I thought a 150-year prison term for Bernie was disproportinately large

[Woodie]

Seems to me that the penalties for lying to investigators and covering up are (and should be) significantly higher than the penalties for doing the underlying crime.

 

I would agree that the end sentence was probably affected in some way by the "social pressure", but that doesn't change the fact that he deserved it.

[Dave McReynolds]

Here's another analogy for you: A man viciously attacks, maims and gravely injures two people -- the first, a drunken patron outside a nightclub; the second, a school-age child. Both victims sustain similar injuries, multiple contusions, broken bones and lasting brain damage that will affect them the rest of their lives.

 

By your reasoning, the assailant should receive equal sentences for both counts?

 

I wouldn't want to go too far down the road of defining sentences based on the status of the defendant. For example, rape is rape, whether the victim is a prostitute, the wife of the accused, someone who voluntarily got half undressed in the back seat of a car before changing her mind, or an 18-year old virgin. People might require more convincing that a rape occured in some cases than in other cases, but once convinced, rape is rape.

 

People receive longer sentences when they commit multiple crimes, which I believe is the case here, do something that enhances the penalty, such as use a gun in certain crimes, or if they have prior convictions which could enhance the penalty.

[SeanC]

I agree, Dave. But my interpretation of what John seems to be arguing (which may bear no resemblance to what he's actually arguing) is that sentences should be tied to the dollar amount of what was stolen, i.e., stealing $X should always result in a sentence of Y years (not 2Y or 10Y, etc.), regardless of other factors surrounding the case. And further, if other factors are taken into account during sentencing, it's tantamount to vigilante justice.

 

My previous comment was intended to question why, if we accept that the degree of injury sustained in a battery or attempted murder case does not limit the sentencing across the board (e.g., other factors surrounding the victim are taken into account such as age, mental capacity, etc.), why should this be avoided in so-called "financial crimes" (euphemistically so-called, I should add)?

 

Madoff perpetrated the largest fraud in the history of fraud, but the fact that he received the largest sentence in the history of fraud sentences means the vigilantes won? I'm not sure how that follows....

[John Ranalletta]

Madoff perpetrated the largest fraud in the history of fraud, but the fact that he received the largest sentence in the history of fraud sentences means the vigilantes won? I'm not sure how that follows....

Even wild west vigilantes used only one rope to hang a horse thief.