home

Former Rep. Bob Ney to Report to Prison

By Jeralyn, Section Corruption Cases
Posted on Wed Feb 28, 2007 at 08:53:08 PM EST
Tags: Bob Ney (all tags)
Share This: Digg! StumbleUpon del.icio.us reddit reddit

Former Ohio Rep. Bob Ney reports to federal prison tomorrow in Morgantown, W.Va. to begin serving his 30 month sentence.

He sent his friends a farewell e-mail, quoting Garth Brooks' song, "The Dance."

and now i'm glad i didn't know
the way it all would end, the way it all would go
our lives are better left to chance,
i could have missed the pain,
but i'd have had to miss, the dance

< Jose Padilla Ruled Competent to Stand Trial | Ohio Weighs Special License Plates for Sex Offenders >

  • The Online Magazine with Liberal coverage of crime-related political and injustice news

  • Contribute To TalkLeft


    • Display: Sort:
    Former Rep. Bob Ney to Report to Prison | 7 comments (7 topical)

    Readers Must Login or Create an Account to Comment

    I would be interested (none / 0) (#1)
    by Che's Lounge on Wed Feb 28, 2007 at 08:55:58 PM EST
    in a description of the physical environment of his place of incarceration. Where would I find that?

    Here's the BOP Link (none / 0) (#2)
    by Jeralyn on Wed Feb 28, 2007 at 08:58:28 PM EST
    to the Morgantown facility.

    Parent
    So basically (none / 0) (#3)
    by scarshapedstar on Thu Mar 01, 2007 at 12:52:26 AM EST
    i could have missed the pain,
    but i'd have had to miss, the dance

    "And I'd have done it again, too!"

    What a guy.

    Club Fed (none / 0) (#4)
    by Che's Lounge on Thu Mar 01, 2007 at 02:23:40 AM EST
    Rich camps for rich criminals. What a farce. Does he get time off of his massive sentence for good behavior? I'm sure his rich friends and benefactors will be waiting to reward him for not ratting them out.

    Few people (none / 0) (#5)
    by Deconstructionist on Thu Mar 01, 2007 at 07:43:37 AM EST
    at Morgantown are rich-- a great many were poor enough to qualify for appointed counsel and a great many are serving time for drug convictions.

       Relative to the prison population more wealthy people will be in minimum security or camps simply because classification takes into account things like whether the crime was a violent one, whether the person has a criminal history -- and if so whether it was violent, whether a firearm or other dangerous weapon was used in the offense, the length of the sentence, the age of the inmate, and other factors pertaining  to the degree to which the person is a risk to attempt escape or to cause other problems relating to security. He's not getting any speciual treatment with regard to assignment.

       In the federal system "good time" is very limited -- 57 days a year. Moreover, there is no parole and except in very  extraordinary circumastances of advanced age and declining health there is no  early release period.

       What his friends choose to do or not do is beyond the reach of the sentencing court or the BOP. Obviously, upon release he will be in a better position than most convicted felons but he should not be punished more harshly because of THAT.

      I do think strong arguments can be made that public corruption generally should be punished more harshly relative to other classes of crime than it is currently. that could be accomplished by reducing federal drug penalties 9which in my opinion are the only ones really too harsh across the board) or by increasing the penalties for offenses involving corruption.

      Ney and others must be sentenced on the basis of the laws as they existed when the crimes were committed.

       

    Got ya covered there too (none / 0) (#6)
    by Che's Lounge on Thu Mar 01, 2007 at 09:06:54 AM EST
    Ney and others must be sentenced on the basis of the laws as they existed when the crimes were committed.

    Especially if he and his privileged gentry WROTE those laws.

    i agree to an extent (none / 0) (#7)
    by Deconstructionist on Thu Mar 01, 2007 at 09:32:15 AM EST
      The fact that public officials write, enact and enforce laws against public corruption is almost certainly a factor in the punishments being set for them much lower than for say  drug trafficking even when any objective view would conclude that many cases of public corruption caused far greater harm than most drug offenses for which people get way longer.

      But, Ney only benefits from that as a member of a class which includes all types of officials (and people working corruptly with them) of all political stripes.

    Parent

    Former Rep. Bob Ney to Report to Prison | 7 comments (7 topical)

    Readers Must Login or Create an Account to Comment