# Rich people don't go to prison **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [April 1, 2014, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rich-people-dont-go-to-prison/685071 "2014-04-01T13:05:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2014, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rich-people-dont-go-to-prison/685071/61 "2014-04-03T22:06:42Z")
Considering that **madmonk** started off the ‘who’s the haven for rich pedophiles’ trollbait in post #3, I’m not exactly prioritizing the fact that we have a few “America, fuck yeah (not kids)” pollyannas in the midst. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2014, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rich-people-dont-go-to-prison/685071/62 "2014-04-03T22:37:30Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > Freedom is not free. \ [Freedom isn’t free. No. There’s a hefty fucking fee.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZF5wpntXsk) ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2014, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rich-people-dont-go-to-prison/685071/63 "2014-04-04T18:19:43Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > If you have money, you can fuck babies in America. Slow down there tiger. I don’t see any evidence of that. One baby, sure. But babies? What are you basing that on? ---
**Author:** ![Strassia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e8c25b/32.png) [@Strassia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Strassia)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2014, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rich-people-dont-go-to-prison/685071/64 "2014-04-05T01:52:27Z")
> [@Darth\_Panda](#): > > Slow down there tiger. I don’t see any evidence of that. One baby, sure. But babies? What are you basing that on? He wife is alleging that he sexually assualted not only his three year old daughter but also his infant son. [Cite:](http://www.cnn.com/2014/04/02/justice/delaware-du-pont-rape-case/) > [@](#): > > he documents were never sealed, yet the ruling managed to go unnoticed until March, when Richards’ former wife, Tracy Richards, filed a lawsuit in Delaware Superior Court on behalf of their children alleging “personal injuries arising from the childhood sexual abuse.” The 11-page suit alleges that not only was their daughter abused, but Richards abused their son, too. The suit seeks unspecified monetary damages. ---
**Author:** ![deregulated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7bcc69/32.png) [@deregulated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/deregulated)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2014, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rich-people-dont-go-to-prison/685071/65 "2014-04-05T02:23:12Z")
Where are the outraged citizens, the vigilantes? A hundred years ago locals would hang someone like this the day the story got out. And likely shoot them full of holes while they had him hanging. Apathy is what is killing this country. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2014, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rich-people-dont-go-to-prison/685071/66 "2014-04-05T02:46:51Z")
> [@deregulated](#): > > Where are the outraged citizens, the vigilantes? A hundred years ago locals would hang someone like this the day the story got out. And likely shoot them full of holes while they had him hanging. Apathy is what is killing this country. meh ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Angel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d26b3c/32.png) [@Johnny\_Angel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Angel)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2014, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rich-people-dont-go-to-prison/685071/67 "2014-04-05T03:19:52Z")
Was the judge aware that the children were also rich? Where’s the pity for them? ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2014, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rich-people-dont-go-to-prison/685071/68 "2014-04-05T16:29:55Z")
Sorry dude, prison is not good for _anybody_ no matter what their economic status. He needs his sorry ass thrown in the nearest prison of the correct type. [no idea what he should be in, minimum, medium, max, supermax with an explosive choke collar, solitary in a nonmagnetic sphere. Whatever.] Danger to him from other inmates for diddling kiddies, guess it sucks to be him - sounds like solitary to me. Recidivism? Make that life in solitary. Give him enough rope to make a noose, and brick up the door leaving him a case of MREs, he will sort it out somehow. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2014, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rich-people-dont-go-to-prison/685071/69 "2014-04-05T18:22:49Z")
> [@deregulated](#): > > Where are the outraged citizens, the vigilantes? A hundred years ago locals would hang someone like this the day the story got out. And likely shoot them full of holes while they had him hanging. Apathy is what is killing this country. I think you’ll find that lynch mobs rarely strung up any millionaires. Most of the people who got lynched were poor and/or brown. So if you think about it, a rich white guy committing a terrible crime and going unpunished is just a return to traditional values. ---
**Author:** ![BubbaDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bubbadog/32/333_2.png) [@BubbaDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BubbaDog)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2014, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rich-people-dont-go-to-prison/685071/70 "2014-04-07T00:56:22Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > If Hamlet or Bubbadog are right, then sure, madmonk is wrong. But I’m seeing folks saying stuff like, “Is there some wonderful country out there where justice is pristine?” or “Are we the only country where immense wealth can buy your way out of trouble?” or “Exactly-it is precisely the same as all other nations.” **All of those sentiments suggest that nowhere is better than the US** re: judicial fairness, and I find that idea dubious. Bolding mine. Unlike madmonk your logical jump from my “pristine” comment to “rah-rah USA” is at least somewhat reasonable. My point was more about how some people will find one transgression in a system, legal or otherwise, and use that to nullify the whole system. All legal systems are constructed to enact justice. I know of none that is flawless in its execution. To use one miscarriage of justice to define an entire country implies that the miscarriage cited is a rule when I believe that it is an anomaly. Madmonk took one example of a fail and used a very big fucking broad brush to paint an entire country. “Dubious” might be a way to describe what he said but I think that "stupid " may be more appropriate. You don’t condemn the entire highway system because one asshole in Indiana failed to fix a pothole. ---
**Author:** ![get\_lives](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecb155/32.png) [@get\_lives](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/get_lives)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2014, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rich-people-dont-go-to-prison/685071/71 "2014-04-08T00:56:38Z")
> [@BubbaDog](#): > > You don’t condemn the entire highway system because one asshole in Indiana failed to fix a pothole. Last I checked, rich peoples’ cars get just as damaged by potholes as poor peoples’ cars. Being forced, under threat of deadly force, to fund an institution that _promises_ perfectly fair justice but _can’t deliver_ it, is, well, _frustrating_ to some people. Shocking, huh? ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2014, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rich-people-dont-go-to-prison/685071/72 "2014-04-08T01:09:04Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > If you have money, you can fuck babies in America. > [@Darth\_Panda](#): > > Slow down there tiger. I don’t see any evidence of that. One baby, sure. But babies? What are you basing that on? On **this** much money. [_rrriiiffffllle_] Eh? Yeah, fine, I’ll take the boy and the girl both for the same price, what the hell – and your wife’s how many months along, did you say? ---
**Author:** ![Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/try2b_comprehensive/32/65_2.png) [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Try2B_Comprehensive)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2014, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rich-people-dont-go-to-prison/685071/73 "2014-04-08T01:53:48Z")
Let’s not forget that if you are the president of the IMF, you can come to this country, rape anybody, have the story splashed all across the international press, and you get to go home without even a trial. If you are the vice-president, you can shoot somebody in the face with a shotgun without any consequence (to you anyway). And if you are POTUS, you can invade a foreign nation without cause, kill a million civilians, torture prisoners abroad and revoke civil rights at home, and you’re free to retire and paint shitty pictures. Finally, if you’re Michael Jackson… did they ever actually prove anything against that guy, or was it all slander? ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2014, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rich-people-dont-go-to-prison/685071/74 "2014-04-08T01:57:19Z")
I feel really bad for Dick Cheney, forced to shoot his pal in the face while also bearing the burden of deciding how much Iraqi prisoners could be tortured. ---
**Author:** ![BubbaDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bubbadog/32/333_2.png) [@BubbaDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BubbaDog)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2014, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rich-people-dont-go-to-prison/685071/75 "2014-04-08T13:33:27Z")
> [@get\_lives](#): > > Last I checked, rich peoples’ cars get just as damaged by potholes as poor peoples’ cars. Actually, Rich people take the jet and fly right over Indiana thereby beating the system. That pothole is all you need to know about America. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2014, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rich-people-dont-go-to-prison/685071/76 "2014-04-08T13:59:37Z")
> [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](#): > > Finally, if you’re Michael Jackson… did they ever actually prove anything against that guy, or was it all slander? [Oh, who knows . . .](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=703755) ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2014, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rich-people-dont-go-to-prison/685071/77 "2014-04-08T14:38:55Z")
> [@Strassia](#): > > He wife is alleging that he sexually assualted not only his three year old daughter but also his infant son. Well, damnit. Looks like I’m going to have to burn this country to the ground. ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2014, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rich-people-dont-go-to-prison/685071/78 "2014-04-13T17:02:04Z")
> [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](#): > > Finally, if you’re Michael Jackson… did they ever actually prove anything against that guy, or was it all slander? Just goes to show a return to traditional values…If you’re a rich whte man, you don’t go to prison. ---
**Author:** ![buddy431](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6a8cbe/32.png) [@buddy431](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddy431)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2014, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rich-people-dont-go-to-prison/685071/79 "2014-04-13T17:45:31Z")
Looking at the story, I think the prosecution thought maybe their case wasn’t so good. They had done an investigation into the alleged abuse of the son, and hadn’t found enough evidence to prosecute. The evidence for the abuse of the three year old looked like it was pretty much based on the testimony of the child, some two years after the fact. Get yourself a good defense lawyer and I could easily see a jury failing to convict him. So what do you do if you’re a prosecutor? You offer him a deal to try to get a conviction. That certainly isn’t unique to the wealthy. The prosecutor and defense agree to a charge to plead to and a sentence, and the judge OKs it. The sentence is well within the guidelines for the charge he pleaded guilty to. Yes, he could have been tried for a higher charge, but then you might not have gotten the conviction. I see this as less about wealth getting you off, and more about the difficulty in prosecuting sexual assault cases. ---
**Author:** ![scratch\_llll](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9fc348/32.png) [@scratch\_llll](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scratch_llll)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2014, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rich-people-dont-go-to-prison/685071/80 "2014-04-14T05:40:28Z")
I’m not saying anyone should ever be shot for any reason but why can’t we ever hook up the need to start shooting people with the people needing to be shot people? It’s always just some random person usually described as someone everybody loves that gets it. There should be some sort of service for this like OK Cupid or something. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rich-people-dont-go-to-prison/685071.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rich-people-dont-go-to-prison/685071.md?page=5)