
Weighing the Sentencing of Parents in the College-Admissions Cheating Scheme - JumpCrisscross
https://www.wsj.com/articles/weighing-the-sentencing-of-parents-in-the-college-admissions-cheating-scheme-11568155291?mod=rsswn
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celticninja
Rich people as defendants, I'm pretty sure we will see this go the way of no
jail time. Lots of suspended sentences, probation, possibly house arrest and
fines, all of which are easy for the rich to deal with.

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Tomte
Would poorer people definitely get jail time? Are you certain of that?

The calculation by probation officials makes me think "no jail time" is the
usual sentence here, and the prosecutors' demands are because of public
pressure.

While equality of law is usually understood to mean that the rich don't get
more lenient treatment, it also means that the rich don't get punished more
harshly, just because the public wants a spectacle.

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celticninja
I understand your point, but ultimately this isn't something a poor individual
is going to face. The fraud perpetrated here can only be carried out by the
relatively well off so if the sentence is something that they can just brush
off, e.g. A big fine, then where is the equality? A poor person who was facing
the same charge would no doubt be unable to pay the fine and would get jail
time as a result of failing to pay.

So while what you say is true, we need to ensure that the poor are not
disproportionately affected by justice, and perhaps justice does need to
factor in wealth when considering sentencing.

Although that does happen at present in the US, unfortunately the wrong way
around. Rich kids getting lenient sentences for offences poor kids face time
for.

