For those who haven't been living in a cave- or for those that do that have their cave wired for internet or TV- we all know that last week beloved Bernie Madoff pleaded (or is it pled) guilty to crimes beyond most of our collective comprehension. For these crimes Madoff may face up to 150 years in prison. Now I don't want to downplay just how serious these crimes were- many peoples' lives were greatly affected. But what does it say about our justice system when this guy faces 150 years for causing financial woes, while drug dealers, rapists and murderers can get 5-25 with time off for good behavior? Hmmm...
Don't get me wrong, I'm not feeling sorry for the guy- it's not like it would be hard time. So he gets sent away- let's face it- to probably some white-collar criminal minimum security prison/ country club for the rest of his life. Not so bad. But it's the math that just doesn't add up for me. Murders get a shot at redeeming them themselves in 25 years, but Bernie needs to stay off the streets forever, a true danger to society!
A better punishment for this guy would be stripping him of all his money, and forcing the guy to work the french fry-vat at Mickie D's, or some other minimum wage gig. It's not like the guy's got the street-cred to be able to open another financial firm, nor does he probably have any friends who would give him a shot to work at theirs. He has done more damage to himself already than any amount of time in jail could do. I would like to see him need to scrounge to make a living, not be given a cushy life behind "bars."
I think I may have contradicted my argument somewhere in there, but so be it- I'm over it.
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