Where Have All the Prosecutions Gone?

I guess those must have trickled down too...

http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/gl...ice/index.html

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Of all the topics on which I've focused, I've likely written most about America's two-tiered justice system -- the way in which political and financial elites now enjoy virtually full-scale legal immunity for even the most egregious lawbreaking, while ordinary Americans, especially the poor and racial and ethnic minorities, are subjected to exactly the opposite treatment: the world's largest prison state and most merciless justice system.

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It's been this way for a while. If you're rich enough you can get away with murder here. Remember OJ?

OJ was prosecuted, though.

The inept LAPD highlighted by an N-word spewing cop didn't really help either.

Wealthy, affluent people taking care of their own. No surprises here.

My favorite tidbit from this week - the N.Y. Times has an article on the statute reducing the absolutely absurd federal sentences imposed for crack convictions. By and large, this previously impacted African-American minorities, where crack use was more prominent. While Congress has amended the federal sentencing guidelines, the changes are not made expressly retroactive. Meaning that, even though Congress finally realized that this disparity in sentencing between regular cocaine and crack cocaine adversely affected a racial minority for no good reason, people will still be sentenced according to the old guidelines if they committed the offense before an arbitrary date. This leaves federal judges with their hands tied.

This Greenwald guy is a fucking hack. This "article" is just a bunch of baseless assertions of criminal conduct - which laws did these financiers break, and how?

I'm not saying that crimes weren't committed or that people shouldn't be held responsible. But this article is fucking trash.

What crimes do you think were committed?

I don't know. But I didn't write an article titled "Where Have all the Prosecutions Gone?"

What's your point?

No point, just curious. You assured us you weren't saying crimes weren't committed. Now you're waffling on that. That's ok with me.

There's no waffling.

I'd also like to know whether the rich/politically powerful are committing the same crimes that make the US prison population dwarf those of other countries.

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Originally Posted by vy65

There's no waffling.

I'd also like to know whether the rich/politically powerful are committing the same crimes that make the US prison population dwarf those of other countries.

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I'm sure a lot of them possess and use illegal drugs, but I'm not sure that's what we're talking about here.

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Originally Posted by vy65

There's no waffling.

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Then feel free to name the crimes and substantiate them, as you demand others do.

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Originally Posted by Winehole23

Then feel free to name the crimes and substantiate them, as you demand others do.

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Why? I didn't write the article.

Why are you obfuscating the issue anyway?

Did greenwald not provide links?

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Originally Posted by LnGrrrR

OJ was prosecuted, though.

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True.

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The inept LAPD highlighted by an N-word spewing cop didn't really help either.

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Has nothing to do with OJ murdering his family.

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Originally Posted by MannyIsGod

Did greenwald not provide links?

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lol sure did

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Originally Posted by One of Greenwald's Links

A group of 18 banks—which includes Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Morgan Stanley, J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., Bank of America Corp. and Citigroup Inc.—understated the debt levels used to fund securities trades by lowering them an average of 42% at the end of each of the past five quarterly periods, the data show. The banks, which publicly release debt data each quarter, then boosted the debt levels in the middle of successive quarters.

Excessive borrowing by banks was one of the major causes of the financial crisis, leading to catastrophic bank runs in 2008 at firms including Bear Stearns Cos. and Lehman Brothers. Since then, banks have become more sensitive about showing high levels of debt and risk, worried that their stocks and credit ratings could be punished.

That practice, while legal, can give investors a skewed impression of the level of risk that financial firms are taking the vast majority of the time.

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Originally Posted by vy65

This Greenwald guy is a fucking hack. This "article" is just a bunch of baseless assertions of criminal conduct - which laws did these financiers break, and how?

I'm not saying that crimes weren't committed or that people shouldn't be held responsible. But this article is fucking trash.

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So you think Alan Greenspan was lying then, where he's quoted in the article saying that much of the conduct was "certainly illegal and clearly criminal" and that "a lot of that stuff was just plain fraud."?

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Originally Posted by greyforest

Has nothing to do with OJ murdering his family.

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Though it did have to something to do with the trial, IIRC.

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Originally Posted by vy65

I'd also like to know whether the rich/politically powerful are committing the same crimes that make the US prison population dwarf those of other countries.

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Using drugs = bad
Destroying our economy = ok
Torturing terrorist suspects = ok

Here you go, ky:

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics...0110216?page=3

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Originally Posted by LnGrrrR

So you think Alan Greenspan was lying then, where he's quoted in the article saying that much of the conduct was "certainly illegal and clearly criminal" and that "a lot of that stuff was just plain fraud."?

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Originally Posted by LnGrrrR

Using drugs = bad
Destroying our economy = ok
Torturing terrorist suspects = ok

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Originally Posted by me

I'm not saying that crimes weren't committed or that people shouldn't be held responsible. But this article is fucking trash.

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The article is poorly argued. He:

1) doesn't explain which statutes were violated, the facts surrounding their violation, and why the AUSA's dropped/never initiated a prosecution due to the alleged defendant's wealth.

2) the only link that isn't a warrantless assertion contradicts his entire article.

I could honestly give a shit if Greenwald is a good writer. I am more concerned with the points he makes. Perhaps we should focus on those.

Eliott Spitzer, someone quite familliar with this type of law and the prosecution of crimes in this sector, does't seem to think that these accusations are warrarntless. Why is that?

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Originally Posted by vy65

The article is poorly argued. He:

1) doesn't explain which statutes were violated, the facts surrounding their violation, and why the AUSA's dropped/never initiated a prosecution due to the alleged defendant's wealth.

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So then you feel that Alan Greenspan WAS lying when he said there was fraud committed. Ok.

Also, did you miss that little section about how the criminal probe was dropped against the Countrywide CEO?

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Originally Posted by vy65

2) the only link that isn't a warrantless assertion contradicts his entire article.

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Considering the article was displaying the dichotomy between how the "rich" tend to get away with lawbreaking (for instance, the retroactive telecom immunity laws) while the "poor" are being jailed in greater numbers here than worldwide for more and more inane reasons, I think his point is still valid.

Rich white people can't possibly be bad people, so we shouldn't put them in prison. They're just doing their jobs. Mistakes happen. Prison is for druggies and people who steal stereos.

Oj wasn't convicted because of too many holes in the physical evidence, such as the tainted blood samples...and the glove.....

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Originally Posted by Spurminator

Rich white people can't possibly be bad people, so we shouldn't put them in prison. They're just doing their jobs. Mistakes happen. Prison is for druggies and people who steal stereos.

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Let's start with the entire Bush Administration for starting an illegal war of aggression...