"Weeping in court as he learned his fate, former WorldCom boss Bernard Ebbers was sentenced to 25 years in prison Wednesday for leading the largest corporate fraud in U.S. history."
I take no joy Ebbers' tears, and I doubt this kind of sentence will ever be handed out again for a similar deserving crime, but it would be a wonderful event if this was the start of equal time for equal crimes.
Our justice system is skewed to the wealthy not only in the representation they can buy and the treatment they receive from police, but the law itself is written to favor the rich.
If I had robbed enough banks to create a $1 billion loss, I'd get life as well. If I was a dope addict and happen to land a big score to hold me over for an extended period, I'd have gotten the same sentence as Ebbers.
The fact is, most CEOs never get charged, let alone convicted for financial fraud. And I regret that fact will probably never change.
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