4 ms·
Oh god no, definitely not. Monetary damages, yes. Prison sentences for a non-violent crime, definitely not.
by lachyg 15y ago
Oh god no, definitely not. Monetary damages, yes. Prison sentences for a non-violent crime, definitely not.
- fourspace 15y agoJust to play devil's advocate here, what you're saying is that folks like Bernie Madoff should not go to prison.
- phillmv 15y agoYou know what, taking all of that man's money away and putting him on probation for the rest of his life is probably just as effective as a deterrent. Being forced to work at Walmart to make bills pay, that sort of thing. Probation is actually pretty shitty, and in some cases totally effective at ruining your quality of life.
- droithomme 15y agoLots of old folks lost their pensions because of Madoff. People lost their homes. People lost their health insurance. People have died because of what he, and most everyone else on wall street has been up to. So yes theirs was a violent crime. Not that they will ever be punished. We know now that they own the government, bought with the money the stole. As far as this woman, she ran a video site that had user uploaded content that was streamed to other users. Same business model as youtube and google videos, and youtube has more unlicensed content than ninja video ever did yet isn't being investigated at all.
- schiffern 15y agoIf the monetary compensation actually proportional (i.e. not just a slap on the wrist), then I would be completely satisfied.
- Natsu 15y agoAnd to be fair, it would be better for him to spend his time working off his debt to his victims, rather than being a drain on society in prison. Structured appropriately, it could constitute adequate punishment--for example, being under "house arrest" rather than in prison.
- droithomme 15y agoI agree with you. Situations like this are perfect for indentured servitude (which is specifically permitted under the 14th Amendment as punishment for a crime). Madoff should spend the rest of his life scrubbing the toilets of the people he defrauded, starting at the smallest debt and working his way up, earning minimum wage doing whatever legal tasks they require of him until he has repaid each one in full. All his heirs and relatives need to be carefully audited as well to get back the money he has holed away throughout the globe.
- toyg 15y agoMadoff did irreparably harm the community, and with his connections he could probably do it again. Hence, prison.
- yardie 15y agoThere is a big difference between fraud and infringement. I don't see how they are similar at all.
- anamax 15y agoAs always, what if I don't pay? In Madoff's case, at least some of the money is off short and some is hidden.
- lachyg 15y agoThen you go to jail, simple.
- anamax 15y agoSo, you think that folks who commit fraud shouldn't go to jail, presumably because "Oh god no, definitely not. Monetary damages, yes. Prison sentences for a non-violent crime, definitely not." (from the parent), but disobeying a judge deserves jail. What's violent about disobeying a judge?
- lachyg 15y agoIt's not that it's violent, it's that you've been given an option that you've decided not to take, and then it escalates.
- anamax 15y agoYes, but selling drugs after you've been told not to is also an escalation. Are you willing to jail folks on all escalations, all judges orders, or what? In any event, we've established that the line isn't (just) violent.