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Wealthy In America Research Paper

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Every time you turn on the television there always seems to be another wealthy or known named person getting arrested. What’s even worse is when you see they are getting a slap on the wrist for serious crimes. It seems to becoming more and more popular that wealthy and privileged people are getting away with minor sentences for serious crimes. There are two great examples of wealthy privileged Americans getting minor sentences for serious crimes.
There was a 16-year-old, Ethan Couch, from a well-off family from Texas that was three times over the legal alcohol limit and killed four people in a car crash. The prosecutors found 20 years in prison to be appropriate for the crime. However, the judge thought it was more reasonable to give …show more content…

Robert went to court and was convicted of raping a three-year-old. However, he didn’t go to jail from the conviction. The judge ordered him to eight years of probation and to register as a sex offender. The judge released a statement saying he allowed Richards to remain free because he didn’t think Richards would “fare well behind bars.” It is obvious that his title of who he is had an effect on why he would or wouldn’t fare well behind bars. Granted usually child molesters are at the bottom of the food chain in prison, none of them are convicted and let free because they wouldn’t fare well. Saying someone doesn’t belong in prison because they wouldn’t fare well after committing a serious crime should be a crime in itself. People don’t go to prison to have a good time, its for when you break the law and have to pay the consequences. These two examples are a few of many wealthy Americans who have received a minor sentence for a major crime. Having more money than most or a name that everyone knows shouldn’t determine how your sentencing is going to go if convicted of a crime. Punishment for a serious crime should always have serious

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(McLaughlin,Muncie and Hughes 2003:144) writes "a Labourer is 14 times more likely to go to prison than a professional" this emphasizes my point showing how corporate criminals challenge the ideas of conventional criminals as they tend to be well-educated and are not perceived as potential criminals in society. Understanding a conventional crime and the criminal who has committed it, is straightforward however the same can not be said for corporate crimes. Corporate criminals are usually individuals of upper socio-economic class who are well educated and violate the criminal law by breaching the trust placed upon them during their business activities (Whyte,2009:187). The corporate criminal challenges the conventional definitions of a criminal who is perceived to be “ignorant and stupid” and are instead “deceptive and suave”(Whyte,2009:187). An example of this is Jordan Belfont a smart, suave business-man who managed to makes millions with his illegitimate business activities, such criminals are portrayed as intelligent and cunning who do not present a direct threat to the public.

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