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Top comment: unfairly lenient Second-top comment: unfairly strict https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23989857 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23989857

by tome 6y ago

Top comment: unfairly lenient Second-top comment: unfairly strict https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23989857 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23989857 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23989843 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23989843

deleted 6y ago
[deleted]
ebg13 6y ago
> Second-top comment: unfairly strict I see that as a misread of the truth behind the second comment. The comment is in relation to "A startup that has its IP copied illegally would be lucky to not be ignored by the feds." The first comment references unfair leniency in relation to the person doing the crime. The second references unjust application only in favor of the powerful. Those are not the same dimensions and are not comparable.
jjoonathan 6y ago
Would we prefer that the mob immediately settle on one option, grab its pitchforks and torches, and get to work?
esoterica 6y ago
It's kinda funny how the both the criticisms of the punishment as being too strict and too lenient are being constructed from the same left-leaning perspective. 1. It's inequitable that white collar criminals face lower sentences than blue collar criminals despite the nominal values involved being way higher 2. It's inequitable that people are being threatened with years in prison for non-violent property crimes against mega corporations.
- ch4s3 6y ago
  I think there are a few different angles here for it being too strict. 1. There's are large elements of randomness and bias in our legal system which make it incredibly uncertain if someone will go to jail for a crime they commit, and sentences are given at times months to years after a crime is committed. This means long sentences provide only marginally more disincentive than a shorter sentence. 2. It is incredibly expensive to imprison people, so we should aim to keep people jailed for the smallest amount of time necessary to protect society and/or deter crime. 3. It is simply inhumane to put any non-violent person in jail for a quarter century. 4. Corporatism incentivizes this kind of crime and society should address the root of the problem rather than focus on people who respond to the perverse incentives of systems we live in.

by tome 6y ago

deleted 6y ago

[deleted]

ebg13 6y ago

> Second-top comment: unfairly strict I see that as a misread of the truth behind the second comment. The comment is in relation to "A startup that has its IP copied illegally would be lucky to not be ignored by the feds." The first comment references unfair leniency in relation to the person doing the crime. The second references unjust application only in favor of the powerful. Those are not the same dimensions and are not comparable.

jjoonathan 6y ago

Would we prefer that the mob immediately settle on one option, grab its pitchforks and torches, and get to work?

esoterica 6y ago

It's kinda funny how the both the criticisms of the punishment as being too strict and too lenient are being constructed from the same left-leaning perspective. 1. It's inequitable that white collar criminals face lower sentences than blue collar criminals despite the nominal values involved being way higher 2. It's inequitable that people are being threatened with years in prison for non-violent property crimes against mega corporations.

ch4s3 6y ago
I think there are a few different angles here for it being too strict. 1. There's are large elements of randomness and bias in our legal system which make it incredibly uncertain if someone will go to jail for a crime they commit, and sentences are given at times months to years after a crime is committed. This means long sentences provide only marginally more disincentive than a shorter sentence. 2. It is incredibly expensive to imprison people, so we should aim to keep people jailed for the smallest amount of time necessary to protect society and/or deter crime. 3. It is simply inhumane to put any non-violent person in jail for a quarter century. 4. Corporatism incentivizes this kind of crime and society should address the root of the problem rather than focus on people who respond to the perverse incentives of systems we live in.