Lock 'em up

The business section of Friday's New York Times asked, "How long should white collar criminals be jailed?"\nMany recent offenders have been sentenced to anywhere from 15 to 30 years in prison for corporate crimes. Jonathon Simon, a professor of law at the University of California, Berkeley, told The Times that such sentences are "draconian" and "25 years is more than most people would get for rape or non-aggravated murder."\nThis, to me, is irrelevant. In addition to the fact that the criminal justice system is already biased against the race of the victim and the offender, white collar criminals, such as those involved in the Enron and Tyco scandals, harm the entire country. They drain the social support system by forcing those who formerly had private retirement accounts onto public aid and shake the nation's faith in both capitalism and the phrase "justice for all."\nSimon goes on to say, "Deterrence is highly contextual. If you live in a community where people die all the time from stray bullets ... it's pretty hard to deter anyone with threats of punishment."\nHis justification that poor and largely minority communities are less likely to respond to discipline than the upper-class, mostly white men who have been thus far convicted, is absurd and sick. Ironically, unlike the more common sort of criminal, white collar criminals are less likely to be affected by a short prison term.\nAfter a minor prison sentence -- let's say three years -- corporate criminals can step right back into the life to which they are accustomed. They are likely to have "emergency" money in overseas tax shelters and can easily transfer assets to other family members. When they are ordered to pay back the stolen money, they can easily claim bankruptcy and be forgiven for their debts.\nOn the other hand, "everyday criminals" will more than likely have a hard time getting a job after prison. Even a minor felony holds a lifelong stigma, nearly impossible to overcome.\nIf it were up to me, criminals like Mark H. Schwartz, Bernard J. Ebbers and others would be convicted for one count of grand larceny for each shareholder who lost his or her pension as a result of the crime. These few individuals have control of the futures of many. If they are willing to take such power into their hands, they also must take the potential consequences that go along with it.\nThe worst part about corporate crime is it is not a crime of necessity, but rather sheer greed. Someone might rob a convenience store to put dinner on the table, but no one needs another couple of million dollars. Though neither can be completely excused, at least a crime of necessity can be understood.\nI am reminded of something Wanda Sykes said on her Comedy Central special "Tongue Untied": "Before I walk past the Arthur Andersen building, I cut through the projects. If you cut through the projects, you may just lose what you have on you that day. I ain't never been mugged of my whole future." \nIt's time to stop punishing people unfairly based on class and race. Stealing people's futures is violence against humanity and can never be justified.