Justice Is Served - Anyone Else?

Last week, I attended the sentencing of an old friend in a Milwaukee court. He had embezzled (stolen) a serious amount of money over a long time. You'd never know it by his home, clothes or car. He probably never spent any of it on himself. The judge commented that people like him often have personalities that drive them to be generous givers in order to validate their self-image. Perhaps that's true. Regardless, he was sentenced to jail time for his crime. That's the way things run.

During the sentencing proceedings, I did make the point to another man who was there to speak on my friend's behalf that sometimes justice is served by putting a person in jail for a crime... but no one else. In my friend's case, he had lost his job of 30 years, his wife of 35 years, and basically all of his possessions. He was nearly penniless and abandoned. That's serious punishment, but the law does demand more. He had found a new, lower paying job and his new employer told the court that he trusted my friend despite what happened and felt that everyone deserved a second chance. He suggested to the court that a work-release arrangement might be in the best interest of all.

But the judge finally concluded that my friend must serve jail time. The judge did not rush to judgment. He considered all of the ramifications and concluded he had to order jail time for my friend. His sentence was not as harsh as it might have been. It was, no doubt, a very fair and compassionate sentence in light of the crime. Justice is served... the press can send out a message to deter other potential embezzlers. And now...

• my friend loses his job and a chance to rebuild a shattered life
• his new employer loses a person whose talents and knowledge could have greatly enhanced his business
• the victims of his embezzlement lose a significant opportunity to obtain their money back
• the state loses a significant amount of money to incarcerate him

There was no silver lining in that cloud.