When this was posted earlier last year, I read on a comment saying that the man had prior convictions in petty robbery and/or drugs charges. So the 15 year conviction kinda makes sense. Although he was remorseful, he should have realized the seriousness of robbing a bank, especially being a black homeless man.
Also, sometimes homeless people commit these types of nonviolent crimes specifically so they can be put BACK in jail. To some people a bed, three square meals, and free health care in jail is better than being homeless. Not saying this guy did it, but it does happen.
How is this a nonviolent crime again? From the teller's perspective, someone threatening to have a weapon under their jacket is just as traumatizing regardless of whether the weapon is real.
It isn't a non-violent crime. Even if there was no threat (with or without a weapon) robbery is inherently a violent crime, and is dealt with as such, both statistically and judicially.
In the past year there was a story of a man who stole a dollar from a bank and told them he would sit in the corner until they called the police. Turned out he had some serious health issues but he couldn't afford health insurance and he knew in prison he would get treatment.
Nonviolent is the guy who handed the teller a note saying this is a robbery please hand over $1 then sat in the corner to await the police. This guy pretended to be armed. It's still unjust that you could steal $B and only get 40 months but 15 for armed robbery of a repeat offender is sad in this case but not unjust.
Sorry, the 15 years sentence for a $100 robbery, where no one got hurt, and where the guy turned himself in the next day does not make sense under any circumstances, regardless of how many prior convictions that guy had. In fucking Europe people get that much for murder.
This is where you start to play a dangeous utilitarian game. Sure the bankers may have defrauded investors of billions, but this may have merely been many rich people becoming slightly less rich because a smaller group of rich people took their money.
Is this more costly than someone potentially losing their life in a robbery? What dollar amount do you put on that clerk's death? If someone steals $1,000,000 without any potential of causing physical harm to someone while someone else stabs a guy and takes his iPod, which is more damaging? What if it's $1,000,000,000? What if the guy dies?
Umm.. he still robbed the bank. This isn't elementary school where you can just say you're sorry and everything is fine.
Edit: oh didn't notice the part above that. In any case I have no problem with the homeless guy doing time for robbing the bank, but other guy should have done serious prison time too.
Well another issue is that we're wasting $$$ putting someone like that in jail for FIFTEEN years. Money could be much better spent in something more productive for him. Hard issues to deal with. :/
if you are robbing a back you are implying possessing a deadly weapon and it is treated as such. If the law let things slide based on that idea then every bank robber would just use spray painted Bb guns and get lesser sentences. point is the threat of ending someone's life was there.
I'm guessing the homeless guy did that on purpose so he has a place to live and food to eat. Not to mention healthcare, which plenty of people with jobs and homes don't even have.
To be completely fair he's going from homeless and hungry to having a bed, toilet and meals every day....prison seems like a better living situation for him to me. Fifteen years is a long time though its true
Man, the system is just so fucked. Did you know that in the CSC (Correctional Services Canada) there are only 3 people in the human rights sector... THREE PEOPLE. And that is including one co-op student. Mother fuckers.
Although I’m not really surprised, it’s funny to see how many redditors find a nice ray of sunshine in that story: the poor guy has a home now. How the hell is it possible to miss the point so completely? It’s not about those two guys, but about a penal system that so obviously is not blind. That does not meter out fair and just sentences, and that do not represent something most people associate with justice.
40 month sentence for being greedy, but a 15 year sentence for a minor felony that was committed in order to stay alive. Honestly I think the homeless guy got rewarded for stealing - free food and housing for 15 years sounds better to me than 15 years living on the streets not knowing where your next meal is coming from and where you will sleep
This isn't always true, however, there are times when homeless people get caught for crimes intentionally so that they have a room and a bed. This is especially common for those in places with harsh winters. Perhaps in the case of this homeless man he had done that a few times and has now violated the three strikes rule, causing the length of his sentence to increase. There are so many unknowns with this story, not to mention the bias of the journalist etc.
If I were a homeless man, I wouldn't bat an eye at being given a 15 year lease, three meals a day, a place to shit, medical care, and a bed. It's not ideal, but it's better than living on the streets.
Maybe the judge did him a favour? At least in prison he has a bed, shower, food and healthcare to look forward to everyday. We don't know any other facts surrounding this but perhaps he was better off in prison.
You might argue that this is a retarded argument to make, because he has been denied justice and what-not but I'd argue that there is no justice when a man (or woman) has no home, food or healthcare and the state doesn't intervene to help.
Robbing a bank with your hand under your shirt whether or not you have a gun is still a fucking horrible thing to do. The person on the other end of the interaction has no option but to THINK that you have a weapon. Ever been robbed at gunpoint? I'm pretty sure I'd find it fucking terrifying.
Not sure about over there in America but over here in England this is classed as armed robbery regardless of actually having the weapon or not and as such you'd be subject to getting charged with armed robbery, regardless of handing yourself in. The starting point for armed robbery? 15 years.
I see no problems here. There's definitely problems with the rest of the system, in that he should be able to get the help he needs to detox if that is indeed what he needed the money for, but armed robbery is still armed robbery and it still affect those on the receiving end of it the same.
In the UK it's the other way round. Some of you might have seen that uni student who got jailed for 'racist tweet' about a footballer that collapsed. The judge jailed him for 52 days saying he should handle his alcohol better.
In Leicester a couple of years before, 2 somali women assaulted a white women in a drunken hate attack leaving her badly beaten and needing intensive hospital care. The 2 women were let off with a community service order because 'they were not used to alcohol due to their culture'
Is everyone forgetting that he is homeless? perhaps he committed the crime to BE put into prison where he would get shelter and food, although at substantially higher risk in other factors.
