A Very Long Federal Sentence
A Very Long Federal Sentence
The high profile sentencing of former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich has received a great deal of media attention but surprisingly little commentary about the length of the sentence, beyond the observation that it is a long sentence that will likely result in the former governor serving about 11 to 12 years in prison. The case has received national coverage which is not surprising given who the defendant is and what the nature of the charges were. Presumably one of the purposes of such a long sentence is deterrence, enhanced by the very public nature of the case.
I worry, however, about whether the very public nature of the case sends another message. The message is that a 14 year sentence is appropriate for a non-violent first offender. (I assume Mr. Blagojevich is a first time offender; I have seen nothing to suggest anything to the contrary.) Ultimately all sentencing involves the application of a value system. The question each case presents is for how long, if at all, should a person be deprived of their freedom. I question whether a first time non-violent offender should ever be incarcerated, but even if one assumes some amount of incarceration is appropriate in some cases, is 14 years required? Is it necessary to impose this amount of separation of Mr. Blagojevich from his family and society and is it necessary for society to support Mr. Blagojevich in prison for more than a decade?
I also worry that if a 14 year sentence of Mr. Blagojevich is acceptable, does that sentence become a kind of informal standard for other sentences. Will the next prosecutor in a political corruption case point to the 14 year sentence as a kind of benchmark and will the prosecutor in a mine run gun or drug case argue that if Mr. Blagojevich received 14 years for a non-violent offense, even more is required for a non white-collar case.
There is sometimes a misguided notion that lengthy sentences for white-collar defendants are progressive because they reduce the disparity between the treatment of white-collar and non-white-collar cases. I would suggest that the way to reduce the disparity is to shorten the sentences of non-white collar defendants. Sadly, I think the sentence of former Governor Rod Blagojevich points in the other direction. It is one more chapter, albeit a very visible one, in the long story of this country's extraordinarily high rate of incarceration.