7 ms·

For those wondering, prosecutors asked for 50 years in prison, defense asked for 5 years. So this sentence is right down the middle. 50 years in prison would ha

For those wondering, prosecutors asked for 50 years in prison, defense asked for 5 years. So this sentence is right down the middle. 50 years in prison would have been way too long IMO.

JKCalhoun 3y ago
Well, 27.5 would be right down the middle. As others have suggested, likely he won't even serve the 25 though.
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
- winwang 3y ago
  If you use the made up averaging scheme of ((5^p+50^p)/2^p)^(1/p), 25 is the limit as p -> inf (i think). ...Because it just simplifies to 50/2 lol.
- loeg 3y ago
  > As others have suggested, likely he won't even serve the 25 though. Because instead he'll serve 21.25?
  - sgt 3y ago
    Maybe serve 15 then the rest with a foot tracker thingie at home?
    - mikeyouse 3y ago
      Not with a Federal sentence.
  - hn_throwaway_99 3y ago
    No, he can be released after 12.5 years due to time credits for good behavior. Time credits used to be capped at 15% of the sentence, but due to the relatively recent "First Step" Act it's now 50%.
- n2d4 3y ago
  You should use a geometric mean for this sort of stuff. The difference between a one- and two-year sentence is much bigger than 25 and 26. So that would be 16 years, though obviously, it's foolish to use "right down the middle" as a heuristic for something like this. (The more severe a crime, the more incentive the defense has to pretend like it didn't happen at all.)
  - orwin 3y ago
    I did not know about geometric mean (and i do have a math bachelor, granted it wasn't in statistics but still). Thank you, this is a great tool.
    - bluishgreen 3y ago
      One more to blow your mind. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harmonic_mean https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harmonic_mean
      - rovolo 3y ago
        I found it a lot easier to understand the harmonic and geometric averages when I learned about the "generalized f-mean". Many averages are arithmetic averages of a transformation of the value. "f" refers to the function which transforms your values. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quasi-arithmetic_mean https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quasi-arithmetic_mean - The geometric average is the arithmetic average of the logarithm. It places emphasis on the ratio between numbers, rather than the absolute difference. - The harmonic average is the arithmetic average of the multiplicative inverse. It averages values by a constant numerator rather than denominator. For example, the average fuel economy of multiple vehicles makes more sense per-distance, so miles/gallon should be rewritten as gallons/mile. - The (RMS) root-mean-square is the arithmetic average of the square. Electrical power is proportional to the square of the amperage or voltage, so AC current and voltage uses the RMS average to make the power calculations correct.
  - deleted 3y ago
    [deleted]
gwill 3y ago
the bullet points at the top of the article say they asked for 40-50 years and that his defense said 6.5 years.
bearjaws 3y ago
Stole 1% from the pension fund for Ontario's teachers. Stole unknown amounts of peoples retirement. Ruined many peoples lives. How is 50 years too long? The literal largest fraud case in history doesn't even have a life sentence... We are sending a clear message, grift and steal your way to the top and then get out just in time to retire with all your stolen goods. You know when he gets out he is gonna go unlock a dead wallet with 100BTC (or some other coin) in it and become an expat.
- segasaturn 3y ago
  25 years is a long, long time. He's going to spend the best years of his life in federal prison and come out the other side in a world that's moved on without him. 25 years ago the World Trade Center buildings were still standing. IMO, if we're thinking of sentencing someone to 50 years or life in prison, we should cut to the chase and execute them instead. It's faster and cheaper for the taxpayers, and arguably less cruel.
  - EasyMark 3y ago
    we don't execute for financial fraud and white collar crimes. I do think prisoners should be given an option for assisted suicide in cases where they get 50+ year sentences, however. Obviously there would be more complexities to that like wait times and mental evaluations.
  - Zaskoda 3y ago
    He'll serve for less than 15 years, which is a blink of an eye given the devastation he caused.
    - dragonwriter 3y ago
      Unless he dies, gets a pardon, commutation, or sentence reduction first, the minimum he can serve under existing law is ~21 years based on a 25 year sentence and maximum good conduct time.
      - 3y ago
CobrastanJorji 3y ago
I feel like going right down the middle between what the prosecution wants (50 years) and what the defense wants (put the king's robes and crown on him, then parade him on the king's horse in the city square and announce before him, 'So shall be done to the man whom the king wishes to honor!') is maybe not the right way to pick.

