appeals this conviction, has the conviction overturned, and has the sentence vacated.
Crime C: Defendant still has to serve a life sentence for this crime.
If not for the life sentence on Crime C, then the defendant could, in theory, be released after just 25 years. On the other hand, this is also why a defense attorney would ask for the sentences to be served concurrently, or at the same time, rather than consecutively, meaning one after the other.
Frequently in cases like this, we also see defendants sentenced for lesser offenses on top of the life sentence. For instance, you may hear someone received back-to-back life sentences, plus 20 years for a charge of being a felon in possession of a weapon. That is more of a belt, suspenders, and zip-tie kind of approach where a judge wants to be really sure that the offender serves a meaningful amount of time.
But why not just sentence them to life without parole? For some crimes and in some jurisdictions, this is not an available sentence. Remember, criminal law is jurisdiction specific. So, depending on what state a crime is committed in, and whether the crime is a violation of state or federal law, the sentencing rules and guidelines vary.
Side note: I have a lot to say about convictions, sentencing, and criminal justice reform, but those are all outside the scope of Jackie’s excellent question. If you want more, listen to literally any crime-related episode of Sinisterhood where we almost always discuss criminal justice reform. Try this one, this one, or this one. We also recently discussed the controversial topic of acquitted conduct sentencing in Episode 121, which you can listen to here.
I hope that answers the question. Thanks, Jackie!
Got a question? Submit it here. They can be legal what-if questions like the one above, or questions about the legality of actions in TV shows or movies you’ve seen. I never ever want to answer your personal legal questions, so don't send those. Love you, but I don’t do that.
Until next week, keep your tea hot and your glances cold. (Is that a good sign off? I’m trying them out.)
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