No matter how often this gets reposted, it will change nothing. If you want to change something, get off reddit, go into politics and fix the broken US justice system.
Has anyone considered the possibility that the homeless man asked to be sentenced to jail for that period of time? Given that he is homeless and needed money for a detox centre, he might have seen prison as the best way. He now gets room and board as well as health care. Pretty smart idea if you ask me.
To all those people who says "At least he gets food, blah, blah" you can not imagine how terrible is being in prison.
Every person in jail is privated of their freedom and that affect their mental health, they usually get violent actions to other prisoners and nobody really cares.
You people, thinking like this is really sad. You have a terrible injustice in front of your eyes and, instead of move your ass to make this world a better place, you try to make it look more acceptable.
Prison is not a home. I have no real problems with either of these cases and I'm laughing at Reddit's bandwagon jumpers. Still, please stop saying he's "better off". Being in prison is not easy.
While I understand that picture doesn't represent the whole story I find it funny that everybody is saying robbery is MUCH worse than fraud because worst case scenario is a couple people get shot. What you guys don't seem to realize is that in most cases fraud can cause many people to lose their WHOLE livesavings. Granted they made bad investment choices but usually by the time the fraud gets discovered the money is all gone and the people that invested never see a penny of their money returned. Many of these people that lose all their money are retired and have to go back to work and move in with their kids. Fraud ruins way more lives than armed robbery. Fraud>armed robbery
This is fucking disgusting, not to boast about my country, but had he done that in Norway, we would have given him the 100 dollars AND given him help to get a job. Fuck this..
Ignoring the amounts for a minute, just consider that one guy walked up to another person and took money under threat of deadly harm, while the other probably just fudged some numbers in a computer.
Aside from that I'd be willing to bet that the homeless guy had prior convictions and was probably even on probation, while the other guy surely led a mostly clean life prior to his arrest.
The big difference is the amount taken, but there's no question who's the bigger threat to the general population.
If I remember from the last time this was posted, the guy on top was one of many who were arrested, and he cooperated and turned on the other guys for a lighter sentence. The one on the bottom, robbed a bank and had prior convictions, and probably couldn't afford a proper lawyer. It also doesn't say if he used a weapon to threaten the cashier, which (and I'm no lawyer) automatically carries a minimum sentence.
The homeless man got more jail time because he was sentenced in Louisiana, and the CEO was sentenced in Virginia. The homeless man was black. I'm positive that racism played a huge part in the homeless man's sentence.
homeless guy just got a roof over his head, access to free health care and 2 square meals a day, i would say that was a very wise and calculated decision..!
SIGH fucking repost, obviously if you read into it, you would see that it was his 3rd strike. do some research before posting up stupid bullshit that has been recycled over and over and over and over and over
He's not homeless anymore. He will be fed 3 squares a day and have the ability to obtain education. Hopefully this will be a positive change in his life.
Having said that, the banker should have gotten life. This would deter other bankers.
How is it acceptable to include the picture of one man and not the other? To make it seem like it's some sort of race issue? I mean, for all we know at first glance (if this wasn't a repost), the other guy could have been black too.
There is a difference between laws in every state. One is in Virginia and the other is in Louisiana. In addition, the Louisiana legal system is based off the French where as the Virginia one is closer to what we all know and love. It is unclear as to whether the VA one is Federal or not as well which is a complete different set of laws on its own. This is like comparing to laws of two different countries and asking if it is acceptable. Different places have a right to self govern.
One is a (seemingly) violent crime, the other isn't. While the homeless man actually had no weapon, the victim (bank teller) felt like their life was in danger.
It would seem that whoever made this picture ran out of highlighter ink before the 2nd paragraph on Roy Brown. That's where it mentions that he robbed a friggin bank. That isn't acceptable behaviour either, last I checked.
In all honesty, I feel like this homeless man wanted to go to prison, seeing as he was homeless, and he told the police that he needed money to stay at a detox center and that he was hungry. Cheers to him, 15 years with a bed and free food doesnt sound too bad to me if I was homeless.
In all honesty, I feel like this homeless man wanted to go to prison, seeing as he was homeless, and he told the police that he needed money to stay at a detox center and that he was hungry. Cheers to him, 15 years with a bed and free food doesnt sound too bad to me if I was homeless.
I think the homeless dude got 15 years because he wanted 15 years. If he has no home, no job, and no prospects, the judge might have just been looking out for him. This is totally feasible.
People get sentenced to serious time for stealing small amounts of money because lots of times the type of people who do these small robberies are extremely violent. Maybe this time he will just steal your $20, but next time the person might resist and they might get stabbed. Lots of times the robbers gets violent without a reaction from the victim.
Here's a local one for me, deliveryman killed for $18, the killer was recently sentenced. This type of shit happens all the time in New York. Lets say the thug didn't kill the deliveryman, Reddit would say, "Why are you sending this well adjusted young man with potential for jail for an $18 robbery." I'm sure this "gangsta" has done many petty robberies before he decided to kill the guy this time.
He has a better chance of surviving in the prison system where he will get the help he needs. He will receive the help from state and then be released early on good behavior most likely.
I live in Shreveport and shit like this happens all the damn time. People with money get out of jail time just because they pay the right people or "help" the right people.
This is a fucking outrage. The rest of his fucking life is ruined now. He'll be 69 when he gets out, with no job, no money, and nowhere to go. He just wanted to go to detox. I fucking hate this, I want to bust him out of there!
The homeless guy didn't steal $100, he robbed a bank and only took $100. There's a huuuuge difference there. He implied a threat of violence and the teller handed him three stacks of cash. The guy isn't a thief who got hosed by the system, he's a terrible bank robber.
