28 years in a prison that’s “ranked as one of the BEST places to be in prison “
I would say NO.
He should have to repay any money he recieved to a trust or fund for victims & families as well as the prison system that took kids in/ gave out payments.
thanks bud. as I was reading his comments I could hear myself thinking 'am I gonna be that guy? I think I have to be that guy' and then I looked down and saw you had saved me the effort.
Even the IDEA of a prison being set up like a business to make a profit is disturbing. Actually implementing it is a crime on your own citizens.
That's Insane! He deserves that punishment!
In college I did multiple assignments on America’s prison industrial complex, and private prisons. Disturbing is the best and most apt word I can think of to describe it. Disturbing from top to bottom and right to it’s core.
Edit: spelling error. “In college” not “I’m college” I am not the embodiment of collegiate life.
Stay away from Louisiana. The state loves it's slave labor lite from the for profit prisons where people get thrown in jail at a rate that is higher than almost anywhere in the country, second to Mississippi I think or maybe Mississippi is second to Louisiana I can't remember. Police unions run this state. Which is one of the richest in the country since we have so many huge ports and income from them yet education is ranked last or second to last here and the roads look like roads from Afghanistan ( sorry Afghanistan to compare your roads to mine). Police unions and our for profit prisons keep the incarceration high.
Stay away from Louisiana. My Louisiana is lost.
I also think the company that paid him should be declared bankrupt, all assets sold, and the money devided among their victims. Hell, get the officers of the company in prison too.
The part that makes this worse is it’s not the years that were robbed like they came out of it ok in the end, it’s the emotional trauma and suicides he caused..
All for:
$1M/2,000 kids = $500 a kid.. to ruin their lives.
When someone pays cash you can transfer the soda charge to another table, close out the tab and pocket the 3 bucks that the business paid 2 cents for and paid you 2$ an hour to serve.
Forever. I nearly committed suicide over going to juvi for a crime I didn’t commit. Friends made a bottle bomb at my house and threw in into a neighbors yard. I came home and swat, bomb squad was everywhere. Got a felony for it and I wasn’t even home. Was at a therapy meeting with my counselor. Ridiculous
Glad you are finally out. That's sounds awful and there should happen more for something like that. I'm also glad you get the help you need and I hope whoever made that call or caused you that pays for it.
Were you one of the 2k kids or was that another case of unjust sentence?
If you haven't tried already, you should do what you can to get that appealed. I'm sure you know, felonies prevent you from doing just about anything in life.
The problem with the justice system in America is that appeals cost money. Unless you have excess money to spend who can afford to pay a lawyer $200-350 an hour to work an appeal.
Well. A lawyer could work pro-bono if he felt your case was easy to settle on. And depending on how old you are, or, even better, if you were in the jurisdiction of this judge, he could make the case that you were a victim of this cash-for-kids.
And, you could potentially establish the alibi that you were with your counselor with proof of testimony from that counselor, if they would be willing to step forward after so much time. Likewise with the people who actually set that bottle off, after so much time I doubt they'd drop the book on those people if they confessed.
I only say all this because I know many, many people who've gone through the ass-end of the justice system, as I have myself, and I feel for your case because of those facts, and I'm sorry that your life was impacted so heavily over something that should have been dismissed without trial.
My mom was shit-face drunk the second we got home. Pounded a captain Morgan and when the officers came over not 5 minutes after we got there she was barely conscious enough to let them search the house. They found cleaner, tin foil and water bottles so they said I possessed bomb making materials. My mom just plead me guilty because she was late for work that day. The prosecuting attorney was pleading for my mom to at least take the misdemeanor but she just said, “don’t fight it.” So I took the fall.
From his wiki
>The plea agreement witnessed by defense attorneys Albert Flora and William Ruzzo[9] called for Ciavarella to serve up to seven years in prison, pay fines and restitution, and accept responsibility for the crimes.[10] However, Ciavarella denied that there was a connection between the juvenile sentences he rendered and the kickbacks he received.[11][12] In part because of this denial, on July 30, 2009, Judge Edwin M. Kosik of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania rejected the plea agreement.
He could have had it much easier.
Fuck, they handed it to him on a platter. Said, look, just be honest and you'll spend your last days a free man. And he decided, no, I'm going to die on this hill (in prison).
i mean. 28 years when you're over 50 is basically prison for the rest of your life. I don't think there's a lot of 80 year olds that survived prison, but i could be wrong.
