An Average Work Day For Eleanor Squillari - 1602 Words

December 11th, 2008 started out like an average work day for Eleanor Squillari, secretary for Mr. Bernie Madoff, at Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities. After reaching her desk she received a call from Ruth Madoff, who sounded rather lifeless instead of her usually upbeat self. Ruth was inquiring whether her sons had made it into the office; Eleanor informed her that they hadn’t, while in the back of her mind she kept thinking about Ruth’s strange voice. However, she didn’t question it but continued her day, going on her regular rounds. As she descended to floor 18 she observed that the conference room was full of serious men is suits, all surrounding Peter Madoff, Bernie’s bother. â€Å"Strange,† she noted, along with why Bernie still hadn’t shown up. She was interrupted by a big man in a trench coat walking in her direction, but she questioned him first. He responded by flashing his badge and yelling â€Å"F.B.I!† â€Å"Wh at’s happening? Was someone kidnapped? † she didn’t know where to start, but her confusion was resolved when Peter s secretary walked over. Looking stunned, she said They re saying that Bernie was arrested for fraud. â€Å"No, that’s not true!† Eleanor replied, but Peter walked by and reaffirmed it. She was shocked; for twenty years she never noticed anything about the international White Collar crime that was run right under her nose (Seal, Squillari). What is a White Collar crime? It’s a crime that is committed in high business positions, but it can be

Adopting Alternatives to the Traditional Criminal Justice System Free Essays

The following proposal to President Obama is expected to meet his approval.   He would ensure that it is followed, seeing that it is meant to improve the criminal justice system of the United States, thereby enhancing the living standard of the Americans.   It would be easy to pass this proposal with the American public as well. We will write a custom essay sample on Adopting Alternatives to the Traditional Criminal Justice System or any similar topic only for you Order Now    After all, they do not desire to be held in jails for crimes they have not committed, and neither do they want the lives of fellow Americans destroyed through the traditional criminal justice system. Adopting Humane Crime Deterrance Techniques A popular theory in management sciences, the Contingency Theory, simply states: ‘It depends!’   Each and every individual exhibiting criminal behavior cannot be jailed, just as each and every victim of abuse does not wish for all perpetrators to be jailed. After all, even children may exhibit behaviors that appear uncivilized, if not criminal; for example, an unruly child in school may smash his friend’s head with a football.   Still, a child is a child – at the lower end of the learning curve. This is the reason why alternatives to the traditional criminal justice system, such as shaming, peacemaking strategies and restorative justice are especially recommended for juvenile delinquents (Sherman Strang, 1997a). As a matter of fact, research has shown that young offenders are most likely to change their problem behaviors through restorative justice techniques rather than court proceedings (Sherman Strang, 1997a).   Adult drink drivers, too, are very likely to change their problem behavior because of the humaneness of restorative justice (Sherman Strang, 1997a). Of course, the same has not been said for serial killers or rapists.   After all, there was a reason for the Biblical rule: ‘Eye for an eye, tooth for tooth.’   Just as all types of crimes cannot go unpunished, all types of criminals do not require the harshness of the traditional justice system, defined by the terminology of â€Å"punishment, zero tolerance, criminal personality (Wormer, 2002).† The United States jails more individuals than any other place in the world, â€Å"perhaps half a million more than Communist China (Kemp, 2000).†Ã‚   It is not surprising, therefore, that our prisons are overcrowded.   Yet, the victims do not only desire for the perpetrators of crimes to be punished but also shamed so as to keep them from criminal activities in future. Shaming, peacemaking strategies, and restorative justice also carry elements of punishment.   These alternatives to the traditional criminal justice system allow the perpetrator of a crime to be known to all concerned.   However, these alternatives to the traditional justice system are less harsh. What if the person who is said to have committed the crime is innocent?   If a blamed person is truly innocent, the traditional criminal justice system that punishes him or her is a sham at best.   On the contrary, alternatives to the traditional justice system, e.g. shaming, peacemaking strategies and restorative justice, are more apt to allow for the truth to be known. Then again, the use of humane alternatives to the traditional criminal justice system depends on the extent of justice required by the victim and the seriousness of the crime.   