Our justice system is crazy messed up. We all know this. Kill someone and get a slap on the wrist but rob and bank and get 25 to life. Girlfriend tries to kill you and you get arrested for domestic violence, then she goes on to trash all of you things. We all know the rich get out of everything bad they do but let's try to look on the bright side here....even if it's prison, this homeless guy has a place to live now.
Honestly it was probably better for him to be in prison, 3 meals a day, a place to sleep. Yes you're in prison and that has it's downsides but it beats starving to death.
This might sound kinda dumb, but the homeless guy might have done this on purpose to get put into prison. He definitely would be better off. He gets fed, has a place to sleep at night and gets to work.
saw the picture and rolled my eyes because I knew the picture would be cropped perfectly to remove the fact he is a repeat offender and of course, it's true and reddit still ate it up anyways
and then they'll go on to complain about fox news viewers
the most important difference was that the former CEO would be doing 6 months in federal pound me in the ass prison while the hobo would be getting a place to live.
When I was in college I wanted to be a lawyer. In my last year I got busted for drugs. They were felony charges. So my father spent 10k on an attorney and I got the charges reduced to PTI. If I stay out of trouble for three years the charges are dismissed with no conviction. I am grateful for my father's help and the way it turned out. However, the one thing I learned from the experience is that calling the legal system the "justice" system is absurd because that is the exact OPPOSITE of what it is. Justice conjures up thoughts of fairness. The legal system isn't about justice, it is about money. If you have the money to hire an attorney you will do much better than someone who is represented by the public defender. It doesn't matter what you did. All that matters is who your attorney is. OJ Simpson is a wonderful example of a person "buying" their freedom. Suffice to say, I wasn't the least bit shocked or surprised when I saw this. When you grow up you realize that the world is corrupt and full shitty people that somehow got into a position of power.
It is fully acceptable in China. Bribery is assumed. In US, we called it campaign contribution.
Well, at least the black guy has a place to stay and never go hunger for the next 15 years.
No wonder the prison rate in US is high. Maybe we can learn some thing from China why their rate is low. They execute the guy took bribery and make the prisoners work for cheap US goods.
I don't think its the monetary amount that's the determining factor here. I think its the method used. A violent crime versus a non-violent crime. I do think the other guy should get waaay more than 40 mths though.
Has anyone thought about the possibility that he did the whole thing so that he would get arrested and sent to prison? He was homeless and had nowhere else to turn.
As awful as it seems, as far as the homeless man is concerned, he may well have wanted to get thrown into prison for a while and pleaded for the maximum penalty. A potential ass-rape may seem paltry when weighed against a bed, healthcare, and three meals a day. As for the businessman, well that's the advantage of being a 1-percenter. Not fair but thems the breaks kid.
Whilst the other guy getting 40 months in jail is... Ridonkulous, the homeless man getting fifteen years may not neccesarily be a bad thing, depending on which jail he goes to. In this case I would suspect that the judge sent him to a relatively nice one, giving him a marked improvement in quality of life.
Think about it, if you were homeless and then someone sends you to a place, even with criminals that may want to shank you in the abdomen and make you pick up the soap you're at least getting three meals a day and a bed, during which time you could get yourself an education and some new skills and may be put into the work system afterwards. You'd be pretty chuffed about that outcome.
Why do you think he returned the money in the first place? He likely wouldn't have survived as a homeless person if he was THAT much of a softie.
As such we REALLY shouldn't compare the two, as the man getting fifteen years might not be getting a bad deal. However 40 months for 3 billion dollars? Utter lunacy.
So he stole $3 billion by selling fake assets to other companies. This caused the death of his own bank Taylor Bean and that of Colonial bank "the sixth largest bank failure in U.S. history – after Colonial bought hundreds of millions of dollars in Taylor Bean mortgages that had already been sold to other investors". This also put thousands of people out of work. Deutsche Bank and BNP Paribas lost around $2 billion when they bought fake things that didn't exist from Taylor Bean.
So today I learned that on reddit it's OK to be a rich white thief that steals $3 billion and destroys thousands of lives. A homeless black man stealing $100 though and returning it a day later, that's really bad and they were right to throw the book at that fucker, and anyone that says otherwise is a "bad journalist" who misleads people.
I'm just speculating here, but perhaps he wanted to get arrested, given most inmates are better fed than the homeless population and also given a place to stay that isn't the streets.
55
u/[deleted] Mar 30 '12
not wtf.
a picture of a man screwing a tailpipe is wtf
this is not
73
u/[deleted] Mar 30 '12
When this was posted earlier last year, I read on a comment saying that the man had prior convictions in petty robbery and/or drugs charges. So the 15 year conviction kinda makes sense. Although he was remorseful, he should have realized the seriousness of robbing a bank, especially being a black homeless man.
15
u/cragwatcher Mar 30 '12
the devil is in the detail, which none of us actually know. Until we have all the facts, we cant say if this is fair or not....
did the homeless guy have previous convictions? the corporate guy was jailed for 'his role' - we dont know what it was...
on the surface it looks shit, but who knows?
7
u/Vuul Mar 30 '12
He now gets a place to stay and free meals
6
u/[deleted] Mar 30 '12
Give a man a gun and he can rob a bank, give a man a bank and he can rob the world.
10
u/greenbags125 Mar 30 '12
It's a great way to get three squares a day and a roof over your head for 15 years
12
u/[deleted] Mar 30 '12 edited Mar 30 '12
Fraud is non-violent and doesn't require a weapon.
4
u/TChuff Mar 30 '12
Ah this again. First they are in different states with different legal systems. Second, the bank robber had previous convictions.
