PA Judges Caught on Tape Discussing the Coverup of Sending Kids to Prison for Money

Holy shit.

More here:　http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kids_for_cash_scandal

 

Doesn't surprise me a bit. For-profit jails should be illegal, the incentives are completely wrong! Stupidest idea ever. One of, anyway
This is not unique to this one place and this one set of judges either. Even laws themselves (like mandatory sentences) are influenced by for-profit jailer's lobbies.

 

In NY, we've had harsh drug laws for a generation without for profit prisons. Why? Because virtually all of the state prisons are in upstate towns where the prison is the only economic generator to speak of. It may not be "for profit", but there is certainly an industry of sending downstate blacks and latinos to upstate prisons where they provide jobs for upstate whites.

 

I would just like to point out that we in Lackawanna County (Scranton) generally view Wilkes-Barre as the ugliest part of Northeastern PA. It's a small city with big city crime and corruption.

 

Reading that story makes me wish Huitzilopochtli still needed hearts.

 

Immortality being what it is, he probably still does. It's become less socially acceptable to sate his needs though...

 

there was a L&O:SVU episode about the same type of thing. i wonder if the judges have been watching too much tv?

 

The writers have been watching the news. "Ripped from the headlines"!

These guys are the worst of the worst and really need to be publicly slapped for all to see. They need to go to the same stripey hole theyve sent lots of adults and have to walk the yard with them. No consideration should be given them. One could argue they have subverted the function of Government on the most cynical and base level. Is there some sub form of treason under color of authority which could be brought? If they get probation or suspended sentence or halfway house time Ill be outraged.

 

Transcript of multiple recorded conversations:
http://standardspeaker.com/news/powell-judges-in-their-own-words-1.784065

These guys are @*&#ed.

 

(BUMP)

Judge in PA dismisses 2,000 cases in the disgusting "kids for cash" scandal:

http://www.newsworks.org/index.php?option=com_flexicontent&view=items&id=32260:kids-for-cash-

 

My first thought was the same as one of the few commenters:

 

Apparently Pennsylvania isn't a safe place to be a kid.

 

if society/people want certain people to be locked up (like people who break certain laws), then they should be required to pay for it. that's the function of government. I don't agree with privatizing government functions. if it's a government function - and I consider incarcerating your own people for various reasons to be such - then I don't care how big government gets, people should be required to pay for it. if society decides it doesn't want to pay for it, then laws or how the law are implemented, or the penalties associated with breaking those laws need to be changed. people should be presented with a cost analysis every 4 years or so, so they could judge how much certain laws, including the penalties associated with breaking them, is costing them, and be given an opportunity to change them.
of course, I'm not holding my breath. there's a whole cottage industry around penalizing law breakers. there are so many people and businesses who benefit from them. a simple DUI (assuming it's your first) will cost you 10-15K in about 2 years. in addition to this significant burden of unexpected costs, you may well lose your job for a DUI, so good luck paying those expenses. the stress something like that puts on a family could also lead to a divorce - so add those costs on to it, and you can pretty quickly go from being a productive, contributing member of society to being at the bottom, barely scraping by, or become a burden to society. all this because of some MADD women.
in my lovely state of CO, they've been doing a crack down on drunk driving in the last 2-3 months. I've heard them bragging about it in a public service ad recently that they've made over 1200 arrests...

 

DWI threadjack

I've never seen a MADD woman make a DWI arrest. I do know some who have bumper stickers on their cars, that state "A drunk driver killed my child".
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drunk_driving_in_the_United_States
"the United States NHTSA estimates that 17,941 people died in 2006 in alcohol-related collisions, representing 40% of total traffic deaths in the US. NHTSA states 275,000 were injured in alcohol-related accidents in 2003. The Bureau of Justice Statistics estimated that in 1996 local law enforcement agencies made 1,467,300 arrests nationwide for driving under the influence of alcohol, compared to 1.9 million such arrests during the peak year in 1983. Drivers with a BAC of 0.10% are 6 to 12 times more likely to get into a fatal crash or injury than drivers with no alcohol."
Frankly, I think DWI arrest totals have declined in recent years. 1.4 million in 2009.
http://www.drinkinganddriving.org/ CO is T-6, @ 76 per 10,000 people.
Gilpin Co. has the highest rate: http://www.drinkinganddriving.org/rcounty-data/default.aspx?state=co&county=gilpin
Denver below state average: http://www.drinkinganddriving.org/rcounty-data/default.aspx?state=co&county=denver
Denver DWI arrests dropped 60%, from >5K in mid-90s to just over 2K in '05.

