1w ago

Biden Commutes Sentence of Judge Who Took Kickbacks for Sending Kids to For-Profit Juvenile Detention

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Honestly not that big a deal.
Dude was sentenced in September of 2011 to 17.5 years. He'd have been released in February of 2028, so about 4 and quarter years from now. He's already served about 75% of his sentence. He's spent the last 4 years on house arrest.
Everyone involved in this scheme went to jail and had to pay restitution, and this guy's off the bench, retired, and thus incapable of re-offending in the same way.
This seems like a textbook case of the President's commutation powers, and now the state won't have to spend extra money on him.
Biden commuted just shy of 1500 sentences and the media latched onto this case because it's sensational. If this is the worst of the bunch then it was a good move.
Our incarceration goals should be to reintegrate people into society not just to put unsavory people in time out.
- Honestly not that big a deal.
  I bet it was to the kids he unjustly imprisoned and their families.
  Our incarceration goals should be to reintegrate people into society not just to put unsavory people in time out.
  Funny how that goal is only met for rich connected scumbags.
  
  I bet it was to the kids he unjustly imprisoned and their families.
  Would 4 more years of house arrest resolve that?
  Funny how that goal is only meet for rich connected scumbags.
  Yep, that's a systemic problem. The solution to that is not to regress to a worse outcome for all cases but to advocate for a better outcome for all cases.
  
  Yep, that’s a systemic problem. The solution to that is not to regress to a worse outcome for all cases but to advocate for a better outcome for all cases.
  But stop as soon as the rich fuckwits get theirs, like always.
  
  Obviously not. Why would I stop advocating for prison reform when the work isn't done? What did I say that gave the impression I was fine ignoring something I explicitly said was a systemic problem that required advocacy for all cases?
  
  Any effort to reform the system that starts with rich assholes will end with rich assholes.
  And let's not pretend this is an effort to reform the system.
  
  I bet it was to the kids he unjustly imprisoned and their families.
  Would 4 more years of house arrest resolve that?
  Would this judge be likely to rule "yes"?
- I think the reason there is pushback is because it's clear the justice system does a lot of protecting its own when the opposite should be the norm.
  If you're a judge and you harm the public for personal benefit, you have harmed far more than a normal citizen is able to extend their harm. Further, you were put in a position to uphold the public trust and the law and you broke both.
  In such a case, the punishment should unfortunately be much more extreme and the task re-integration into society should be much more rigorous, but because he was a judge they're like "skip all that, just pardon him." I think this guy needs a lot more re-integration than your standard violent offender because your standard violent offender wasn't a thoughtful calculating asshole. Violence is often committed without thought and with emotion. What this judge did was premeditated, thought out, executed, and flat out didn't care about the consequences to the individuals he harmed. He is, in many eyes, a much bigger danger to society because of how smart and calculating he is, and how he knows how to twist the law to his own favor. His knowledge of the law may literally give him a leg up in defending himself in court and in the eyes of the public. All this should be being considered before freeing him back to inflict more pain on society, as such men are wont to do, like Steve Bannon.
  People are tired of seeing two different justice systems applied unevenly and then being told to swallow it and that it's not a big deal. Especially when white collar criminals regularly re-enter society to re-offend and take years to be brought to justice... again.
  
  He wasn't pardoned.
  I'm also sick of the 2 tier justice system. That doesn't mean I want all criminal rich fucks to suffer. It means I want all criminals to be equipped with the skills and support structures to be reintroduced.
  
  Nobody needs or wants that old shitty fuck to be reintroduced. Let him die in prison or on house arrest.

51 comments