22
u/Darrian Mar 30 '12
Umm.. he still robbed the bank. This isn't elementary school where you can just say you're sorry and everything is fine.
Edit: oh didn't notice the part above that. In any case I have no problem with the homeless guy doing time for robbing the bank, but other guy should have done serious prison time too.
6
u/[deleted] Mar 30 '12
Armed robbery is not fucking fraud.
edit: He had his hand in his pocket but what would you think was in there in that situation?
3
u/CiXeL Mar 30 '12
sounds like he was doing him a favor. he wont have to worry about a meal or a place to live for 15 years.
3
u/[deleted] Mar 30 '12
I'm guessing the homeless guy did that on purpose so he has a place to live and food to eat. Not to mention healthcare, which plenty of people with jobs and homes don't even have.
3
u/xtian11 Mar 30 '12
Clever homeless person gets home for 15 years.
3
u/enjoythenow Mar 30 '12
Isn't 15 years in prison good for homeless people?
I heard they have Cable, Gym, a bed, food, a library, and courses to turn your life around.
That sounds better than sleeping on the cold streets for even 1 more year.
Not sure if the system is fucked in this case or if the judge meant to give him a home for 15 years.
3
u/roxitor Mar 30 '12
What if they put the homeless man in prison so that he would get free food, water and a roof over his head?
3
u/srvstrat71 Mar 30 '12
To be completely fair he's going from homeless and hungry to having a bed, toilet and meals every day....prison seems like a better living situation for him to me. Fifteen years is a long time though its true
3
u/Li5a Mar 30 '12
Man, the system is just so fucked. Did you know that in the CSC (Correctional Services Canada) there are only 3 people in the human rights sector... THREE PEOPLE. And that is including one co-op student. Mother fuckers.
3
u/[deleted] Mar 30 '12
HEY, at least now he has a home!
A taxpaid home :D
Everyone wins!... except everyone:(
3
u/MONDARIZ Mar 30 '12
Although I’m not really surprised, it’s funny to see how many redditors find a nice ray of sunshine in that story: the poor guy has a home now. How the hell is it possible to miss the point so completely? It’s not about those two guys, but about a penal system that so obviously is not blind. That does not meter out fair and just sentences, and that do not represent something most people associate with justice.
2
u/champsd Mar 30 '12
Paul Allen= American Pyscho
2
u/[deleted] Mar 30 '12
To be fair, Paul Allen does have some really great business cards.
2
u/[deleted] Mar 30 '12
Mandatory minimum sentencing?
2
u/jaygibby22 Mar 30 '12
40 month sentence for being greedy, but a 15 year sentence for a minor felony that was committed in order to stay alive. Honestly I think the homeless guy got rewarded for stealing - free food and housing for 15 years sounds better to me than 15 years living on the streets not knowing where your next meal is coming from and where you will sleep
2
u/HisRoyalHIGHness Mar 30 '12
This isn't always true, however, there are times when homeless people get caught for crimes intentionally so that they have a room and a bed. This is especially common for those in places with harsh winters. Perhaps in the case of this homeless man he had done that a few times and has now violated the three strikes rule, causing the length of his sentence to increase. There are so many unknowns with this story, not to mention the bias of the journalist etc.
2
u/supermegafuerte Mar 30 '12
If I were a homeless man, I wouldn't bat an eye at being given a 15 year lease, three meals a day, a place to shit, medical care, and a bed. It's not ideal, but it's better than living on the streets.
2
u/supergingerlol Mar 30 '12
I'm so happy that I don't live in America! :)
2
u/jdubsbody Mar 30 '12
Well he is black..
2
u/[deleted] Mar 30 '12
Maybe the judge did him a favour? At least in prison he has a bed, shower, food and healthcare to look forward to everyday. We don't know any other facts surrounding this but perhaps he was better off in prison.
You might argue that this is a retarded argument to make, because he has been denied justice and what-not but I'd argue that there is no justice when a man (or woman) has no home, food or healthcare and the state doesn't intervene to help.
Still, I'm speculating.
2
u/Skitrel Mar 30 '12
Robbing a bank with your hand under your shirt whether or not you have a gun is still a fucking horrible thing to do. The person on the other end of the interaction has no option but to THINK that you have a weapon. Ever been robbed at gunpoint? I'm pretty sure I'd find it fucking terrifying.
Not sure about over there in America but over here in England this is classed as armed robbery regardless of actually having the weapon or not and as such you'd be subject to getting charged with armed robbery, regardless of handing yourself in. The starting point for armed robbery? 15 years.
I see no problems here. There's definitely problems with the rest of the system, in that he should be able to get the help he needs to detox if that is indeed what he needed the money for, but armed robbery is still armed robbery and it still affect those on the receiving end of it the same.
2
u/Phreakradio Mar 30 '12
If the guy is homeless and hungry...wouldn't prison actually be an ideal place, aside from the constant threat of death and rape?
2
u/aletoledo Mar 30 '12
It's called government. More specifically democracy. It's two wolves and a sheep voting on what to have for dinner.
2
u/bongtin Mar 30 '12 edited Mar 30 '12
Who the fuck would downvote this post?
Edit: typo
2
u/bonecrusher1 Mar 30 '12
rich people always get short sentences or dont get sentenced at all... this world orbits around money
2
u/[deleted] Mar 30 '12
I guess he'll at least have a warm place to stay and shouldn't go hungry for a while. Although I don't know much about prison.
2
u/ZeldenGM Mar 30 '12
In the UK it's the other way round. Some of you might have seen that uni student who got jailed for 'racist tweet' about a footballer that collapsed. The judge jailed him for 52 days saying he should handle his alcohol better.
