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Jefferson Gets 13 Years

Ex-congressman Jefferson receives 13 years in prison

Ex-congressman Jefferson receives 13 years in prison -- latimes.com

William Jefferson, the former U.S. congressman caught with $90,000 in marked currency stuffed in his freezer, was sentenced to 13 years in prison for using his office to solicit bribes.

U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III in Alexandria, Virginia, today sentenced Jefferson, more than three months after a federal jury here found him guilty on 11 of 16 counts. He had faced as many as 20 years on each conviction.

Glad to see this guy is getting the punishment he deserves.
 
1 down and few dozen more to go.
 
Re: Ex-congressman Jefferson receives 13 years in prison

I, too, am glad to see him sentenced. Now comes the big question - will he pull a Traficant when he gets out and try to make a comeback? :lol:
 
Re: Ex-congressman Jefferson receives 13 years in prison

I, too, am glad to see him sentenced. Now comes the big question - will he pull a Traficant when he gets out and try to make a comeback? :lol:

I think of that as a "Marion Barry".
 
You have got to wonder...

Jefferson.. black and a Democrat gets convicted for taking 500k in bribes.... 13 years

Cunningham.. white and a Republican gets convicted for 2.4 million in bribes plus everything for wire fraud, to tax evasion and he gets 8 years...

Why the huge difference? Does pleading guilty really give 5 years off on a vastly larger bribery case?
 
You have got to wonder...

Jefferson.. black and a Democrat gets convicted for taking 500k in bribes.... 13 years

Cunningham.. white and a Republican gets convicted for 2.4 million in bribes plus everything for wire fraud, to tax evasion and he gets 8 years...

Why the huge difference? Does pleading guilty really give 5 years off on a vastly larger bribery case?

Dollar Bill got more time because he's black. Being Democrat had nothing to do with it.
 
So you are saying that it was a race thing?

Of course. Race had everything to do with it. You don't really beleve that a white man would have gone away for that long, do you?
 
You have got to wonder...

Jefferson.. black and a Democrat gets convicted for taking 500k in bribes.... 13 years

Cunningham.. white and a Republican gets convicted for 2.4 million in bribes plus everything for wire fraud, to tax evasion and he gets 8 years...

Why the huge difference? Does pleading guilty really give 5 years off on a vastly larger bribery case?

It's got nothing to do with race, but rather with the charges that were brought and with the plea agreement that Cunningham entered into.

[ame=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duke_Cunningham]Duke Cunningham - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/ame]

Cunningham's attorney, Mark Holscher, later said that the government's evidence was so overwhelming that he had no choice but to recommend a guilty plea.[36] With the plea bargain, Cunningham faced a maximum of 10 years; had he fought the charges, Cunningham risked spending the rest of his life in prison.
 
Slam ! The bars clink shut on Mr. 90-thou in the freezer Jefferson.

:shock: My heavens, crazy!

I admit I laughed, though - the image of have 90,000 in the fridge is rather humerous.
 
Poor Guy.

I am going to take the unpopular, irrational, and down right stupid stance of being in support of Jefferson's innocence.
 
*throws tomatoes at Arch* :lol:
 
Of course. Race had everything to do with it. You don't really beleve that a white man would have gone away for that long, do you?

OH he's black?

Well forget my previous post.

He's guilty, there's no question about it. Man. (kidding)
 
OH he's black?

Well forget my previous post.

He's guilty, there's no question about it. Man. (kidding)

Yeah, man, this all because he's black. You don't think they would throw a white congress critter in the joint for 13 years, do you?

I mean, it's a Federal law, that blacks automtically get more time than whites. I can't remember where in the code it is, but it's there.
 
Yeah, man, this all because he's black. You don't think they would throw a white congress critter in the joint for 13 years, do you?

I mean, it's a Federal law, that blacks automtically get more time than whites. I can't remember where in the code it is, but it's there.

I wonder how much time they will give Witches that are Black.

I bet that's like an automatic death sentence.
 
I wonder how much time they will give Witches that are Black.

I bet that's like an automatic death sentence.

Double life, at least. That's if they have a Liberal jury.
 
He definitely warranted jailtime. How many years was Duke Cunningham given?
 
Harsh punishment IMO.I want violent offenders getting sentances like this.
 
He definitely warranted jailtime. How many years was Duke Cunningham given?

On March 3, 2006, U.S. District Judge Larry A. Burns sentenced Cunningham to 100 months (eight years and four months) in prison.[1] Federal prosecutors had pushed for the maximum sentence of ten years, but Cunningham's defense lawyers said that at 64 years old and with prostate cancer, Cunningham would likely die in prison if he received the full sentence.[52][53] Judge Burns cited his military service in Vietnam, age, and health as the reason the full ten years was not imposed. Prosecutors announced that they were satisfied with the sentence, which is the longest jail term ever given to a former Congressman.[54]

On the day of sentencing, Cunningham was 90 pounds (41 kg) lighter than when allegations first surfaced 9 months earlier. After receiving his sentence, Cunningham made a request to see his 91-year-old mother one last time before going to prison. "I made a very wrong turn. I rationalized decisions I knew were wrong. I did that, sir," Cunningham said. The request was denied, and Burns remanded him immediately upon rendering the sentence.[55] Cunningham is currently incarcerated in the minimum security satellite camp at the United States Penitentiary in Tucson, Arizona.[56] His projected release date is June 4, 2013.

I'd be surprised if he makes it all the way to 2013.
 
I'd be surprised if he makes it all the way to 2013.

Thanks for looking this up for me. Of course I could have done it, and I am happy you obliged me. :2wave:
 
It's got nothing to do with race, but rather with the charges that were brought and with the plea agreement that Cunningham entered into.

Duke Cunningham - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Of course it has nothing to do with race per say, but the difference makes you wonder about the system. Here you have one man where the Government can prove he took 500.000 in bribes and he gets 13 years, and in Cunningham's case the government had a slam dunk case for at least 2.5 million in bribes and various other very serious crimes and he got less because he admitted guilt? Pathetic if you ask me.
 
Of course it has nothing to do with race per say, but the difference makes you wonder about the system. Here you have one man where the Government can prove he took 500.000 in bribes and he gets 13 years, and in Cunningham's case the government had a slam dunk case for at least 2.5 million in bribes and various other very serious crimes and he got less because he admitted guilt? Pathetic if you ask me.

Wait - you're saying that you think something American is horribly unjust and appalling to your enlightened European sensibilities? I'm astonished.

edit: And for what it's worth, I don't see how it's "pathetic." Plea bargaining is a well established part of our common law system and it serves the dual interest of judicial efficiency and defendant cooperation. If not for plea barganing, many (most?) conspiracies would never be broken up. The fact that you're unfamiliar with something doesn't automatically make it pathetic.
 
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