Comment by jkaplowitz
12 hours ago
Damages in the sense that warrants compensation and likely additional punitive damages as deterrence, agreed. But monetary damages don’t seem sufficient to justify jail time in a society that likes to claim it doesn’t have debtor’s prisons.
Yes, yes, criminal law and civil law are two different things and statutes can allow or require imprisonment in a criminal sentence. But we are discussing what is morally appropriate punishment for this misdeed, not what current law allows.
That’s an insane take. Financial damage isn’t a problem for you? What if someone targeted you personally or your business?
I’m not arguing against compensation or other dissuasive/retributive punishment - I did call it a misdeed. Suitable compensation and punishment is absolutely appropriate.
But yes, I am arguing that four years of prison time is disproportionate punishment, and probably any prison time at all for this act.
I don't buy this equivalence of financial damage to a person with financial damage to a business.
If I had a business its finances would be separate from my personal finance using limited liability, so even if someone destroyed 100% of its value, it would only be no return on investment for me - sad and bad but totally not equivalent to losing all my personal money.
What about the employees you had to let go to cover the shortfall? No damages there either?
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Compensation and damages would probably mean decades of a bleak existence with most of your meger earnings going to the compensation and damages you owe. Chances are it will be a long time before he can get a good paying job after this, not like he has a good reference from his previous employer. I would seriously consider the prison time if given the option.
You know that the prison time he was given is not instead of compensation and damages but rather in addition, right? The company can still sue for those damages, and they can take all the findings of law and findings of fact from the criminal case as already proven without having to reprove those.