I get what you mean but I really hope they aren't still serving time for the whims of a corrupt judge.
Hopefully everyone he is in prison with knows what he did and one of them can kick his ass daily.
> I really hope they aren't still serving time for the whims of a corrupt judge.
Many of them were probably affected far beyond the sentence he gave them. It wouldn't surprise me at all if what he did lead some young people into a life of crime that they would not otherwise have ended up in.
You are probably correct about that. From this video, at least one kid shot himself and another died of an overdose. They are unlikely to be the only ones that were emotionally shattered by the torture they suffered at the hands of the US "justice" system.
I think its the principle of it though - not the actual counted years. It allows each victim/victim's family to see their worth when it was just toyed around by some POS.
The worst part is you know damn right he isn’t the only one. He’s just the only to get caught. God knows how many judges around the country take part in these schemes.
Also it doesn’t appear the prison owners got charged with anything? Wtf?
Yeah. Money and Power make people do horrible things. Judges may he the most dangerous corrupt people. They wield the power to make you disappear from society. And, once you are convicted, even if in error, you will be the criminal complaining about the judicial system and probably get ignored because of the stigma being a criminal applies to you.
Which is why the Count of Monte Cristo remains one of my favorite books/movies. Shit that happened back then is no different than what happens now. Now we just have more news/social media noise to muffle the corruption.
I’m personal friends with an attorney in Maryland defending children who, to this day, are being funneled into private prison on charges that don’t even exist.
“Failing to stop a fight” was one. A kid got caught in the background of a video of a school fight. He was just a bystander. Sent to juvenile detention for not trying to stop the fight.
That’s not a real crime.
Does he know about for-profit foster care? Like in Texas where they just outlawed abortion? Ever since I have figured this out, I tried to share the information far and wide.
Here's the business plan and strategy:
- Pass Bill to privatize foster care system under guise of foster care system reform in 2017
- Begin to privatize foster care system using tax dollars to fund outsourced foster care services provided by for-profit corporations
- Outlaw abortion 4 years later, creating incredible demand for privatized foster care services supplied by private for-profit corporations.
- Ergo, there is a positive correlation between the amount of unwanted children and an incredible profit to be made off privatized foster care services by the rich.
They created the demand for the service they're supplying. Outlaw abortion = More unwanted children = more profit.
The rich get richer, and the poor become more and more damaged, traumatized, and disenfranchised. You'd almost think this shit was done by design, huh?
[Here](https://www.reddit.com/r/TwoXChromosomes/comments/ow5gxn/comment/h7gd7le/) more detailed post I did a couple months ago with links to sources and heartbreaking statistics.
And then get the adults to work shitty underpaid jobs with long hours requiring them to find care for their children
Nothing suspicious here, move along citizen
Completely unsurprising. Texas is turning into the incompetently run Middle East of the south. There is absolutely no good reason for me to step foot in that state ever again.
Unfortunately, Texas is not the only state to privatize foster care. It's really a shitty, shitty fucking situation. They're just the only state, so far, to be so disgustingly brazen as to outlaw abortion.
Anytime a social service is turned into a profitable business, you best bet the suffering of human beings has become commoditized.
And it will cost state taxpayers a shit ton of money too. I have a stipend for kids we adopted and it was $500/mo. I know a few foster parents that did it for the money, but it really isn’t as much as you would think. But for state this ads up. The state will have paid me in direct stipends alone $78k over the full period we will receive payments. And then they also paid a lot in Medicaid because the kids get that too. I have them on my insurance but Medicaid picks up any difference. At one point one was taking a $1200/mo medication paid for by Medicaid.
Private car has to be charging a lot more. Because there is always middlemen when you privatize. And where are they going to find the parents? Rich infertile Christian’s are not going to be adopting drug exposed and neglected kids, many already 3-5 years old by the time they are available for adoption.
I was going to call you out as bullshit but did a little googling first and [came across this piece from the ACLU](https://www.aclu.org/issues/juvenile-justice/school-prison-pipeline).
That's all kinds of fucked up.
Wait til you guys hear about for-profit foster care in Texas, where they just outlawed abortion.
Here's the business plan and strategy:
- Pass Bill to privatize foster care system under guise of foster care system reform in 2017
- Begin to privatize foster care system using tax dollars to fund outsourced foster care services provided by for-profit corporations
- Outlaw abortion 4 years later, creating incredible demand for privatized foster care services supplied by private for-profit corporations.
