Pensioner who robbed bank to escape wife sentenced to house arrest

[pbmus]

A Kansas man who robbed a bank to get away from his wife has been sentenced to six months house arrest as his punishment due to his mental health. 

Lawrence John Ripple, 70, walked into the Bank of Labor just down the street from police headquarters in Kansas City with a note demanding money and that he had a gun.
He had written the note at home in front of his wife after telling her he would "rather be in jail than at home," the Kansas City Star reported. 

Read more
Man pleads guilty to robbing Kansas bank as pretext to escape wife

After the teller handed him nearly $3,000 in cash, Mr Ripple waited in the lobby for police to arrive. 

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/kansas-bank-robber-lawrence-john-ripple-sentenced-house-arrest-escape-wife-a7791586.html?cmpid=facebook-post

[sarah FAILIN]

1. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!

I see a suicide attempt on the horizon .

[malaise]

2. Cruel and unusual punishment

[Blue_true]

4. Or hurt his wife or someone else because that surely means jail. nt

[Warpy]

5. The rest of the story

The poor bastard had untreated depression following heart surgery. Friends and family testified he'd had a profound personality change after the surgery.

Don't be so damn quick to blame the wife.

[mopinko]

6. yeah, i dont find any of this funny.

i hope the wife stays safe. check him in for a while and get him some meds. dont punish the poor wife.

i know what it is like to live w people who have a mental illness, and focus it on you. it is not fun. or funny.

[pbmus]

10. Agreed, not funny...from a mental health standpoint,

the robber was hoping for a different outcome but got more of the same...

The judgment could or more likely should have been mental health care, maybe with added stint in psychiatric ward.

[sarah FAILIN]

7. Thank you for the rest of the story.

I felt bad for him before thinking she was just mean to him, but now I feel bad for the whole family.

[lunasun]

11. They just had a local program on the radio talking about how often this happens . Might be the

surgery or drugs used in and after surgery. They were talking about mental rehab of sorts, actually having a therapist who would work with this issue after surgery
if it can be detected it has been shown it can be positive to address and try to work through it but the scary part was many were not successful. Almost like a chance it can help if addressed and rehab given yet still not a sure thing

[Blue_true]

3. The guy should be in a mental institution instead of house arrest.

Like being at home with an ankle bracelet solves his problem. What he has learned is that he will have to hurt or kill his wife or someone else to go to jail.

[eleny]

8. Straight out of the Twilight Zone

[Lucky Luciano]

9. Judge imposed the maximum penalty on a first time offender - wow. nt

[Angleae]

12. He could have faced up to 37 months in prison.

[Lucky Luciano]

13. Tongue in cheek...

By maximum penalty, I meant house arrest...with his wife.