‘It is imperative the Federal Bureau of Prisons strongly considers the financial, emotional and physical devastation that some inmates have caused…’
(Michael Barnes, Liberty Headlines) District attorneys, mayors and governors are using the Wuhan coronavirus as a reason to deploy radical left-wing criminal-justice policies across the country.
But Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., is asking the nation’s top criminal justice official to draw the line at the worst fraudsters in American history.
City officials in Baltimore and Philadelphia have suspended arresting violent criminals.
Cleveland has released hundreds of prisoners from jail.
Virginia has reduced its statewide jail population by 17 percent in just the past few weeks.
And New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio’s inmate-release policies have even freed ex-Trump attorney Michael Cohen, who worked with House Democrats after being indicted by the Mueller investigation for lying to Congress.
All in the name of public safety.
Now, Kennedy wants Attorney General William Barr to make sure Bernie Madoff, Robert Allen Stanford and the worst-of-the-worst non-violent felons who qualify for Wuhan virus prison-release programs stay behind bars.
“I respectfully urge you to deny any request for early release made by Robert Allen Stanford, Bernie Madoff, and others who chose to devastate innocent Americans with their fraudulent schemes,” he wrote in a letter to Barr on Monday.
Kennedy said Madoff and Stanford “preyed on the elderly” and should be the last ones to benefit from COVID-19 prison releases.
“It is imperative the Federal Bureau of Prisons strongly considers the financial, emotional and physical devastation that some inmates have caused by their crimes,” he wrote.
Madoff pleaded guilty in 2009 to perpetrating the largest Ponzi scheme in U.S. history. For years, he lived a lavish billionaire’s lifestyle in New York City while posing as a Wall Street investment guru. In reality, he stole billions from middle-class investors.
The scandal wiped-out the life savings of families and retired people when the fraud came crashing down, which may have contributed to even greater suffering in the wake of a 2008 recession.
Madoff was sentenced to 150 years in prison and $170 billion in restitution. But he may soon walk out of prison after serving only 10 years.
Robert Allen Stanford was convicted in 2012 of the second biggest investment-fraud scheme, ripping off more than 18,000 people of an estimated $8 billion. Stanford was sentenced to 110 years in prison, but like Madoff, he may soon return home.
Kennedy urged Barr to deny the early releases and redirect coronavirus assistance efforts to those who deserve it.
“Our efforts should be focused on protecting those who protected us; our parents, grandparents, and military veterans who led crime-free lives,” said Kennedy.