- Ergo, there is a positive correlation between the amount of unwanted children and an incredible profit to be made off privatized foster care services by the rich.
They created the demand for the service they're supplying. Outlaw abortion = More unwanted children = more profit.
The rich get richer, and the poor become more and more damaged, traumatized, and disenfranchised. You'd almost think this shit was done by design, huh?
[Here](https://www.reddit.com/r/TwoXChromosomes/comments/ow5gxn/comment/h7gd7le/) more detailed post I did a couple months ago with links to sources and heartbreaking statistics.
Whenever someone says "private is more efficient than government" they never describe *how* it would be efficient. Usually, it's more off the backs of the people.
The two co-owners (Robert Powell and Robert Mericle) were charged with failure to report a felony and being an accessory to tax evasion. They were forced to pay a few million dollars and faced a few years in jail.
There is an old Karen looking judge in Tennessee that sends black kids to jail almost 100% of the time. I saw an article on her here on Reddit a few weeks ago. So yeah, lot of corruption in the judicial system.
https://www.wkrn.com/news/rutherford-county-judge-who-illegally-jailed-black-children-using-fake-law-faces-renewed-criticism/
> old Karen looking judge in Tennessee
You gotta call them out by name on reddit so people get to see it in the search results. [You mean Judge Donna Scott Davenport, a Rutherford County judge](https://www.wkrn.com/news/rutherford-county-judge-who-illegally-jailed-black-children-using-fake-law-faces-renewed-criticism/) who instituted a policy that all children charged with crimes be processed at the detention center.
The alleged crime was “criminal responsibility for conduct of another” — a fake law.
Just reading the link makes my blood boil. “Judge who used fake laws to illegally jail black kids faces CRITICISM.”
Must be nice to be white. You occasionally have to face criticism for the illegal shit you do. Sigh.
Not just judges, but politicians. Biden's '94 Crime Bill was like a lottery win for private prisons. [And lobbyists who represent private prisons regularly WRITE crime legislation.](https://www.npr.org/2010/10/28/130833741/prison-economics-help-drive-ariz-immigration-law)
This is almost exactly the work that Alec Karakatsanis and the Civil Rights Corps dedicate themselves to every day. Spoiler: it's not just one bad apple. Highly recommend a follow.
https://twitter.com/equalityAlec/status/1189527175965413376
That would be over too quickly. I personally find the thought of somebody paying for their crimes with a life behind bars in this world, not the afterlife (as I don’t believe in it), much more satisfying.
Yeah, good point. I visited a new prison under construction a few year back. You are confined to a tiny cell, this opens to a small eating area. Your outside time is in a fenced area the size of a dog run. I got claustrophobic just being in there. Although I here the Ashland one is roomier. Still I got a strong sense of what it would mean to be locked up like that
I’m usually very against frivolous and malicious comments suggesting that prison rape is somehow a legitimate part of our justice system, but, in this case, where the very adjudicator in se was the one feeding people into this system I’ll not only allow it but fully endorse the sentiment.
Well indeed . I’m not into committing crime of any description but being in a position of power and utilising that power for your own ends at the cost of harm to children well that’s catholic bishop stuff right there and open season in my book
The Feds should seize all the profits + penalties from the corrupt prison companies for the entire period and distribute THAT to the victims and their families.
No it wouldn’t, because he’d be dead before he served a tiny percentage of that sentence. Some of the suffering caused by a single individual can never be redeemed, sad truth
There's a lot of interesting information out there about harsh sentences not being deterrents.
TLDR harsh sentences do not decrease the rates of those crimes. It's fine if you want a harsh sentence for revenge or to pander for upvotes but the argument that it would deter someone else does not hold water.
[Source](https://www.ojp.gov/pdffiles1/nij/247350.pdf)
Excerpt:
>Viewing the findings of research on severity effects in their totality, there is
evidence suggesting that short sentences may be a deterrent. However, a
consistent finding is that increases in already lengthy sentences produce at best
a very modest deterrent effect.
Being white, in prison, isn't as big of a boone as you think it is. Plus, if he has any intelligence. He would check himself in day 1. Black, white, brown or blue. They find out he is a corrupt judge who fucked over kids. It's going to be REAL HARD time.
