Wynona Ryder in court 10/28/2002 (1 Viewer)

[Craig S]

Sources close to the case said plea negotiations broke down over Cooley's insistence that Ryder plead guilty to a felony, and the "Girl, Interrupted" star's refusal to do so.

As these articles make clear, if Ms. Ryder had been treated like any other accused shoplifter in Beverly Hills, she would have been offered a misdemeanor plea, most likely would have taken it, and this whole thing would have disappeared months ago. This case was about the DA needing a big public victory over a celebrity, and blowing a lot of the public's money in the process. No one here is suggesting that Ryder should have received preferential treatment because she is a movie actress. However, she shouldn't have been singled out for that reason either, and that's exactly what happened.

 

[Danny Tse]

Yeah, smuggling raisins.

I was thinking of something else, but that's a good one

 

[Brian Perry]

No one here is suggesting that Ryder should have received preferential treatment because she is a movie actress. However, she shouldn't have been singled out for that reason either, and that's exactly what happened.

I don't know, perhaps celebrities should be made examples of. I'm not saying that they should be punished more than the law calls for, but prosecuting someone of a higher profile may achieve a deterrent effect for others who contemplate breaking the law.

Look at Enron. I think most of the "underlings" will be given moderate sentences in exchange for testifying against Fastow and Lay, who will (hopefully) be nailed to the fullest extent of the law. Is that really fair to Fastow? Probably not, but that's what you get when you're on top and act illegally.

 

[Jeff Ulmer]

You are asking for discriminatory justice. Would you approve then of perhaps giving African Americans stiffer sentences than whites, or charging Muslims with more serious offences than Christians for the same crime? If this is your idea of how the justice system should work, I am appalled.

I think Ryder has excellent grounds for a civil suit against the State Attorney's office for discrimination on the grounds of her celebrity. If she was not offered the same right to a lesser plea than anyone else, she could be in for a whopping victory. Just because you are famous doesn't mean you don't have the same right to a fair trial, and charges consistent with the norm.

 

[Patrick_S]

I don't know, perhaps celebrities should be made examples of.

Everyone should be treated the same under the law period.

 

[Henry Carmona]

IBTL

 

[Brian Perry]

Jeff,
I am not in any way suggesting that race, sex, religion, etc. should play a part in enforcement. Celebrity status is another matter. Is celebrity status a protected class? I think it would be very hard to prove discrimination. If you commit a crime, you have no right to expect leniency.
Patrick,
My point with Enron is that Kopper is benefitting from his deal, while Fastow is going to suffer. If life were really fair, all the people involved in the scandal would be charged and tried commensurately with their crimes. Instead, there was a decision made to give certain people a "break" (if 15 years in prison is a break) in exchange for increasing the probability of getting the maximum punishment inflicted on the top one or two guys of the company, presumably to set an example. (I admit it's not a great analogy, though.)

 

[Jeff Ulmer]

Sorry, but giving someone different treatment based on their social status is still discriminatory, as much as using race, religion, sex, or any other factor other than the severity of their crime. Making people "examples" does nothing but give grounds for having the verdict thrown out on the basis of bias.

As for the Enron strategy, there is a long precident of using lower level criminals to convict those higher up in an organisation. This is nothing unique.

 

[Tommy Ceez]

Multiple commentators on Fox News, MSNBC and the radio say she turned down a plea...did the defense make an offer...that can ask you know

BTW high profile cases get full prosecution becase they are high profile...if you dont prosecute everyone in the country will think its ok to shoplift...if you let a 18 yr old homeless girl from Wis. off the hook is she really going to change the national opinion on the probability of getting away with crime?

Do not underestimate the OJ backlash...Los Angeles HAS to prove to the world that it can convict a rich fameous criminal.

I have no problem with a suspended sentence and psychological treatment.

 

[Jeff Ulmer]

I still say that if a celebrity gets different treatment from the legal system than anyone else, that they have every right to sue for discrimination. Given the effect a criminal conviction could have on someone's career, I could see damages assessed in the hundreds of millions of dollars if this was indeed the case.

I am not advocating not prosecuting, just doing so in a manner consistent with normal practice, not to "set an example."

It is pretty evident that no amount of prosecuting will deter people from commiting crimes, otherwise we would have seen an end to crime decades ago.

 

[Patrick_S]

Multiple commentators on Fox News, MSNBC and the radio say she turned down a plea...