Unfortunately, the traditional criminal justice system often turns a blind eye to itself when it punishes innocent people, when intentions are misjudged, and innocent people are stigmatized as criminals for the rest of their lives. There are countless instances of such crimes perpetrated by the traditional criminal justice system, which is the very reason why alternatives to the traditional system must be thoroughly researched and applied when needed. Seeing that law enforcement personel, lawyers and judges too may misjudge people or hold them for crimes that they are not responsible for – considering the traditional criminal justice system as a hard and fast rule appears as a crime in itself.   What is more, at times when the traditional criminal justice system fails to deliver, it makes a mockery of justice. There are other loopholes in the traditional criminal justice system as well.   Numberless severely mentally disturbed people, also known as psychopaths, insist on repeating their crimes.   Psychologists offer defense on the behalf of such individuals. It is still debatable whether insanity is an acceptable defense.   If a psychopath constantly harasses an individual, the victim may naturally want the mentally ill person to be punished, if not held behind bars in a mental hospital. Peacemaking strategies, such as getting a â€Å"respected community leader† to arbitrate or mediate disputes, resolve family troubles, and correct behavior by allowing the criminal to perform community service may not work in such cases (Neilson, 1999, 108).   But, even the traditional criminal justice system does not serve its purpose in all cases. It is, therefore, best to consider a mix and match of various crime deterrance techniques.   Unless a young offender is severely mentally ill, alternatives to the traditional criminal justice system, such as shaming, peacemaking strategies and restorative justice, may work best. Unless it is a rape, robbery or murder case, alternatives to the traditional system must also work best on adult offenders that have never received a legal notice in their lives. All that the victim desires is justice.   As Sherman Strang (1997b) have maintained, if the perpetrator of a crime agrees not to repeat the offence, and manages to keep his or her word, it is perfectly correct to allow the individual to change his or her behavior by realizing his or her folly.   This is the reason why social workers are firm believers in alternatives to the traditional criminal justice system (Wormer). The Contingency Theory should continue to play a central role in the justice system.   Every case brought before law enforcement personnel and courts of law is unique, and must be treated thus.   If everybody is treated as an equal, the criminal justice system would make a mockery of itself playing the game of three blind mice – the ones given the task of meting out justice, the offenders, and the victims. Sane people do not want to be shamed or punished, and if they have mistakenly offended others, are usually prepared to mend their ways especially when mediators are involved in the case.   Human beings have a natural affinity with each other. Almost everybody in the world shrieks in terror at crimes perpetrated against humanity.   Therefore, it is most reasonable to consider the traditional criminal justice system alongside the alternatives to the system.   More correctly, it is necessary to put together the alternatives with the traditional criminal justice system and use the correct measures based on the facts of each case. Just as everybody is not dishonest, all individuals cannot be expected to have the same level of intelligence or sense of responsibility toward society. References Kemp, R. B. (2000, Mar). The U.S. Penal System: Restorative and/or Retributive Justice. Woodstock Report. Retrieved Nov 28, 2008, from http://woodstock.georgetown.edu/publications/report/r-fea61a.htm. Neilson, M. O. (1999). Navajo Nation Courts, Peacemaking, and Restorative Justice Issues. Journal of Legal Pluralism, Vol. 44. Retrieved Nov 28, 2008, from http://www.jlp.bham.ac.uk/volumes/44/nielsen-art.pdf. Sherman, L. W., Strang, H. (1997a, Apr). Restorative Justice and Deterring Crime. Australian Institute of Criminology. Retrieved Nov 28, 2008, from http://www.aic.gov.au/rjustice/rise/working/risepap4.html. ———————————–. (1997b, Apr). The right kind of shame for crime prevention. Australian Institute of Criminology. Retrieved Nov 28, 2008, from http://www.aic.gov.au/rjustice/rise/working/risepap1.html. Wormer, K. V. (2002, Jan 7). Restorative Justice and Social Work. Social Work Today, Vol. 2, No. 1. Retrieved Nov 28, 2008, from http://www.restorativejustice.org/resources/docs/vanwormer/. How to cite Adopting Alternatives to the Traditional Criminal Justice System, Papers

