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Comment by _m8fo | Hacker News Reader

What exactly needs to happen for white collar criminals to be punished commensurate with their crime and consistent with the magnitude of "regular" criminals' punishment?

Holmes' punishment is effectively nil. Meanwhile:

[1] A man sells $40 with of cocaine and eventually 5.9g of weed lands him 20 years in prison.

[2] "Illegal" voting lands a woman 8 years and deportation.

[3] Possession of a few shotgun shells gets a man 15 years.

Meanwhile, defrauding investors hundreds of millions results in... nothing, really?

There's a word for this.

Unacceptable.

[1] http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/crime/bs-md-ci-twe...

[2] https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/10/us/illegal-voting-gets-te...

[3] http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/11/opinion/sunday/kristof-hel...

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> There's a word for this. Unacceptable.

Expressing emotion and anger can be healthy. But let's discuss this and find out why this is and can and what should be done?

* US justice system is designed for settlement. In US 97% of civil cases are settled or dismissed without a trial. 90% of federal criminal cases resolve without trial. 94% of state cases end via plea bargain.

* Normal criminals accept harder sentences when they plead guilty. Is it because it's easier to find them guilty or because they don't have access to better lawyers?

* Criminals can be put into prison only if they can be convicted. Many financial crimes are very hard to prosecute and end result is uncertain. Proving intent can be very hard. Concrete proof even harder. Getting something is better than getting nothing. When federal prosecutors go ahead, it's not uncommon that the result is acquittal.

sources and backround

The Difficulty of Proving Financial Crimes https://dealbook.nytimes.com/2010/12/13/the-difficulty-of-pr...

What prosecutors have to prove in order for you to be charged with a financial crime http://www.businessinsider.com/what-proof-for-financial-crim...

So what do we want? Do we want to relax the the burden of proof in financial crimes? More regulation and paper work that leads easier to prosecute trail (called bureaucracy that increases the cost of enterprise).

94% of state cases end via plea bargain.

That is scary

> Criminals can be put into prison only if they can be convicted.

Huh? A large percentage of those jailed in the USA have not been convicted of the crime for which they are charged. They are detained until trial because they cannot afford bail.

The SEC can't jail people, they only have civil authority. They can only refer criminal cases to the us attorneys and DOJ and offer assistance (and i assume they did)

Those people couldn't pay $500,000 and the shares worth in fines.

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