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PROPORTIONALITY

By "Captain Liberty" and "Rumpole"

Accused and soon to be convicted swindler Bernie Madoff will probably plead guilty in Federal Court in the Southern District of New York tomorrow.  The title of the post links to the NY Times article. He is 70 years old and will receive what will in effect be a life in prison sentence. Query: A thirty year old man  steals 10 million dollars and get's a ten  year sentence. He's out when he's 38 or so. A seventy year old man steals 10 million dollars and gets a ten year sentence. Statistically speaking he is likely to die in prison. Should age be a factor in sentencing vis a vis the impact the length of the sentence is likely to have on the person's life span?  Should the likelihood that an older person is more likely to not live out their prison sentence be a factor in reducing their sentence?We're not talking about Madoff here...continue to full post

Full post as published by Justice Building Blog on March 11, 2009 (boomark / email).