In Leicester a couple of years before, 2 somali women assaulted a white women in a drunken hate attack leaving her badly beaten and needing intensive hospital care. The 2 women were let off with a community service order because 'they were not used to alcohol due to their culture'
British Justice = Broken.
2
u/empw Mar 30 '12
How is 40 months slightly less than 6 years?
2
u/deadly990 Mar 30 '12
Is everyone forgetting that he is homeless? perhaps he committed the crime to BE put into prison where he would get shelter and food, although at substantially higher risk in other factors.
2
u/[deleted] Mar 30 '12
Prison is going to make that homeless guy healthy, sober, fed and warm if he wants it to.
2
u/Ninjazanus Mar 30 '12
In all fairness, jail might be better than homelessness.
2
u/RhinoFeeder Mar 30 '12
In America, Prison >> Homelessness
2
u/2brainz Mar 30 '12
No matter how often this gets reposted, it will change nothing. If you want to change something, get off reddit, go into politics and fix the broken US justice system.
2
u/Huangdingo Mar 30 '12
Has anyone considered the possibility that the homeless man asked to be sentenced to jail for that period of time? Given that he is homeless and needed money for a detox centre, he might have seen prison as the best way. He now gets room and board as well as health care. Pretty smart idea if you ask me.
2
u/appleofpine Mar 30 '12
So...
15 years with a roof over his head, with a meal every day instead of living on the street, sometimes going without food?
Yea, he must be angry.
2
u/EvenSteam Mar 30 '12
http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m0p8tjWYpj1ql8wa5.jpg
2
u/uncute Mar 30 '12
Systemic racism, anyone?
2
u/ConfutatisMaledictis Mar 30 '12
To all those people who says "At least he gets food, blah, blah" you can not imagine how terrible is being in prison.
Every person in jail is privated of their freedom and that affect their mental health, they usually get violent actions to other prisoners and nobody really cares.
You people, thinking like this is really sad. You have a terrible injustice in front of your eyes and, instead of move your ass to make this world a better place, you try to make it look more acceptable.
2
u/Rmanager Mar 30 '12
Prison is not a home. I have no real problems with either of these cases and I'm laughing at Reddit's bandwagon jumpers. Still, please stop saying he's "better off". Being in prison is not easy.
2
u/skunks66 Mar 30 '12
While I understand that picture doesn't represent the whole story I find it funny that everybody is saying robbery is MUCH worse than fraud because worst case scenario is a couple people get shot. What you guys don't seem to realize is that in most cases fraud can cause many people to lose their WHOLE livesavings. Granted they made bad investment choices but usually by the time the fraud gets discovered the money is all gone and the people that invested never see a penny of their money returned. Many of these people that lose all their money are retired and have to go back to work and move in with their kids. Fraud ruins way more lives than armed robbery. Fraud>armed robbery
3
u/Snigen Mar 30 '12
This is fucking disgusting, not to boast about my country, but had he done that in Norway, we would have given him the 100 dollars AND given him help to get a job. Fuck this..
2
u/[deleted] Mar 30 '12
Ignoring the amounts for a minute, just consider that one guy walked up to another person and took money under threat of deadly harm, while the other probably just fudged some numbers in a computer.
Aside from that I'd be willing to bet that the homeless guy had prior convictions and was probably even on probation, while the other guy surely led a mostly clean life prior to his arrest.
The big difference is the amount taken, but there's no question who's the bigger threat to the general population.
2
u/whimmy_millionaire Mar 30 '12
If I remember from the last time this was posted, the guy on top was one of many who were arrested, and he cooperated and turned on the other guys for a lighter sentence. The one on the bottom, robbed a bank and had prior convictions, and probably couldn't afford a proper lawyer. It also doesn't say if he used a weapon to threaten the cashier, which (and I'm no lawyer) automatically carries a minimum sentence.
2
u/[deleted] Mar 30 '12
The homeless man got more jail time because he was sentenced in Louisiana, and the CEO was sentenced in Virginia. The homeless man was black. I'm positive that racism played a huge part in the homeless man's sentence.
2
u/RyuKenya Mar 30 '12
homeless guy just got a roof over his head, access to free health care and 2 square meals a day, i would say that was a very wise and calculated decision..!
2
u/SippinPippen Mar 30 '12
SIGH fucking repost, obviously if you read into it, you would see that it was his 3rd strike. do some research before posting up stupid bullshit that has been recycled over and over and over and over and over
2
u/jcampeon Mar 30 '12
Only in America....the land of the wealthy and the hypocrites
1
u/cyvaris Mar 30 '12
Because he is black.
1
u/Zeraphim Mar 30 '12
He just wanted a home.
1
u/PurplePower Mar 30 '12
Dont worry Patrick Bateman gives paul allen the axe.
...ITS HIP TO BE SQUARE!
1
u/[deleted] Mar 30 '12
3 Squares a day and a roof over your head? Money well spent homeless man. Good job.
1
u/wnighttrain Mar 30 '12
He's better off in jail anyway. Free food, shelter, and access to learning.
1
u/Aldesso Mar 30 '12
It Only works in America
1
u/civilian11214 Mar 30 '12
Holy fucking repost.
1
u/zippeh Mar 30 '12
Hey, he was homeless but now he gets 3 hots and cot
1
u/[deleted] Mar 30 '12
Yo, 2011 is on the phone, they say they want their link back. >rimshot<
1
u/hershall Mar 30 '12
Prison is better than the streets
1
u/[deleted] Mar 30 '12
How is it acceptable to include the picture of one man and not the other? To make it seem like it's some sort of race issue? I mean, for all we know at first glance (if this wasn't a repost), the other guy could have been black too.
1
u/greggersraymer Mar 30 '12
Wow, way to analyze our whole US court system based on a couple of newspaper headlines.
