Community Chat

[lovesrecess]

I have a hard time believing Singer’s racket was not known by many in the admissions offices of these schools, and maybe more. He is cooperating because he wants to save his own hide, and isn’t interested in helping anyone else.

[stevieb]

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@haddon9 wrote:

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@Johnnyeager wrote:

I thought it was pretty clear by now that none of the $$$ went to any of the schools.

The bribe money went to Rick Singer and the pockets of his accomplices at various Athletic Departments.......USC received none of this money.  Therefore, no building could be built.

So, therein lies the difference between a parent making a legal donation directly to a school and a parent paying bribe money to falsify records.

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@Johnnyeager   Okay so one way is legal by giving or donating money to a school and the other way is not by bribery.  However both ways still take a spot away from a more academically gifted student.

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But one benefits the entire school and hence all the students and future students, the other only benefits the student whose parent bribed their way in and the person receiving the bribe... One is legal and the other is not... This isn't just about academically gifted students being denied admission... 

[Johnnyeager]

Felicity started her 250 hours of court mandated community service, spending about 3 hours at The Teen Project, a Los Angeles not for profit that provides services and support to at risk homeless teens with addiction issues and involvement in sex trafficking.

[cherry]

This might be the making of her. To see what other teens have had to suffer, would make anyone with a heart  and conscience want to help them. I hope it makes her ashamed when she thinks about her child's life ,and theirs

[Teddie]

From what I read, Felicity is the one who chose this organization. She and her daughter, Georgia, have volunteered there for years. Felicity is not the heartless person some want to depict. 

[Johnnyeager]

I don't think that Felicity needs to be ashamed of the life that she and family lead.  There's nothing wrong with the way their wealth was accumulated.

However, exposure to these types of organizations will show that her lifestyle is not the norm and not to be taken for granted.

[cherry]

Any person who resorts to cheating  another , to get ahead, should feel very ashamed. Her daughter had all of the advantage these kids never had, and yet that still wasn't enough for her. She wanted to make sure  her daughter would get a place, no matter who  got hurt in the process

[gardenman]

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@Carmie wrote:

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@dex wrote:

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@cherry wrote:

Well you might be right, but  I am willing to see it happen...I doubt it will be a happy experience for her, and it won't be something she will want to repeat @dex 

It just burns me to see some poor person ,who  is facing hard time ,for doing far less than she did. It will at least look like justice can't be bought, even if it isn't always fair

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In our area we have many homeless(poor) and they rarely end up in jail for any crimes.Residents and businesses are becoming upset and the media has reports.

I think prisons should only be for dangerous criminals.We need to find a way to keep non violent people from reoffending without locking them up.I think community service could change many people and would benefit society.I would like to see mandatory rehab,job training and community service sentences.

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I don't know where you live, but I read this morning that in California that  Prop 47 allows shop lifters to not be prosecuted for stealing anything with a value less than $950.  This was done to keep non violent petty criminals out of jails. It is now only a misdemeanor.

Now, there are hoards of people who are making a pretty good living from shop lifting.  Street people and druggies have a good income and a new job.  The merchants are out of millions of dollars a year. Criminals are going into retail establishments with a calculator to make sure they don't "over steal."  No one is able to stop this activity.

Allowing people go just get away with crimes because they are not dangerous is ridiculous and stupid.  I can't for the life of me figure out how this is making things better.

Something  like this encourages honest people to get in on the game too.

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Back when Wilson Goode was the mayor of Philadelphia the city had a problem with prison overcrowding. Wilson decided they should stop jailing first-time car thieves and was foolish enough to announce it publicly. You can pretty much guess what happened. Car theft rates skyrocketed as everyone knew they could steal a car with no risk of prison. His pronouncement lasted all of two days before the DA and police commissioner stepped in and he reversed that policy.

As to shoplifting, my grandfather owned a small store locally back in the 1960's. Shoplifters robbed him blind. If he had them arrested and charged he'd have to go to court to testify against them and their lawyers would then ask for a delay, the accused wouldn't show up, or they'd get a slap on the wrist and no meaningful punishment. It cost him a lot of money as he'd either have to hire someone to watch the store for him or close the store while he testified. The same people would come back time and again and commit the same crime and no one would do much of anything about it. He had to close down the business because of the shoplifting. Shoplifters make a huge impact on businesses and giving them a get out of jail free card is just stupid.

[suzyQ3]

@gardenman: Breaking news today from the Oklahoma's Governor Kevin Stitt (R)

Hundreds of Oklahoma inmates left prison Monday before their original sentences were over. And bipartisan lawmakers couldn't be happier.

In the largest mass commutation in US history, at least 462 non-violent inmates were released, officials said. A total of 527 inmates had their sentences commuted Friday, but 65 of them have detainers and will be released later.

The move is one of many prison reform efforts in Oklahoma aimed at reducing overcrowded prisons while helping low-level offenders build a life of self-sufficiency rather than reincarceration.

"Now is the first day of the rest of your life," Gov. Kevin Stitt told freed inmates.

He and other officials pledged help with what might be a challenging transition for many. "We really want you to have a successful future," the governor said.

Video from CNN affiliate KFOR showed emotional reunions outside prisons and released inmates speaking of a new opportunity.

The state Pardon and Parole Board acted to fulfill the will of the people through the HB 1269 docket, giving hundreds of non-violent, low-level offenders an opportunity at a second chance," Stitt said previously.

"I also thank the Department of Corrections and the many nonprofits who are stepping up and working hard to connect our inmates with the resources they need for a successful transition. This event is another mark on our historic timeline as we move the needle in criminal justice reform."

In 2016, Oklahoma passed reforms that would turn some low-level felonies into misdemeanors. For example, possession of a small amount of drugs became a misdemeanor, and the threshold for a property crime becoming a felony increased from $500 in property value to $1,000 in value.

Of the hundreds of inmates who had their sentences commuted:

-- The average age is 39.7 years old

-- 75% are men, and 25% are women

-- They had been incarcerated for three years

-- They were being released an average of 1.34 years early

"Had these inmates served their full uncommuted sentence, it could have cost the State of Oklahoma approximately $11.9M for continued incarceration based upon the average costs," the Pardon and Parole Board said.

But the mass commutation isn't the only effort to reform criminal justice reform in the state.

The Oklahoma Department of Corrections held its first "transition fairs" for inmates at 28 facilities across the state, the Pardon and Parole Board said.

"More than 200 people from 45 community partners, nonprofits, and state agencies attended," the board said. "These fairs connected 781 inmates with the services they may need once released."

CNN's Sheena Jones and Artemis Moshtaghian contributed to this report.