The guy in the story received the "maximum sentence" of 6 years just for carrying a knife? I think there is more to this story than stated in the article. That being said, vague laws can be abused by the state to criminalize anything or anyone the don't like.
They explain in the article. Because of his prior convictions, his charge was "bumped up" to the next level.
They also say in the article that police officers are told to look for prior convictions (presumably over the radio when they check identity) so that they can "bump up" the charge.
