Burglary is an impulse some men can't tame. One of the keys to satisfying the urge and while maintaining a reasonable degree of freedom is to hit places that might result in a softer penalty if the cops show up.
Dwight Laughlin spent 17 years in prison after he was caught burglarizing a post office in Neosho, Missouri. When police arrived, they found Laughlin, various tools of the trade (crowbar, pipe wrench) and an open safe. A repeat offender, he received a 40-year prison sentence.
Prosecutors in Newton County made the case against Laughlin. This was a bad idea. Post offices are U.S. government property. Laughlin was Uncle Sam's problem, not the state's.
Laughlin filed an appeal, raising the jurisdiction issue. It's taken awhile, but the Missouri Supreme Court has seen the merits in his argument. The court now says the state court lacked the authority to convict Laughlin and ordered his release.
Laughlin would have walked out of prison years ago if he had been prosecuted by a U.S. attorney and not the Hang 'Em High D.A.'s office in Joplin. Federal burglary charges cannot result in prison sentences longer than five years.
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