Question for supporters of the death penalty

No.

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Here's the question: Would you support the death penalty for crimes like the one Bernie Madoff perpetuated for 2 decades?

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Government sanctioned? No.

A victim of his taking it upon his or herself to put him down? Yes.

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Non-supporters chime in as well, although it's likely a moot point, since you oppose the death penalty in all cases I assume.

Here's the question: Would you support the death penalty for crimes like the one Bernie Madoff perpetuated for 2 decades?

I just finished reading No One Would Listen, and what that a-hole did, and how many lives he absolutely destroyed is almost unimaginable. Reading testimony from some of his victims is absolutely heartbreaking. Not to mention, the suicides he's directly responsible for.

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No. Madoff's fraud was without question of great moral turpitude, but I can not support the idea of the state exacting blood for money under ordinary circumstances. He'll die in federal custody and is already paying a pretty steep price. He couldn't even attend the funerals of his only two sons. His family should have absolutely been left insolvent (they weren't) but unless he was directly responsible for someone's death, I would'n't support his execution.

ETA: And by definition, only one person is "directly responsible" for a suicide. You could melt everything I own down to shite and I ain't checking myself out. There's always something else to do.

His son killing himself is not punishment enough for that pos.

(no message)

Eye for an eye only.

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Would you support the death penalty for crimes like the one Bernie Madoff perpetuated for 2 decades?

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Not a chance.

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I just finished reading No One Would Listen, and what that a-hole did, and how many lives he absolutely destroyed is almost unimaginable.

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Indeed.

However, lest your heart break too much for the "victims", you should know most were far from being pure and innocent themselves. Madoff's was a Jewish Fund. Others were fairly unwelcome. The fund's exclusion of gentile involvement made his program more attractive to Jewish investors, not less. That speaks for itself.

Further, while many life savings were lost, the quantitation of loss was not often stated as the amount invested, but rather the total amount investors thought they had accrued.

Never will forget a lady crying in front of cameras saying she'd "invested $3.5Million with Madoff, and had lost it all."

Translation?
She invested $250K with Madoff in 1989. She thought it's value was escalating at >13%/yr. So after 20 yrs, she thought she had >$3M invested. She never had anything close to that.

It should be known that the investors were getting statements so they weren't imagining their assets increasing.

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I don't understand how being Jewish doesn't make them "victims" a lot of fund management is not public. How does their ethnicity have anything to do with the theft?

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They touched on that in the book. What Madoff was doing(other than the whole Ponzi Scheme), was an Affinity Scam. Madoff was Jewish, and preyed on the Jewish community. Although not exclusively ripping off Jews, they thought, "hey, our Jewish friend here wouldn't screw another member of the group". It doesn't make them any less victims though.

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Madoff was Jewish, and preyed on the Jewish community.

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I disagree. This bias is not useful. He preyed on those that would let him. The Jewish variable just made it easier to forward his motive.