Tommy, the plea offer from the DA was for a felony. Since they wanted her to plead guilty to a felony what did she have to lose by going to trial?

 

[John Spencer]

If I were a member of a union, and I committed a crime, would it be ok for the DA to treat me differently than any other case, simply because he didn't like the way the labor unions were set up? I think not. And if he were to treat my case differently based upon said preconceived notions, you can bet your ass that whatever union of which I was a member would be right there with a lawsuit so fast it would leave skid marks in graphite.

 

[Josh Lowe]

I still say that if a celebrity gets different treatment from the legal system than anyone else,

You're right, they're treated better than anyone else. How many second chances has Robert Downey Jr. gotten? I won't even mention OJ..

 

[Brian Perry]

I think a quote from an editorial in Friday's Wall Street Journal sums it up:

"...Miss Ryder did something wrong and stupid, which anyone with a central nervous system would understand if they reflected dryly on the issue for even a nanosecond. There is also the paranoid assertion that she was harshly prosecuted because she is famous, and thus a challenge for the Los Angeles authorities who produced in the O.J. case a farcical picture of what happens to the guilty and famous in Hollywood. Perhaps there was an element of politics in this--what do you expect when you elect prosecutors?--but it is self-righteous fatuity for anyone famous to complain that the celebrity which buys their dinner should not affect them when they steal the silverware."

 

[Patrick Sun]

The sentencing is in:

3 years of probabtion
500 hours of community service to be performed in one year.
Full restitution of the $5500 of items shoplifted.
$10,000 fine.

 

[Ron-P]

Wow, using a normal 8 hour work day, that's 62.5 days of CS, damn.
Probabation, fines and the restitution is peanuts to her, but that 500 hours, painful.....ly funny
Peace Out~

 

[Michael St. Clair]

There is also the paranoid assertion that she was harshly prosecuted because she is famous

She was harshly prosecuted for being famous. Not to make an example (only hard time makes an example), but to get the DA on TV so he can get his 15 minutes and write a book!
MSNBC searched and found out that the other 5,000 shoplifters (a couple of which stole MORE valuable merchandise) were all offered misdemeanor plea bargains. Every single one.
Ms. Ryder was only offered a felony. Why? You know why.
The DA has committed a crime against the american people by abusing the legal system (incurring additional taxpayer expense) for his own personal gain. This guy is jackass of the year as far as I'm concerned.

 

[Alex-C]

500 hours of community service ? !
Damn ! At 40 hrs/week, that is over 12 weeks or 3 months of community service !. I wonder what constitutes Community service in Beverly Hills ?
Also interesting of note were the types of painkillers she had on her. I mean, I expected the requisite Prozac (I know its not a pk), xanax, maybe some vicodin, but I heard on the radio she had liquid morphine, percodan, and 5 other different pain killers. I mean, unless she is suffering from a major painful illness.....can someone explain why you would need 8 different types of moderate to heavy pain killers ?
ahh...here is a snippet:

According to court papers, police found eight prescription drugs in Ryder's possession when she was booked at Saks. Rundle wrote in court papers that Ryder had used two different names to get the drugs, which included sedatives like Valium and Diazepam and opiates such as Vicoden and Oxycodone.

 

[RichardMA]

"MSNBC searched and found out that the other 5,000 shoplifters (a couple of which stole MORE valuable merchandise) were all offered misdemeanor plea bargains. Every single one.
Ms. Ryder was only offered a felony. Why? You know why."

Oh boo hoo! For ONCE a starlet is handed a stiff sentence
and another star-struck America cries the blues for her.
Guess what? Where you in the same position, SHE wouldn't
give you a moment's thought.

 

[Michael St. Clair]

Oh boo hoo! For ONCE a starlet is handed a stiff sentence and another star-struck America cries the blues for her. Guess what? Where you in the same position, SHE wouldn't give you a moment's thought.

Hey, I couldn't possibly care less about Winona Ryder! I neither find her a great actress nor attractive. I'm just sickened to see an idiot like the DA abuse the system and make a circus of american justice, all for personal gain.

I guess as long as you get to see a little celebrity blood, it's OK if some political idiot gets away with a little crime of his own.

And stiff sentence my ass! To somebody who can work a couple of months out of the year and keep their millionaire status, this sentence is a slap on the wrist! A little community service won't cramp her lifestyle! A sentence like this would only be a burden on a typical american who has to work 250 days or more a year just to pay the bills!

Again, in a case like this, only hard time will 'make an example'.