Not a popular opinion
So Bernie Madoff, the guy that was involved in a Ponzi scheme and lost thousands upon thousands of people's entire life savings ... estimates something like $171,000,000,000.00 he lost ... well he was sentenced today. To 150 years in prison.
This is not a popular opinion ... but I feel sorry for the guy.
I know he's a crook and he must be punished and some people lost EVERYTHING. One women, present at the sentencing today, said that she was now living on food stamps when she had had a plentiful retirement living that he absconded with.
But ... the guy is 71 years old. 150 years means he's going to die in prison. And I just don't like these "we must make an example of him" type things. This man is guilty of his crime, no one else's. It's not the courts job to set examples ... is it? Isn't that a legislature type of thing? We'll make these punishments this severe in an effort to deter crime? And the judge is supposed to follow guidelines on sentencing so they aren't cruel and unusual? Right?
But the judge is supposed to remain impartial. I just don't like this anger I feel emanating from this ruling. It just doesn't sit well. People are more upset about this than they are about people who kill people. My thought, and this is admittedly simplistic, is it's only money.
He stole from them. It was a violation of trust on a huge scale. Bigger than I can imagine. The article says that in some cases, he would send statements to clients saying their accounts were worth $65B. And it was just a fairy tale. There was no money, because he'd used their money to buy a yacht or something.
This man's life is over anyway. Even if he didn't go to jail, the civil suits, the money he owes, he'll never have a normal life. He'd be lucky to get on food stamps.
And I can't stomach writing about this ... but there is another rape incident that is related to Duke. I have much more contempt for this man, and I doubt he gets 150 years in prison.
Our priorities are so, so, so screwed up.
This is not a popular opinion ... but I feel sorry for the guy.
I know he's a crook and he must be punished and some people lost EVERYTHING. One women, present at the sentencing today, said that she was now living on food stamps when she had had a plentiful retirement living that he absconded with.
But ... the guy is 71 years old. 150 years means he's going to die in prison. And I just don't like these "we must make an example of him" type things. This man is guilty of his crime, no one else's. It's not the courts job to set examples ... is it? Isn't that a legislature type of thing? We'll make these punishments this severe in an effort to deter crime? And the judge is supposed to follow guidelines on sentencing so they aren't cruel and unusual? Right?
But the judge is supposed to remain impartial. I just don't like this anger I feel emanating from this ruling. It just doesn't sit well. People are more upset about this than they are about people who kill people. My thought, and this is admittedly simplistic, is it's only money.
He stole from them. It was a violation of trust on a huge scale. Bigger than I can imagine. The article says that in some cases, he would send statements to clients saying their accounts were worth $65B. And it was just a fairy tale. There was no money, because he'd used their money to buy a yacht or something.
This man's life is over anyway. Even if he didn't go to jail, the civil suits, the money he owes, he'll never have a normal life. He'd be lucky to get on food stamps.
And I can't stomach writing about this ... but there is another rape incident that is related to Duke. I have much more contempt for this man, and I doubt he gets 150 years in prison.
Our priorities are so, so, so screwed up.
Comments
As for that Duke case, I'm really skeptical. Those allegations just sound far-fetched to me. I have seen enough that I have a hard time trusting these charges that stem from cops trolling the internet to find child predators. If this all did happen, then sure, send his butt to prison forever, but I'm definitely holding off judgment until a trial.
I can't believe the gall of him, but I still just see it as only money and we're being harsher on him than we are on people who hurt people.
My husband says it's because Madoff hurt 1700 people and in murder / hurt people cases it's usually only one person involved.
That just makes me sad. To me - again this is the fairy tale world I'd like to live in - one person is worth more than 1700 people's money. And I really don't know if I'd say that if it were my entire life's savings he'd stolen from me.
As to the other thing ... supposedly they have video evidence. But I stress the supposedly. Either way it's disgusting. And I hope the courts / police do their due dilligence to make sure they are correct and if he is found guilty, he's punished accordingly.
And that the poor children involved are given counseling and love and hugs and are told that they have value.
It breaks my heart.
But, yeah, if they really can prove it, that guy can rot.
I would agree that a guy who ruined people's finances deserves prison, but, like you, I think punishing it to such an extreme is odd. If they had just sentenced him to 20 years, he still would never have seen freedom again, so did we really need the extra 130 years?