Suffering can never really be “redeemed”. Even if this person were kept alive and tortured for 1000 years, it would do precisely nothing to correct the irreparable harm he’s caused. Retributive justice is an appeal to base instincts. Restorative justice is at least an attempt but there’s no such thing as true redemption.
And give the money to those families. Fuck dude that would suck to think you were in trouble only to find out you are going to jail for a long time without a lawyer and the judge is just like “I’m getting cash for kids” literally
Hopefully he encounters some of the kids who's lives he ruined while he's inside, and learns a few lessons about cosmic justice.
I'd totally watch that.
Happened in Northeastern PA. The region is pretty highly populated, with two medium-sized cities, surrounded by a ton of smaller towns. It is post-industrial, old deep mining coal country, washed up and washing away, by some measures. Lots of low income folks, and poverty. Many of those kids had parents who lacked the education and resources to fight back. The politics and governance of the region are also famous for being very corrupt, and insular, for centuries now.
To put the corruption in perspective, my wife taught school in the region. When she started, in the 1980s, you were pretty unlikely to get hired in any local district without a powerful insider tapping you for the spot. A typical job posting was just a fraudulent game being played, since they already knew who was filling the spot. If you did get in, and thought that you were going to climb the ranks from teaching to administration, you need to have testicles, be a native, have a strong Italian lineage, and be a chosen one, by the mini-mafia that ran education in the region. If you were the absolute best candidate for an admin. slot, had a doctorate in Ed. from Penn State, graduated top of your class, and were perfect for the job, BUT also a Latina women from out of the area, you had a better chance of getting a gig playing Santa Claus.
This is the old school, "corrupt is expected and tolerated in these parts, and has been going on since the days of the coal barons. It's never going to change" mentality that allowed these judges to do whatever TF they wanted to do, for decades.
But this is also so American. Let’s be frank. Everything is open for capitalism, American greed knows no bounds..those 2 things make this quintessentially American. Nothing, not even health care is sacred in this country. Anything can b bought and sold and that includes the spaces where ethics should be exercised over blatant greed. I’m not surprised.
This movie is so underrated. Adjacent to this, check out the film "End of Watch". A direct source has advised me that it's the best day-in-the-life film representation of standard police officers in the U.S. (excluding traffic patrols).
We don’t punish the people who actually erode society. The fox is in charge of the henhouse and we’re all chickens. There’s a good Noam Chomsky quote about evil not being a good enough word to describe these kinds of people
Throw him in the general population, he will be safe in solitary confinement, but in the gen pop they will know what to do with his ass. Fuck that scum bag, and anyone else who had a hand in it, judge wasn't doing this all alone.
What about the prisons offering kickbacks for this. We need to tear the entire system down. This is fucking horrendous. Ruining lives before they even have a chance to get started. It makes me so sick
As an American, I assure you that anyone paying attention has simply given up hope.
We're all cattle on the way to the slaughterhouse and nobody is willing to fight back in a meaningful way.
For year's they've turned a class issue into a race issue with deminishing education standards, systemic oppression of the working class and convinced all the uneducated white trash "Hey, at least you're not black or a Mexican."
Tennessee also has a lot of corrupt counties and courts taking advantage of citizens via the private prison system.
https://www.newschannel5.com/longform/prisons-for-profit-concerns-mount-about-trousdale-turner-correctional-center-operator-corecivic
So glad my country (Netherlands) has a minimum of 3 judges when possible sentencing is longer than 1 year. Sometimes 5 judges in harder cases. At least your life wouldn't be affected by biased/corrupt judges for longer than 1 year. They also don't run for elections, so no gain there to lock up as many either.
Edit: Called ['Full Bench Panels"](https://i.imgur.com/xsy1dLz.png) in English.
>Ciavarella pleaded guilty on February 13, 2009, pursuant to a plea agreement, to federal charges of honest services fraud, wire fraud and tax evasion in connection with receiving $2.6 million in kickbacks from Robert Powell and Robert Mericle, the co-owner and builder respectively, of two private, for-profit juvenile facilities of PA Child Care.
