Lying on food stamp application vs multi-million dollar mortage fraud

[jeffrey]

A Rankin County mother will serve more time in federal prison for lying on her food stamp application than a group of people recently sentenced in a multimillion-dollar mortgage fraud scheme.

Last week, U.S. District Judge Henry Wingate sentenced Anita McLemore, 47, the mother of two teenage children, to three years in prison over the objection of her attorney...

Woman given 3-year prison term for lie | The Clarion-Ledger | clarionledger.com

[bjl584]

There is a definite imbalance in our legal system when it comes to sentencing of crimes. But, if this woman hadn't knowingly and willingly lied on her foodstamp application form, then she wouldn't be in jail right now. While I do agree that the sentence was too harsh, there is still something to be said for obeying the law.

BTW, I think that this sentence will be commuted or lessened to more fit the crime. Especially since this story has national media attention. I'm sure that her attorney is planning to appeal.

[asmom]

He'll get away with it because he knows the public approves. So many people are fixated on the pennies the poor spends to stay alive, they don't mind one whit when the rich steal. Go figure. Three years. They'll spend more money to feed her than she stole in the first place. That's real logical.

[Joan.of.the.Arch]

And the public may end up paying for those two kids to go into foster care or a state home. The balance just seems unwise. Did the judge have no alternative?

[mom-from-missouri]

She also tested positive for drugs, has a serious drug history and more......

[Joan.of.the.Arch]

Oh great. If there's an addiction, she may need a medically supervised & treated withdrawal period.

[disneysteve]

There is a definite imbalance in our legal system when it comes to sentencing of crimes.

That's so true. I was just reading about the wacko who fired a shot at the White House a couple of weeks ago. Do you know what he was charged with? Not some routine firearm charge. He was charged with attempted assassination of the President. That carries a life sentence if convicted. Obama wasn't even in Washington at the time. How can you be guilty of an assassination attempt when the supposed target wasn't even present? Do we need to put him in jail for life at taxpayer expense?

[thefrugallery]

I agree that the sentence is a bit extreme--that gets at a huge issue of the imbalance of crime sentences. I do believe that there need to be punishments for abusing the system. Unfortunately, there are many people who do. I just saw a woman paying with food stamps with a pricey purse and an suv. I get that some people go through hard times, but then by all means, sell the purse and get a beater car. I can only feel so sorry for you.

The Frugallery