A Time In History Essay Example For Students

A Time In History Essay Presidetial election 2000 The two main candidates for the election of 2000 are George W. Bush and Al Gore. Al Gore, of course, being the current Vice President. I have never been into the whole politics game. But, know that I am 18 years old I feel I should start paying more attention to political issues. I dont know if I am going to vote this year, and if I did I dont know who I would vote for. I really dont know much about either canditate. All I know is that Gore is Vice President to Clinton, and we all know how most people feel about Clinton. In order for me to make a judgment on who I am going to vote for I would like to know where each canditate satnds on different political issues. Some of the issues I will be covering are abortion, crime, drugs, education, environment, and gun control. These are the issues I am most interested in, and I would like a president who agrees with me on a good portion of these issues. To start off, I am going to state where I stand on each of the isssues. I then will sate where each presidential canditate stands on each issue. The first topic I would like to discuss is abortion. Abortion is kind of a big thing to me. I am one of those who is against abortion. I feel abortion is kind of like murder. I know it is easy for me to say that abortion is wrong, because I have never gotten a girl pregnant before. I understand that some tees make mistakes and want to correct those mistakes. But, I feel more people should stand up for their mistakes and take some action. Instead of having the baby aborted, the parents should put the child up for adoption. What if that kid was going to come up with a cure for cancer? I bet the parents would not want o abort the child then. Abortion is one area I agree with Bush. Bush wants to cut down the amount of abortions given out the whole year. Bush also wants to turn the choice of having abortions over to the state. Gore, on the other hand, wants to leave the choice in the womans hand. He feels it is up to her to decide whether or not to have an abortion. Gore also wants medicare to pay for abortions. I feel that it is totally wrong for the government to support the murder of an unborn child. I have to say that I am a little disappointed that neither canditate is taking a direct stand against abortion. Although I agree with Bush more than Gore I feel both candidates are trying to steer around the abortion topic. The next issue I would like to discuss is crime. As we all know crime is a big problem in our country. I am in favor of adding more funding to increase police officers pay and to increase the overall bettering of policing across the country. I feel police officers are extremely under paid for the jobs that they do. Crime is one issue I agree with Gore on. Gore wants to intensify the fight against crime. He wants to add 50000 more police to the streets in the next 10 years. Bush on the other hand didnt have too much in speaking out against crimes. Both candidates support having the death penalty. But, only Gore states that he wants to have the death penalty for the killing of a federal officer. I like that idea because it shows that Gore is going to protect his own. The next issue I am going to discuss ties in with the previous issue of crime, drugs. Drugs are a huge problem right now in our society. Almost everyone I know has done a drug at some point in their lives. I know growing up in Chicago I came across a lot of people with a drug problem. But, it is not only in the city where drug use occurs. .u56d6fc23d209a568c63f2a7a269dd903 , .u56d6fc23d209a568c63f2a7a269dd903 .postImageUrl , .u56d6fc23d209a568c63f2a7a269dd903 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u56d6fc23d209a568c63f2a7a269dd903 , .u56d6fc23d209a568c63f2a7a269dd903:hover , .u56d6fc23d209a568c63f2a7a269dd903:visited , .u56d6fc23d209a568c63f2a7a269dd903:active { border:0!important; } .u56d6fc23d209a568c63f2a7a269dd903 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u56d6fc23d209a568c63f2a7a269dd903 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u56d6fc23d209a568c63f2a7a269dd903:active , .u56d6fc23d209a568c63f2a7a269dd903:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u56d6fc23d209a568c63f2a7a269dd903 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u56d6fc23d209a568c63f2a7a269dd903 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u56d6fc23d209a568c63f2a7a269dd903 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u56d6fc23d209a568c63f2a7a269dd903 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u56d6fc23d209a568c63f2a7a269dd903:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u56d6fc23d209a568c63f2a7a269dd903 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u56d6fc23d209a568c63f2a7a269dd903 .u56d6fc23d209a568c63f2a7a269dd903-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u56d6fc23d209a568c63f2a7a269dd903:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: The Modem Essay It happens in the suburbs, the farms, and everywhere else. The fight against drugs is an area I feel both candidates should concentrate. Because almost ever family has probably been touched by a drug problem. Gore and Bush both feel similar in the drug policy. Both candidates want to toughen up the war against drugs. They both want to concentrate more effort on stopping drug transportation from Colombia. One thing I like about Gore is that he admitted to using marijuana when he was younger. This shows me that he is an honest and open guy. I dont feel people should judge him on this because almost everybody has tried marijuana at some point or another. Another topic I would like to touch up on is that of education. I feel the education in our country could use some tuning up. We can accomplish this by adding additional funding to the public school systems. Especially, the public school systems in the cities. I feel the government doesnt pay enough attention to some of these schools just because they are in bad neighborhoods. Gore wants to add 170 billion dollars in funding to schools in the next 10 years. He also wants to add 2 million teachers in the next 10 years. Bush wants to add 400 million to after school projects and he wants to add money to help pay for more teachers. One thing I love about Gore is that he is in favor of letting students do voluntary prayer in school. It sickens me when I hear that prayer has been banned in school. It is such a terrible thing to ban religion because God is the center of so many peoples lives. One thing I am happy to see both presidents standing for is better funding for college students. Both candidates want to make it easier for a college student to attend college. They plan to do this by easing up the requirements on getting a loan, and by adding more money in the scholarship pool. Gore wants to reduce class sizes so the students can learn easier. I feel both candidates are for bettering schools it just seems like Gore wants it a little more than Bush. ] My next topic of choice is going to be that of Environment. I know tree huggers and hippies is what people think of when they hear environment. But, the environment has got to be one of the most important issue of this years coming election. We are living in times were people are actually questioning when we are going to run out of natural resources. What would happen if the world ran out of oil? How far back would that set transportation and our economy? For the first time ever these are issues that are going to have to be considered. Look at how are ozone is going. From what I hear there is a huge rip up toward Anartica. I can only imagine what would happen to a person living near there. For all these reasons I want a president that is sincerely concerned with our environment. In researching Gore I found that he wants to invest more in clean water, air, and land. Which is wonderful, because we all know how sad it is for people not to have clean drinking water. We can only hope our next president will help the people in tose poor counties without clen drinking water. Other things gore said was that he wants to help safe the rain forest. Obivously, another good thing because we need the rain forest to breathe. Finally, Gore wants to lead a global environment movement. I feel Gore has Bush beaten in the environmental issues. Because the only significantly big thing I could find on Bush was the fact that he wanted to spend money to preserve national parksEuropean History Essays