11 ms·

Bernie Madoff would have loved to have you on his jury.

• _delirium 14y ago
  I don't much like him, and from my politics (generally left) I guess I'm supposed to be angry about the underprosecution of white-collar crime, but I don't see a great case for actually imprisoning him. I mostly take a view that imprisonment is a last resort to physically restrain people from harming society further, with alternatives being preferable, if at all possible. Is imprisonment really the last option available in Madoff's case? I think just banning him from investment-related jobs and imposing some kind of probationary oversight would be sufficient to keep him from reoffending. In addition, of course, to confiscating his wealth, plus perhaps taking some portion of his future earnings as restitution.
  • jbigelow76 14y ago
    >"I think just banning him from investment-related jobs and imposing some kind of probationary oversight would be sufficient to keep him from reoffending." Would the ban guarantee he could never re-offend, or would it just limit the scale of any potential future fraud? Given the level of his past fraud and allegations of possible fraud going back as far as the 70s imprisonment doesn't sound inappropriate to me.
  • pimentel 14y ago
    "confiscating his wealth" The problem is with the wealth he probably has hidden somewhere. If not in prison, he would still be living a very rich life. He wouldn't need any job.
• phaus 14y ago
  Madoff is the perfect example. Sure, on the surface his actions weren't violent, but I'd be surprised if someone didn't die as a result of his $60 billion theft. I'm not even talking about the suicides that probably occurred. Instead, imagine all of the people who lost everything and could no longer afford to take care of themselves properly.
  • Evbn 14y ago
    And the charities he stole from.