The AP has reported that an 80-year-old woman with a criminal record stretching back to 1955 has been sentenced to three years in state prison for ransacking and stealing cash from a Southern California medical office. Doris Thompson thanked a judge Wednesday for not sending her to Los Angeles County jail, which she doesn't like, and said she deserved a longer sentence. She also told the judge, "God bless you."

State records show Thompson, who has used 27 aliases, has repeatedly been arrested during the past 55 years, mainly for petty theft and burglary. She's gone to jail several times.

She actually asked the judge for a longer sentence. You know the economy is bad when someone decides to ask the judge for a longer sentence. It is a tough economy. It is probably easier for some struggling Americans to receive 3 hot meals a day along with a bed and medical care while in jail versus having to find a way to provide these three basic life needs for themselves as a free person.