lordofthereef
Android Expert
The first guy was convicted by the merit of volumes of money he stole. Similarly, a bankrobber stealing tons more money than a mere $100 is going to receive a more sever punishment.
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A Tale of Two Sentences
- Thread starter Vihzel
- Start date
Bob Maxey
Android Expert
The first guy committed a big financial crime and the other person committed armed robbery. Different crimes entirely and they should not be compared.
Both should do time and in accordance with the respective sentences.
Life is tough, wear a cup.
Crude
Android Expert
Agree, 3b$ is more then 40 month though. Consider how many lost to this guy? Each individual he scammed should have netted him 40 month.
lordofthereef
Android Expert
Apparently the normal number for that kind of money is 6 years, based on the article. 40 months is a little over half that... and with "good behavior", less still.
Bob Maxey
Android Expert
So fight for tougher sentences. Simple, really.
lordofthereef
Android Expert
I think that's the point though. Perhaps some are happy with what this guy got just not comparatively tow hat the other guy got. Hence they are fighting for lesser sentences in specific cases.
Roze
Hiding behind a mystery
Sorry to bring the old horse back...
Well 15 years of being clothed, fed and sheltered...
I've read some cases where some homeless people commit crimes that would get them to prison.
Your perceived perception is different from the teller's though. The shoe guy did not indicate that he had a gun on him, you only thought because of his behaviour. It seems that the poor robber pretended to have a gun with his hand in his pocket and the outline of the hand might look like he has a gun in his pocket.
Lets say you get the law to change with a (very) lighter sentence. No gun (hand) gets 30 days in prison. Assume that you're a really good robber and you can steal $10,000 but you have a 50/50 chance of getting caught. If you don't get caught, you get $10,000...if you do, it's only a month (or whatever little amount of time) in prison. The benefit involved for the robbery out weights the risk now. So after 30 days, what's the reason of you NOT going to rob another bank? Even I might be tempted if I was in a dire situation (homeless).
So would it be better for the teller to perceived that the guy does not have a gun and acted upon that? I mean those are the only 2 scenarios available.
The other scenerio is that I perceived what the guy has in his pocket pointing towards me as he tries to rob me is NOT a gun and act upon that....but it turns out that it was a gun and I get shot. So stupid me to assume that what he had in his pocket wasn't a gun.
Well 15 years of being clothed, fed and sheltered...
I've read some cases where some homeless people commit crimes that would get them to prison.
Your perceived perception is different from the teller's though. The shoe guy did not indicate that he had a gun on him, you only thought because of his behaviour. It seems that the poor robber pretended to have a gun with his hand in his pocket and the outline of the hand might look like he has a gun in his pocket.
Lets say you get the law to change with a (very) lighter sentence. No gun (hand) gets 30 days in prison. Assume that you're a really good robber and you can steal $10,000 but you have a 50/50 chance of getting caught. If you don't get caught, you get $10,000...if you do, it's only a month (or whatever little amount of time) in prison. The benefit involved for the robbery out weights the risk now. So after 30 days, what's the reason of you NOT going to rob another bank? Even I might be tempted if I was in a dire situation (homeless).
So would it be better for the teller to perceived that the guy does not have a gun and acted upon that? I mean those are the only 2 scenarios available.
The other scenerio is that I perceived what the guy has in his pocket pointing towards me as he tries to rob me is NOT a gun and act upon that....but it turns out that it was a gun and I get shot. So stupid me to assume that what he had in his pocket wasn't a gun.
lordofthereef
Android Expert
I am pretty certain that if someone walks into a bank and states "this is a robbery", tellers are instructed to do what is demanded of them regardless of whether the robber has a cap gun or a bazooka. They aren't really told to assess the danger and then decide whether you tell the guy "no" or not.
Everybody talking about whether he had a gun or not.....what about first degree murder, 2nd degree murder, premeditated murder, manslaughter, vehicular homicide...
In all cases someone died. All wont get the same sentence based on certain circumstances. Of those instances I'm willing to bet 1 is considered worse than all of them. With one or 2 having a possibility of being executed.
Thinking out loud here:
When does self defense become murder, manslaughter or vice versa?
Does the perceived threat of a weapon carry the same weight as having an actual weapon? How come armed robbery is harsher than just beating someone up and robbing them? The person was robbed in both cases.
What if the person is beat to within in inch of their life and robbed? Does that carry greater weight than just beating someone up and robbing them?
I dont think he shoulda got 15 years. Unless like someone said he had prior brushes with the law. If thats the case at some point you have to get him to understand you cant keep doing this. Is 15 years the way to teach him if he had priors? Dont know...but you have to get him to understand somehow.
And I like the Madoff comparison. Why did Madoff get so much time? Why did this guy get so little for 3 billion?
In all cases someone died. All wont get the same sentence based on certain circumstances. Of those instances I'm willing to bet 1 is considered worse than all of them. With one or 2 having a possibility of being executed.
Thinking out loud here:
When does self defense become murder, manslaughter or vice versa?
Does the perceived threat of a weapon carry the same weight as having an actual weapon? How come armed robbery is harsher than just beating someone up and robbing them? The person was robbed in both cases.
What if the person is beat to within in inch of their life and robbed? Does that carry greater weight than just beating someone up and robbing them?
I dont think he shoulda got 15 years. Unless like someone said he had prior brushes with the law. If thats the case at some point you have to get him to understand you cant keep doing this. Is 15 years the way to teach him if he had priors? Dont know...but you have to get him to understand somehow.
And I like the Madoff comparison. Why did Madoff get so much time? Why did this guy get so little for 3 billion?
lordofthereef
Android Expert
That's a point I hadn't considered. Thanks for this. Interested in seeing if this discussion keeps moving, possibly even in a different direction.
OutofDate1980
Android Expert
It's because he's poor, no greater sin than that.
hood420
Android Enthusiast
This is just another example of why I have virtually no respect for our legal system in this country. We need punishments that are more in line with the actual harm caused by the crime committed, not on arbitrary sentencing guidelines.
Our system is in shambles and many sentences don't make sense, some far too lenient, others far too harsh, while some people are sent to prison for crimes that shouldn't be crimes at all. I don't even know where to begin with fixing things, but something has to be done before the system degrades further. If action isn't taken more and more people are going to disregard the laws, both the good and bad ones, and that will be bad for everyone.
Our system is in shambles and many sentences don't make sense, some far too lenient, others far too harsh, while some people are sent to prison for crimes that shouldn't be crimes at all. I don't even know where to begin with fixing things, but something has to be done before the system degrades further. If action isn't taken more and more people are going to disregard the laws, both the good and bad ones, and that will be bad for everyone.
lordofthereef
Android Expert
this!