07-02-2019, 02:26 PM
The son of one of my cousins (second cousin?) can't stay out of jail. He has had a drug problem for many years. His father died when he was a young boy and he was raised by his crazy mother, but I believe he would have been trouble anyway. I have learned that sometimes the parents don't make a lot of difference. His older brother was also kind of crazy and died in a car wreck running from the police when he was in his early 20's.
He stole from his family for years but his criminal charges were just misdemeanors (DUI, Public Intoxication, simple possession). Then he finally stole some expensive farm equipment from his moms brother and went to prison for a few years. When he got out he claimed that he could not get a job because no one would give him a chance. My parents let him have a job cutting timber off their land (for half of the proceeds), but he ended up ripping them off also. They decided against pressing any charges because they knew he would not have any money they could get back, but when he went back to prison on a parole violation he claimed they were the reason.
Many times he was in court asking for a court appointed attorney, but I always told the judge I could not represent him. Even before he had a conflict with my parents I knew he was the kind of guy who would blame his lawyer if he ever got any jail time. Whenever the issue came up in court is was surprising how many other attorneys, police officers, and court clerk personnel would tell me that they also had a criminal in the family. And many times these "black sheep" would come from a good home and have siblings that were stable and successful. My boss for 15 years (the elected Public Defender) had two sons. One ended up being a lawyer and the other was a total drug addict.
Any of you have criminals in the family tree?
He stole from his family for years but his criminal charges were just misdemeanors (DUI, Public Intoxication, simple possession). Then he finally stole some expensive farm equipment from his moms brother and went to prison for a few years. When he got out he claimed that he could not get a job because no one would give him a chance. My parents let him have a job cutting timber off their land (for half of the proceeds), but he ended up ripping them off also. They decided against pressing any charges because they knew he would not have any money they could get back, but when he went back to prison on a parole violation he claimed they were the reason.
Many times he was in court asking for a court appointed attorney, but I always told the judge I could not represent him. Even before he had a conflict with my parents I knew he was the kind of guy who would blame his lawyer if he ever got any jail time. Whenever the issue came up in court is was surprising how many other attorneys, police officers, and court clerk personnel would tell me that they also had a criminal in the family. And many times these "black sheep" would come from a good home and have siblings that were stable and successful. My boss for 15 years (the elected Public Defender) had two sons. One ended up being a lawyer and the other was a total drug addict.
Any of you have criminals in the family tree?