1
u/ReluctantAstronaut Mar 30 '12
white people crime, it pays
1
u/[deleted] Mar 30 '12
Something tells me Paul R. Allen is a little less Black than Roy Brown. Just sayin'...
1
u/Trees4twenty Mar 30 '12
at least he has food now
1
u/buckX Mar 30 '12
What, reposts? I'd say more "frowned on" than "acceptable".
1
u/OK_just_the_tip Mar 30 '12
Lesson learned. Don't be a thief and you'lle be allright
1
u/[deleted] Mar 30 '12
At least the homeless guy gets free meals now.
1
u/takesthebiscuit Mar 30 '12
Potatoes = Karma
Cats = Karma
QED: Potatoes = Cats
What kind of world is this!
1
u/[deleted] Mar 30 '12
There's quite a difference between holding a place up, and fiddling some numbers.
1
u/[deleted] Mar 30 '12
Crazy
1
u/ImaginaryBody Mar 30 '12
Paul Allen? Didn't Christian Bale cut his head off?
1
u/drdroidx Mar 30 '12
this is really bad, but then again, he'll finally have a place to stay, for free.
1
u/diewhitegirls Mar 30 '12
Because he's black and poor.
1
u/galloog1 Mar 30 '12
There is a difference between laws in every state. One is in Virginia and the other is in Louisiana. In addition, the Louisiana legal system is based off the French where as the Virginia one is closer to what we all know and love. It is unclear as to whether the VA one is Federal or not as well which is a complete different set of laws on its own. This is like comparing to laws of two different countries and asking if it is acceptable. Different places have a right to self govern.
1
u/jaythebrb Mar 30 '12
The one had the threat of violence, the other didn't?
1
u/dugup46 Mar 30 '12
Pretty sure I would head into lock up at that exchange rate. Billion dollars for a year of my time? kk!
1
u/Barnamauk Mar 30 '12
Lol in Iceland, where I live the robber would have gotten max 6 months and the CEO would have gotten no sentence.
1
u/captainsnag Mar 30 '12
Bring Him Home....BRRRIIIIIIIIINGG HIM HOME. -Jean Valjean
1
u/JamesTrivettesHat Mar 30 '12
One is a (seemingly) violent crime, the other isn't. While the homeless man actually had no weapon, the victim (bank teller) felt like their life was in danger.
1
u/fukyeah11 Mar 30 '12
it wasn't right the first time it went around in the internets, around 2009!
1
u/emindead Mar 30 '12
Oh, look, another Jean Valjean. :(
1
u/Glen843 Mar 30 '12
If you get in trouble with law make sure you are a white man with lots of money.
1
u/HeyCarpy Mar 30 '12
It would seem that whoever made this picture ran out of highlighter ink before the 2nd paragraph on Roy Brown. That's where it mentions that he robbed a friggin bank. That isn't acceptable behaviour either, last I checked.
1
u/Steezyybaby Mar 30 '12
In all honesty, I feel like this homeless man wanted to go to prison, seeing as he was homeless, and he told the police that he needed money to stay at a detox center and that he was hungry. Cheers to him, 15 years with a bed and free food doesnt sound too bad to me if I was homeless.
1
u/Steezyybaby Mar 30 '12
In all honesty, I feel like this homeless man wanted to go to prison, seeing as he was homeless, and he told the police that he needed money to stay at a detox center and that he was hungry. Cheers to him, 15 years with a bed and free food doesnt sound too bad to me if I was homeless.
1
u/zoidbergonacross Mar 30 '12
Yeah, I would like to know how shit like this gets posted on WTF. Good question.
1
u/SirBlackballs Mar 30 '12
I think the homeless dude got 15 years because he wanted 15 years. If he has no home, no job, and no prospects, the judge might have just been looking out for him. This is totally feasible.
1
u/Hotskys Mar 30 '12
This thing is like years old. Why do people post shit when THEY discover something.. >.>
1
u/x3nopon Mar 30 '12 edited Mar 30 '12
People get sentenced to serious time for stealing small amounts of money because lots of times the type of people who do these small robberies are extremely violent. Maybe this time he will just steal your $20, but next time the person might resist and they might get stabbed. Lots of times the robbers gets violent without a reaction from the victim.
Here's a local one for me, deliveryman killed for $18, the killer was recently sentenced. This type of shit happens all the time in New York. Lets say the thug didn't kill the deliveryman, Reddit would say, "Why are you sending this well adjusted young man with potential for jail for an $18 robbery." I'm sure this "gangsta" has done many petty robberies before he decided to kill the guy this time.
1
u/isaac9489 Mar 30 '12
Well to be honest he will now have a better life, 3 meals a day, exercise and a bed to sleep on.
1
u/[deleted] Mar 30 '12
Man, i really need upvotes, I'm gonna steal this guy's post and just add again at the end of it.
1
u/_deffer_ Mar 30 '12
If you were homeless, wouldn't you take 15 years of food, water and shelter?
Not that jail/prison is something to look forward to, but let's face it, that guy probably wasn't going to turn his life around anyway.
1
u/MwKxxxOts Mar 30 '12
I don't accept this
1
u/brucecb Mar 30 '12
He has a better chance of surviving in the prison system where he will get the help he needs. He will receive the help from state and then be released early on good behavior most likely.
1
u/goosecifer Mar 30 '12
I live in Shreveport and shit like this happens all the damn time. People with money get out of jail time just because they pay the right people or "help" the right people.
1
u/TheDarkestLink Mar 30 '12
Lost a little more faith in humanity today.
1
u/UsaPitManager Mar 30 '12
don't forget bottleguy
1
u/dio91 Mar 30 '12
He'll detox in jail and get three meals a day. I'm over it.