 

They're trying to send a serious message before soeone gets hurt or killed. I get that MADD comes off as a bunch of whiny, sanctimonious killjoys, but being drunk and behind the wheel of a motor vehicle is no joke. The stress death or serious injury puts on a family is at least equal to that of a DUI on a productive citizen.

 

My intention wasn't to diminish the seriousness of drunk driving, as much as to point out the penalties associated with it and the potential impact on individuals and society. I think the penalties are way overboard. The fact is most people who drive drunk don't kill or injure anyone. And what about distracted driving? Whether its a lady putting on makeup, a guy shaving or reading the newspaper, or texting while driving, or fiddling with the radio or navigation system while driving, all of these can result in accidents just as much as drunk driving, yet the penalties are nowhere near as severe. What about drowsy driving? Studies have shown that drowsy driving is even more dangerous than drunk driving. Yet the penalties are nowhere near what they are for drunk driving. Why? Because its easy to verify if someone was drunk if an accident occurs. With drowsy or distracted driving, not so much. I just think the penalties for drunk driving are too severe, and the BAC for the limit too low (.05 in Colorado - basically one drink). I'm not making light of it, but who of us are not capable of driving just fine after one beer? But if you happen to be unlucky enough to get pulled over, your ass is toast, and your life ruined.

 

Or you can try to change the law so that the "time" is reasonable and proportionate to the actual offense.

 

Maybe I'm dealing with a bunch of people on here who have never had a drink or two and then decided to get behind the wheel. But that isn't my experience with people I encounter in my daily life. I can understand a person being MADD if a loved one was killed or injured by a drunk driver, but laws need to be made by rational people, not those who have a strong emotional connection to the issue. Or those who have a strong monetary connection to it.

 

http://www.state.co.us/gov_dir/leg_dir/olls/PDF/COLORADO DRUNK DRIVING LAWS.pdf
Impairment starts at .04, which is below the .05 standard for DWAI. Intoxication starts at .08, which is the standard for DWI.
I don't know how much you weight, but a single beer for an average 150 pound adult will only create an .02 BAC. With burn-off of .015, that beer will be pretty much gone from your system after an hour. Drinking 3 beers in an hour creates an .06, less burnoff of .015 leaves a BAC of .045, less than the impairment threshhold. Drinking a 6-pack over 2 hours creates a .12, less .03 burnoff results in a BAC of .09, above the DWI threshhold. So, don't down a ********ing 6-pack, drive, get caught, & cry the blues! OK?

 

god bless the free market. what creativity, innovation, advancement, and all those amazing jobs created. progress. you are all just haters, jealous, and mad because you didnt make 2.8 million. if you work hard, then your hard work will contribute to the money that you deserve. just work hard and create jobs. thank god that the government didnt own this institution because in that case the workers would not be motivated to work and nothing would get done. those in detention also wouldnt be there because they would have no need to commit crimes because they would all be on the same level, have the same money, and have equal opportunities. even more jobs. the judges keep their jobs, the undercover agents keep their jobs. jobs all around. who cares about the implications. are there jobs? everything is ok.

 

What's the reasonable and proportionate punishment to putting someone in a wheelchair or killing the sole provider or a single parent in a family?

 

There's a BAC calculator at the bottom of this page. http://www.erie.gov/stopdwi/bac_calculator.asp
Looks like you're right on number of drinks and corresponding BAC level. Looks like for me, 2 12 oz beers in an hour would get me to .04 BAC.
My point remains however, regarding the harshness of the punishment for drunk driving. Of course, it's just a matter of personal opinion. Based on my experience with people I encounter in my life, it seems drinking and driving is quite common among people, and most people have never gotten caught. But I guess I'm dealing with a bunch of sanctimonious pricks here