The Saliva Sentence

Scott Hardie | July 3, 2003
An Oklahoma man was arrested on suspicion of beating his wife, for which he probably would have been sentenced to a year in prison and a $3000 fine. Then he spit in the face of a police officer, which carries a life sentence because of the possibility of communicating diseases through saliva. Here's the story.

First of all: What the fuck kind of laws is Oklahoma writing where beating up your wife will get you a year, but spitting on a cop will get you life? And second of all, shame on MSNBC for adding a headline that diminishes the wife-beating, saying it was worth "just" a year.

Erik Bates | July 4, 2003
[hidden by request]

Scott Hardie | July 4, 2003
Good point; I see how it could be taken that way, and that may well be how it was intended. I read the tone to me more of the "America's dumbest crooks" variety, as in "Did you hear about that idiot that woulda had just a year sentence but he went and spit on that cop?"

Anthony Lewis | August 9, 2003
Well did you hear about the guy who was on trial for selling drugs within a certain distance from a school. He asked to go to the bathroom while awaiting the verdict. He skipped out and escaped...never hearing that he was found "not guilty".Now THIS guy was stupid.

Scott Hardie | August 10, 2003
Heh, true, I heard about that too. I heard they just gave up on trying to bring him back, since he doesn't legally have to be present for the verdict to be announced.