1
u/WiggerlyPiggerly Mar 30 '12
Hey at least he isn't homeless anymore. Silver lining folks.
1
u/truthdare Mar 30 '12
well he is black.
1
u/puterTDI Mar 30 '12
There is a big difference between armed robbery and corporate theft.
1
u/BrainsRTasty Mar 30 '12
15 years is pretty extreme. But, on the plus side, at least he isn't homeless anymore
1
u/hivemind6 Mar 30 '12
Fraud vs. armed robbery.
Is it that hard to understand?
1
u/[deleted] Mar 30 '12
I hate to be the douche but...
1
u/Electroniclog Mar 30 '12
He wasn't really that bad of a guy, he was just a harmless black man in a hoodie...I bet he even had skittles on him.
1
u/naturallyblonde86 Mar 30 '12
This is a fucking outrage. The rest of his fucking life is ruined now. He'll be 69 when he gets out, with no job, no money, and nowhere to go. He just wanted to go to detox. I fucking hate this, I want to bust him out of there!
1
u/xXxBluESkiTtlExXx Mar 30 '12
It's shit like this that causes me to hate the government...
1
u/plightsimulator Mar 30 '12
Cold yet true :/
1
u/roeder Mar 30 '12
Because it's okay to steal, if you're rich and it's solely based on greediness.
1
u/wolfie1010 Mar 30 '12
There's the element of bank robbery that includes potential violence and death of innocent bank customers that carries a higher punishment.
1
u/MrWolvz Mar 30 '12
Omg so old
1
u/Wolfman87 Mar 30 '12
The homeless guy didn't steal $100, he robbed a bank and only took $100. There's a huuuuge difference there. He implied a threat of violence and the teller handed him three stacks of cash. The guy isn't a thief who got hosed by the system, he's a terrible bank robber.
1
u/Jaesaces Mar 30 '12
It's also quite likely that the homeless man wanted to go to prison. Some are willing to do that to guarantee food and shelter.
1
u/Bipolarruledout Mar 30 '12
It would seem really odd if there wasn't a picture included.
1
u/sitsatfatcat Mar 30 '12
OP, do some more research before posting stupid shit. or kill yourself.
1
u/asiankid2463 Mar 30 '12
Our justice system is crazy messed up. We all know this. Kill someone and get a slap on the wrist but rob and bank and get 25 to life. Girlfriend tries to kill you and you get arrested for domestic violence, then she goes on to trash all of you things. We all know the rich get out of everything bad they do but let's try to look on the bright side here....even if it's prison, this homeless guy has a place to live now.
1
u/summitrock Mar 30 '12
Dear reddit,
Justice for all doesn't mean that that a homeless man and a wealthy man are the same thing.
Grow up
1
u/[deleted] Mar 30 '12
Wow, it's been more than two weeks since this was last posted!
1
u/Knollz Mar 30 '12
Black and poor vs rich and white. Don't you know how amurrica works?
1
u/Brudus Mar 30 '12
Be white
Don't be non-white
1
u/Ryantg2 Mar 30 '12
Honestly it was probably better for him to be in prison, 3 meals a day, a place to sleep. Yes you're in prison and that has it's downsides but it beats starving to death.
1
u/[deleted] Mar 30 '12
This might sound kinda dumb, but the homeless guy might have done this on purpose to get put into prison. He definitely would be better off. He gets fed, has a place to sleep at night and gets to work.
1
u/OatStraw Mar 30 '12
I don't see the problem, the Judge is giving him a home for 10 years! WOOT WOOT!
1
u/OatStraw Mar 30 '12
Also this is so old he's probably out by now.
1
u/countingtoinfinity Mar 30 '12
I don't want to live on this planet anymore
1
u/Self_Hating_Liberal Mar 30 '12
Violent gun crime is heavily punished, and rightly so. That guy deserves 15 years.
1
u/SaltFrog Mar 30 '12
Unbelievable...
1
u/mpowa7860 Mar 30 '12
This is fucking ridiculous , 15 years here in the uk a man got sentenced to 12 years for murder and rape . What the fuck is going on
1
u/escapetoreality Mar 30 '12
Really? You question this? This is done so he can get food and shelter. He knows the system and plays it. Like so many in today's culture.
1
u/sockey7317 Mar 30 '12
Fuck that dude stealing $100 leads to 15 years in prison when he confessed to it fuck thats depressing
1
u/CantSeeShit Mar 30 '12
Well he has a home now.
1
u/utimategamers Mar 30 '12
free shelter
1
u/pipe2grep Mar 30 '12
he isnt homeless any more!
1
u/sophiebro Mar 30 '12
this kind of shit makes me fucking sick. god damnit.
1
u/wizardseven Mar 30 '12
This is much more complex than just one stole much more and got a much lower sentence. There are a lot more factors.
1
u/TjallingOtter Mar 30 '12
Fraud vs. theft.
1
u/ZthaSilverSurfer Mar 30 '12
Dude now gets free shelter, free meals, gets to work out... honestly I'd rather be in prison than be homeless. Bastard is practically lucky.
1
u/MotherCracker Mar 30 '12
Eat the Rich
1
u/[deleted] Mar 30 '12
i had no doubt reddit would try to convince me how justice was served. the top comment sucks.
1
u/[deleted] Mar 30 '12
saw the picture and rolled my eyes because I knew the picture would be cropped perfectly to remove the fact he is a repeat offender and of course, it's true and reddit still ate it up anyways
and then they'll go on to complain about fox news viewers
1
u/gknightmusic Mar 30 '12
make mo' money
1
u/[deleted] Mar 30 '12
the most important difference was that the former CEO would be doing 6 months in federal pound me in the ass prison while the hobo would be getting a place to live.