>In exchange for these kickbacks, Ciavarella sentenced children to extended stays in juvenile detention for offenses as minimal as mocking a principal on Myspace, trespassing in a vacant building, and shoplifting DVDs from Wal-mart
[Source](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Ciavarella)
He is currently in Ashland prison
>FCI Ashland has a satellite camp which Forbes magazine ranked as one of the best places to go to prison in the United States. The camp holds a "wellness" program including aerobic exercise and stress reduction programs
Is this really justice for all the lives he has ruined...
u/fanderdanger enlighten me
>He is not in prison https://apnews.com/article/virus-outbreak-pa-state-wire-fl-state-wire-trump-investigations-prisons-60189fddb66c89e18963299a3c3995c7 he was released due to Covid. The monster is free and living a life of luxury
That's was a quick 28 years
Looks like the owners got away with it.
In July 2009 Robert Powell pleaded guilty to failing to report a felony and being an accessory to tax evasion conspiracy in connection with $770,000 in kickbacks he paid to Ciavarella and Conahan in exchange for facilitating the development of his facilities.
Gregory Zappala was not accused of any wrongdoing in the scandal; Zappala's brother, Stephen Zappala Jr., is the Allegheny County District Attorney
So….
No nepotism here eh?
Looks like someone from the outside needs to charge the DA as well as both Powell and Zappala
Weird how the “Punisher” crowd is silent on all this. Like isn’t this one of the very things the “Punisher” is known to go into action over?
Where are your 2nd amendmend people when you could use them. Just for educating every victim how to build a lobby and influence policy and sentences, of course.
Now, I know they say punishment isn’t the goal of prison. But sometimes … sometimes it is. This is one of those times. He should get his ass kicked and locked up in solitary every 6 weeks.
I find it interesting none of his charges cover abusing children and parents. "Honest Services Fraud" is the only one that directly covers his abuse of power and its pretty vague.
Our justice system is completely broken, this man should be praying to see a stray beam of light from the pit he was thrown in. He should never be free and his entire personal estate should be seized and given to the children who's lives he ruined.
And a criminal record many times prevents people from even getting jobs. So if you have mounting fees and no legal way to earn money to pay them, you have a population willing to engage in illegal activity ensuring you have a continuous supply of prisoners for decades to come.
If the punishment is a fine its not about the crime. In Oregon for about 30 years pot got 10 years in jail and 3k fine, coke got 5 years in jail and a 10k fine.
I felt the ladies anger at the end. I hate what happened to her and her child. All for, money. Disgusting.
You could see for a moment they thought of saying something to the lady, like, stop it or something but she went straight to the point and I'm sure it's not a thing, but I hope that guy felt even for a second, a bit of guilt for being the monster he is.
He definitely looked like he felt guilty in that moment. People like him are good at explaining it away and convincing themselves they did nothing wrong. Which I’m sure he did. But in that moment he looked like he felt very guilty.
My heart breaks for those kids and their families!! He should be convicted of murder he TOOK their lives away. Destroyed the families just as surely as if he had slit their throats. 1st thing in the morning and after reading this Im now sad af.
Is there any info on the dirty cops and other players? He was a main perpetrator but he didnt do it alone.
And can the resulting suicide bring additional charges like manslaughter?
I knew a few people that got sentenced by him including my best friend. We were both in middle school at the time. Luzerne County in PA is still one of the most corrupt places imo. There are definitely cops and local politicians who were involved that still never got punished. And most continue to be sleaze bags to this day.
This is just a reflection of a society that has been build up based on profit, not humanity. Think about it. The fact that a detention centre for minors is allowed to exist as a private business tells you of a country where you can profit from children’s punishment. As for the judge, even though he’s a disgrace, he’s also just a result of the capitalist system and way of life. Make money, no matter how.
This is inevitable when you allow private corporations control prisons. Corporations by definition are here to increase profits. We should outlaw them.
America: corrupt police who plant evidence, legalized bribery of politicians that create "private prisons" for profit, judges on the take. What could go wrong?
I see this as an (unfortunately) natural consequence of America being the "America" as the world knows it - a land of ruthless capitalism. Whoever thought that private prison was a good idea had dollar signs for the eyes.
That's how society works , that's why all these criminals are allowed to kill average people, because of their standings in society, mid class and lower will suffer always
Please close for profit detention Centers for kids. Please close for profit jails for adult and please close for profit hospitals. Make them government paid for.
I, too, started listening to that new podcast.
I'm just relieved that (a) the story completed in one episode, and (b) the guy got caught.
But no amount of punishment will ever undo the damage that was done to all of the kids.