For those wondering, prosecutors asked for 50 years in prison, defense asked for 5 years. So this sentence is right down the middle. 50 years in prison would have been way too long IMO.

JKCalhoun 3y ago

Well, 27.5 would be right down the middle. As others have suggested, likely he won't even serve the 25 though.

deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
winwang 3y ago
If you use the made up averaging scheme of ((5^p+50^p)/2^p)^(1/p), 25 is the limit as p -> inf (i think). ...Because it just simplifies to 50/2 lol.
loeg 3y ago
> As others have suggested, likely he won't even serve the 25 though. Because instead he'll serve 21.25?
- sgt 3y ago
  Maybe serve 15 then the rest with a foot tracker thingie at home?
  - mikeyouse 3y ago
    Not with a Federal sentence.
- hn_throwaway_99 3y ago
  No, he can be released after 12.5 years due to time credits for good behavior. Time credits used to be capped at 15% of the sentence, but due to the relatively recent "First Step" Act it's now 50%.
n2d4 3y ago
You should use a geometric mean for this sort of stuff. The difference between a one- and two-year sentence is much bigger than 25 and 26. So that would be 16 years, though obviously, it's foolish to use "right down the middle" as a heuristic for something like this. (The more severe a crime, the more incentive the defense has to pretend like it didn't happen at all.)
- orwin 3y ago
  I did not know about geometric mean (and i do have a math bachelor, granted it wasn't in statistics but still). Thank you, this is a great tool.
  - bluishgreen 3y ago
    One more to blow your mind. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harmonic_mean https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harmonic_mean
    - rovolo 3y ago
      I found it a lot easier to understand the harmonic and geometric averages when I learned about the "generalized f-mean". Many averages are arithmetic averages of a transformation of the value. "f" refers to the function which transforms your values. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quasi-arithmetic_mean https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quasi-arithmetic_mean - The geometric average is the arithmetic average of the logarithm. It places emphasis on the ratio between numbers, rather than the absolute difference. - The harmonic average is the arithmetic average of the multiplicative inverse. It averages values by a constant numerator rather than denominator. For example, the average fuel economy of multiple vehicles makes more sense per-distance, so miles/gallon should be rewritten as gallons/mile. - The (RMS) root-mean-square is the arithmetic average of the square. Electrical power is proportional to the square of the amperage or voltage, so AC current and voltage uses the RMS average to make the power calculations correct.
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]

gwill 3y ago

the bullet points at the top of the article say they asked for 40-50 years and that his defense said 6.5 years.

bearjaws 3y ago

Stole 1% from the pension fund for Ontario's teachers. Stole unknown amounts of peoples retirement. Ruined many peoples lives. How is 50 years too long? The literal largest fraud case in history doesn't even have a life sentence... We are sending a clear message, grift and steal your way to the top and then get out just in time to retire with all your stolen goods. You know when he gets out he is gonna go unlock a dead wallet with 100BTC (or some other coin) in it and become an expat.

segasaturn 3y ago
25 years is a long, long time. He's going to spend the best years of his life in federal prison and come out the other side in a world that's moved on without him. 25 years ago the World Trade Center buildings were still standing. IMO, if we're thinking of sentencing someone to 50 years or life in prison, we should cut to the chase and execute them instead. It's faster and cheaper for the taxpayers, and arguably less cruel.
- EasyMark 3y ago
  we don't execute for financial fraud and white collar crimes. I do think prisoners should be given an option for assisted suicide in cases where they get 50+ year sentences, however. Obviously there would be more complexities to that like wait times and mental evaluations.
- Zaskoda 3y ago
  He'll serve for less than 15 years, which is a blink of an eye given the devastation he caused.
  - dragonwriter 3y ago
    Unless he dies, gets a pardon, commutation, or sentence reduction first, the minimum he can serve under existing law is ~21 years based on a 25 year sentence and maximum good conduct time.
    - 3y ago

CobrastanJorji 3y ago

I feel like going right down the middle between what the prosecution wants (50 years) and what the defense wants (put the king's robes and crown on him, then parade him on the king's horse in the city square and announce before him, 'So shall be done to the man whom the king wishes to honor!') is maybe not the right way to pick.