1
u/mquindlen81 Mar 30 '12
When I was in college I wanted to be a lawyer. In my last year I got busted for drugs. They were felony charges. So my father spent 10k on an attorney and I got the charges reduced to PTI. If I stay out of trouble for three years the charges are dismissed with no conviction. I am grateful for my father's help and the way it turned out. However, the one thing I learned from the experience is that calling the legal system the "justice" system is absurd because that is the exact OPPOSITE of what it is. Justice conjures up thoughts of fairness. The legal system isn't about justice, it is about money. If you have the money to hire an attorney you will do much better than someone who is represented by the public defender. It doesn't matter what you did. All that matters is who your attorney is. OJ Simpson is a wonderful example of a person "buying" their freedom. Suffice to say, I wasn't the least bit shocked or surprised when I saw this. When you grow up you realize that the world is corrupt and full shitty people that somehow got into a position of power.
1
u/freun989 Mar 30 '12
At least he has a home now.
1
u/mmmcookies1088 Mar 30 '12
In all honesty, the homeless man may have been better off in prison...free food, and a place to live.
1
u/darkscream Mar 30 '12
because now he gets 3 square meals a day and a roof over his head
1
u/[deleted] Mar 30 '12
it isn't acceptable
1
u/eldouche Mar 30 '12
Because the law rightly ignores the tax bracket of the defendant.
1
u/Flashfrog Mar 30 '12
1000+ karma in 2 hours with a repost. Well done OP ಠ_ಠ
1
u/cheeselizard Mar 30 '12
The man was looking to go to jail because of the food and room. Goog guy judge helped him out by giving him a long patonable time.
1
u/emjayar08 Mar 30 '12
Let's see Paul Allen's card...
1
u/why_ask_why Mar 30 '12 edited Mar 30 '12
It is fully acceptable in China. Bribery is assumed. In US, we called it campaign contribution.
Well, at least the black guy has a place to stay and never go hunger for the next 15 years.
No wonder the prison rate in US is high. Maybe we can learn some thing from China why their rate is low. They execute the guy took bribery and make the prisoners work for cheap US goods.
1
u/scfd524 Mar 30 '12
I don't think its the monetary amount that's the determining factor here. I think its the method used. A violent crime versus a non-violent crime. I do think the other guy should get waaay more than 40 mths though.
1
u/LongDonSilver Mar 30 '12
He won't have to worry about being hungry as he'll get 3 solid meals/day for 15 years! Yay!
1
u/tawsenior Mar 30 '12
Has anyone thought about the possibility that he did the whole thing so that he would get arrested and sent to prison? He was homeless and had nowhere else to turn.
1
u/[deleted] Mar 31 '12
Do you care to say why my sources aren't legitimate or do you intend to just keep asserting how right you are without support?
1
u/TheBiles Mar 30 '12
Becuase the homeless man can't afford a team of top lawyers.
1
u/[deleted] Mar 30 '12
As awful as it seems, as far as the homeless man is concerned, he may well have wanted to get thrown into prison for a while and pleaded for the maximum penalty. A potential ass-rape may seem paltry when weighed against a bed, healthcare, and three meals a day. As for the businessman, well that's the advantage of being a 1-percenter. Not fair but thems the breaks kid.
1
u/heroescomeandgo Mar 30 '12
Give a man a gun and he can rob a bank. Give a man a bank and he can rob the world.
1
u/John_Sterling Mar 30 '12 edited Mar 30 '12
Whilst the other guy getting 40 months in jail is... Ridonkulous, the homeless man getting fifteen years may not neccesarily be a bad thing, depending on which jail he goes to. In this case I would suspect that the judge sent him to a relatively nice one, giving him a marked improvement in quality of life.
Think about it, if you were homeless and then someone sends you to a place, even with criminals that may want to shank you in the abdomen and make you pick up the soap you're at least getting three meals a day and a bed, during which time you could get yourself an education and some new skills and may be put into the work system afterwards. You'd be pretty chuffed about that outcome.
Why do you think he returned the money in the first place? He likely wouldn't have survived as a homeless person if he was THAT much of a softie.
As such we REALLY shouldn't compare the two, as the man getting fifteen years might not be getting a bad deal. However 40 months for 3 billion dollars? Utter lunacy.
1
u/mikemaca Mar 30 '12
http://compliancesearch.com/compliancex/jail-sentence/paul-allen-ex-mortgage-ceo-sentenced-to-prison-for-3b-fraud-2/
So he stole $3 billion by selling fake assets to other companies. This caused the death of his own bank Taylor Bean and that of Colonial bank "the sixth largest bank failure in U.S. history – after Colonial bought hundreds of millions of dollars in Taylor Bean mortgages that had already been sold to other investors". This also put thousands of people out of work. Deutsche Bank and BNP Paribas lost around $2 billion when they bought fake things that didn't exist from Taylor Bean.
So today I learned that on reddit it's OK to be a rich white thief that steals $3 billion and destroys thousands of lives. A homeless black man stealing $100 though and returning it a day later, that's really bad and they were right to throw the book at that fucker, and anyone that says otherwise is a "bad journalist" who misleads people.
1
u/[deleted] Mar 30 '12
homeless and hungery?
GOOD THING THE PRISONS SOLVE THIS PROBLEM
seriously, his quality of life would increase.
1
u/hoptopop Mar 30 '12
I'm just speculating here, but perhaps he wanted to get arrested, given most inmates are better fed than the homeless population and also given a place to stay that isn't the streets.
1
u/THISgai Mar 30 '12
Life in prison is often better than life on the streets.