Crime and Punishment Weekly Polls

Michaele and Tareq Salahi are under investigation for allegedly crashing a White House state dinner for the visiting Indian prime minister. The couple insists they were invited. Spokepersons for the White House say they were not.

The couple did get into the White House and shake hands with the president, without being on the guest list.

Poll: If the investigation determines the Salahis were not invited, should they be charged with a crime?

1) Yes
2) No
3) Undecided

The holiday season is a time when people are easily distracted and thieves are paying complete attention, just waiting for the right opportunity to steal. But there are good safety practices everyone can follow to lesson that opportunity.

Poll: Which of the following precautions do you take most often during the busy holiday season?

1) Keep your purse close to your body.
2) Use a compact fanny pack.
3) Carry only the credit cards you intend to use.
4) Avoid carrying and showing large amounts of cash.
5) Keep packages in the car locked in the trunk.
6) Use ATMs cautiously and only in high traffic areas.
7) Keep car keys in hand when leaving work, stores or malls.
8) All of the above.
9) None of the above.

Unable to reach a unanimous verdict, the New York jury deciding the fate of John "Junior" Gotti, accused of racketeering, has been sent back to the jury room. This is the fourth trial for Gotti, the previous three all ending in hung juries.

John "Junior" Gotti claims he left the mob over 10 years ago and is innocent of all charges.

Poll: Is John "Junior" Gotti out of the mob?

1) Yes
2) No
3) Undecided

See Also: Mafia Mugshot Gallery

This week D.C. Sniper Muhammad was executed, however his teenage accomplice, Lee Boyd Malvo, was also convicted for murder in Virginia and Maryland. Because he was a juvenile at the time of the shootings, he was not eligible for the death penalty and instead received a life sentence.

Now the U.S. Supreme Court is considering whether or not life sentences for juveniles are cruel and unusual punishments.

Poll: Do you think life sentences for juveniles should be unconstitutional?

1) Yes - Rehabilitate them and release them.
2) No - Do the crime, do the time.
3) Undecided - Depends on their age.

A Gallop survey reported in October 2009 shows that the percentage of Americans who feel the gun laws should be stricter is at a new low of 44 percent down by 5 points compared to last year. What is your opinion?

Poll: Should the current gun laws be stricter?

1) Yes
2) No
3) Undecided

See Also: Record-Low Support for Stricter Gun Laws

Billy Joe Johnson is a white supremacist gangster who was convicted to 45 years in prison for murdering a man, but then later confessed to two more murders and asked for the death penalty. Was Johnson seeking redemption for his crimes? Apparently not, but rather to do his time on death row which he believes will offer him amenities he is currently without.

Also, as his attorney says, Johnson figures by the time the appeal process runs out he'll be 65 or older and will not want to live anyway.

Poll: Does the appeals process for death row inmates take too long?

1) Yes
2) No
3) Undecided

A Virginia man, Eric Williamson, was arrested and charged with indecent exposure for being nude in his home.

According to Williamson, he was in was in his home, packing and going back and forth to his kitchen at 5:30 a.m., in the nude. During that time a woman with her son cut through his lawn and spotted him in the house.

The woman, who was allegedly trespassing on his property, told police she thought Williamson purposely exposed himself to her and her son. Williamson said he never saw the woman and the entire incident took him by surprise.

Should the police drop the charges?

1) Yes. She was trespassing.
2) No. You shouldn't walk around nude if there is a chance you can be seen.
3) I don't know.

Five Florida teenage boys are accused of setting 15-year-old Michael Brewer on fire over a dispute about a video game and a bike. According to the Broward County Sheriff's Office, one 13-year-old and four 15-year-old boys allegedly doused Brewer with rubbing alcohol and then one boy flicked a lighter, setting him on fire.

Four of the accused have been charged with aggravated battery and the one teen that flicked the lighter is facing second-degree attempted murder charges.

Poll: Should the 15-year-old boys be tried as adults?

1) Yes
2) No
3) Undecided

The tragic death of Chicago high-school honors student Derrion Albert, 16, clearly demonstrates the violence which exists in and around schools across the nation.

Albert, who had never been involved in gang activity, was on his way to the bus stop after school when he was attacked by rival gangs made up of Chicago Fenger High School students.

Poll: Is there enough being done to make school zones safe for our children?

1) Yes. The authorities and school officials are doing their best.
2) No. If they were, this kind of incident wouldn't have happened.
3) Undecided

Oscar-winning movie director Roman Polanski is being held for extradition to the United States to face charges of having sex with a 13-year-old girl in 1977.

Poll: Should Roman Polanski be prosecuted?

1) Yes, he raped and sodomized a child.
2) No, the victim doesn't want to go through a possible trial.
3) Undecided