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High-Tech Burglars May Get Longer Sentences In Louisiana
Hugh Pickens writes "Burglars and terrorists should be careful not to use Google Maps if they plan on committing crimes in the state of Louisiana. Nola reports that a bill approved 89-0 by the Louisiana House will require that judges impose an additional minimum sentence of at least 10 years on terrorist acts if the crime is committed with the aid of an Internet-generated 'virtual map.' The bill, already approved by the Louisiana Senate, defines a 'virtual street-level map' as one that is available on the Internet and can generate the location or picture of a home or building by entering the address of the structure or an individual's name on a website. If the map is used in the commission of a crime like burglary, the bill calls for the addition of at least one year in jail (PDF) to be added to the burglary sentence. The House measure is now being sent back to the Senate for approval of clarifying amendments made by a House committee."
I'm reminded of a Cypherpunks list discussion on this, except that criminals would get a charge of using/possessing cryptography while committing a crime.
Will this deter crime via newer methods? Doubt it.
Who actually profits from this: Same old people, defense lawyers, the private prison industry with a huge lobby behind it and the fact that anyone who stands in their way gets painted as soft on crime.