A)Huffington Post 2/27/2008 : US Imprisoning More Than 1 In 100 Americans

“For the first time in U.S. history, more than one of every 100 adults is in jail or prison, according to a new report documenting America’s rank as the world’s No. 1 incarcerator.

B) Leonard Lopate Show 2/28/2008 : Unfair Crack and Cocaine Sentencing Guidelines

“According to current federal sentencing guidelines, convictions for the sale of 500 grams of powder cocaine – and only 5 grams of crack cocaine – both result in a 5-year mandatory minimum sentence. Jesselyn McCurdy, legislative counsel for the ACLU, explains why this sentencing disparity is unfair and fails to address the larger problem of the drug trade. Karen Garrison is the mother of 2 sons who are each serving long sentences in federal prison for non-violent crack cocaine offenses.”

C) Bloomberg 12/13/2008 : Bush Fraud Probes Jail Corporate Criminals Less Than Two Years

“Median sentences for white-collar crime changed little in the 1990s, holding in a range of 12 to 13 months, commission data shows. That number increased to 15 months in 2001 and reached 18 months last year, reflecting the new guidelines…On July 17, the task force’s five-year anniversary, then- Attorney General Alberto Gonzales announced that the department had obtained 1,236 corporate fraud convictions….”

I’ll leave it to someone else to crunch the numbers thrown out in all these stories. It should be obvious that with 1,236 corporate convictions of less then two years, on average, would account for less the 0.0001 percent of the current prison population.

Even the high profile convictions of Enron, Ebbers and Conrad Black do not change the profitability of corporate crime.

From Bloomberg: “Sixteen HealthSouth employees pleaded guilty and helped prosecutors unravel a $2.7 billion accounting fraud that surfaced in 2003. Eleven got no time in prison. Former HealthSouth CEO Richard Scrushy was acquitted of accounting fraud charges.”

Ask yourself what the punishment might have been for these sixteen individuals if they were caught selling $2.7 billion of crack or even 2.7 pounds.

Unlike drug use or dealing, corporate fraud is not a victimless crime, so why the lighter sentences??

From ESPN Today:

Congress talking about legislating PEDs in all sports

(PEDs: Performance Enhancing Drugs)

“WASHINGTON — Once again, professional sports and their leaders were hauled up to Capitol Hill on Wednesday by lawmakers who say they might try once again to legislate drug-testing policies for U.S. leagues.

Facing a House subcommittee that also held hearings on steroids in 2005, commissioners sat side-by-side with their sport’s union chief: Bud Selig was inches away from Donald Fehr; the NBA’s David Stern was next to Billy Hunter. Then there was the NFL’s Roger Goodell and Gene Upshaw, and the NHL’s Gary Bettman and Paul Kelly, who rounded out the day’s first set of witnesses. “

Notice anyone not represented is this august group….FANS !

I’m sure that the rich players and the even richer owners will get a sympathetic ear from the rich Democrats and the even richer Republicans

It’s akin to asking drug dealers and a drug addicts to draft drug laws.  Oh wait, it’s exactly like that.

From Bloomberg: “SEC Struggles to Pin Insider Trading on Fund Sales“ Simply put, Hedge funds that make money on inside information and inside access to private stock offerings escape prosecution. Just another example of eroding trust in the financial markets.