Sunday, March 29, 2009

Hundreds of youth criminal records expunged

Update: Former Pennsylvania Judges Mark A. Ciavarella and Michael T. Conahan are headed for prison-- seven years each and not nearly long enough, if you ask me-- for sentencing young people brought before the bar to a privately-run juvenile facility in return for kick-backs totaling in the millions. I wrote about the case when it first went national here.

Now the New York Times is reporting that the records of hundred of youths will be expunged. 70 of those youths have filed a class action suit against the judges, asking that "all profits that the detention centers earned from the scheme placed in a fund that would compensate the youths for their emotional distress." NYTimes.

If there were no prison, and still the judges could be sentenced, what should they be sentenced to do?




4 comments:

marginalutility said...

Work at youth centers doing shitwork like paperwork and janitorial duties for free for five years. Double duty.
Or, alternatively and more whimsically, do all the chores of all the kids they sentenced until all of them reach the age of majority. Under the kids' supervision. So they can smirk at them. Also, they must address the children meekly as, "Your Honor."
I wish I could think of something more rancorous and punitive that wasn't an abuse of human rights...

marginalutility said...

This is Caty Simon, btw.

peacesojourner said...

Thanks for this post - welcome back - I missed
you :-)

jonathan said...

Please help us get out the word about our movement: anewwayforward.org and tell people about the Nationwide Bailout Protests on April 11th. Thank You.

LOCAL ANGER AT ECONOMIC POLICY FINDS NATIONAL OUTLET IN THE FORM OF APRIL 11 PROTESTS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 26, 2009

Contact: Matt Zaccarino

Email: mzaccarino@gmail.com

Phone: 774 573 2805

GRASSROOTS ADVOCATES FOR ECONOMIC POLICY CHANGE PLAN UNIFYING NATIONAL PROTEST

(Boston, MA) On April 11, 2009 at 2pm ET/11am PT, there will be protests in cities across the country. The actions are a direct response to what many believe are flawed economic policies enacted by Congress and the Obama administration. Boston will host its own protest in the area of Boston Common that faces the State House.

With growing frustration over unemployment, foreclosures and how the government has responded to the economic crisis so far, a web organizing platform, http://anewwayforward.org, has emerged to allow people and groups to organize around a progressive approach to economic recovery.

With protests taking place in over a dozen major U.S. cities, the April 11 action promises to be big.

"I think that a lot of people out there feel that congress has been making economic policy that is totally crazy. And the fact that huge sums of government cash have taken the form of executive bonuses is just unacceptable. These protests are being held to give all the people that have similar feelings and opinions a loud, unified voice. One that Congress and the Obama administration will, hopefully, pay attention to," said Matt Zaccarino state coordinator of A NEW WAY FORWARD, MA.

Tiffiniy Cheng, one of the founders of A NEW WAY FORWARD, welcomed the Massachusetts contingent to the effort. "Through campaign money and lobbyists, the financial industry has been pushing politicians to protect their interests in these hard economic times. Massachusetts has a key role to play in demanding change to how economic plans are decided.”

A NEW WAY FORWARD is an all-volunteer grassroots organization supporting a platform of bank nationalization and restructuring that excludes bonuses for top level executives.

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