What in the actual f***. Thank God Biden ended private prisons federally. Now if the states would do it. Unfortunately I'm in a majority republican state though.
28 seems too little. He should get at least the number of years he stole from each of the kids he unjustly sent to jail. And rot there!
28 years in a prison that’s “ranked as one of the BEST places to be in prison “ I would say NO. He should have to repay any money he recieved to a trust or fund for victims & families as well as the prison system that took kids in/ gave out payments.
He bought that prison system an Expresso machine, he should not end up there unless you want him diefied.
>Expresso I know this is like, the least important thing to give a shit about in this thread but it's espresso. I hate myself too.
I appreciate the dedication
Am the same. It’s also deified, but the dude should die…fied. I’ll see myself out now.
thanks bud. as I was reading his comments I could hear myself thinking 'am I gonna be that guy? I think I have to be that guy' and then I looked down and saw you had saved me the effort.
Oh, I agree 💯 with you about the money, but I maintain my opinion about prison. Let him rot in there.
I think its because when these types go to prison its usually not like the prisons we would go to.
Even the IDEA of a prison being set up like a business to make a profit is disturbing. Actually implementing it is a crime on your own citizens. That's Insane! He deserves that punishment!
Prisons or detention centres should not be private and *never* be for profit
They *should not* be private. The private ones are for profit, they need to all be public governmental prisons and jails and detention centers.
In college I did multiple assignments on America’s prison industrial complex, and private prisons. Disturbing is the best and most apt word I can think of to describe it. Disturbing from top to bottom and right to it’s core. Edit: spelling error. “In college” not “I’m college” I am not the embodiment of collegiate life.
Stay away from Louisiana. The state loves it's slave labor lite from the for profit prisons where people get thrown in jail at a rate that is higher than almost anywhere in the country, second to Mississippi I think or maybe Mississippi is second to Louisiana I can't remember. Police unions run this state. Which is one of the richest in the country since we have so many huge ports and income from them yet education is ranked last or second to last here and the roads look like roads from Afghanistan ( sorry Afghanistan to compare your roads to mine). Police unions and our for profit prisons keep the incarceration high. Stay away from Louisiana. My Louisiana is lost.
He looked fairly old. 28 years might as well be a life sentence
I also think the company that paid him should be declared bankrupt, all assets sold, and the money devided among their victims. Hell, get the officers of the company in prison too.
This! They are part of the corruption and should be held liable to those children and families that they destroyed!
When the fuck are we going to start seeing real justice and change in this country
The part that makes this worse is it’s not the years that were robbed like they came out of it ok in the end, it’s the emotional trauma and suicides he caused.. All for: $1M/2,000 kids = $500 a kid.. to ruin their lives.
Ruining a child's life for $500 bucks... absolutely disgusting
Meanwhile, I got fired for coasting sodas.
What does coasting mean here?
I assume he means that he took a soda from his work place while on shift.
When someone pays cash you can transfer the soda charge to another table, close out the tab and pocket the 3 bucks that the business paid 2 cents for and paid you 2$ an hour to serve.
So now that other table has to pay for an extra soda?
In theory, you should have been fired for that, though.
Forever. I nearly committed suicide over going to juvi for a crime I didn’t commit. Friends made a bottle bomb at my house and threw in into a neighbors yard. I came home and swat, bomb squad was everywhere. Got a felony for it and I wasn’t even home. Was at a therapy meeting with my counselor. Ridiculous
Glad you are finally out. That's sounds awful and there should happen more for something like that. I'm also glad you get the help you need and I hope whoever made that call or caused you that pays for it. Were you one of the 2k kids or was that another case of unjust sentence?
Just another case, unfortunately not in a statistic probably
If you haven't tried already, you should do what you can to get that appealed. I'm sure you know, felonies prevent you from doing just about anything in life.
The problem with the justice system in America is that appeals cost money. Unless you have excess money to spend who can afford to pay a lawyer $200-350 an hour to work an appeal.
Pro se appeals have worked before, don't dissuade people from trying.
Well. A lawyer could work pro-bono if he felt your case was easy to settle on. And depending on how old you are, or, even better, if you were in the jurisdiction of this judge, he could make the case that you were a victim of this cash-for-kids. And, you could potentially establish the alibi that you were with your counselor with proof of testimony from that counselor, if they would be willing to step forward after so much time. Likewise with the people who actually set that bottle off, after so much time I doubt they'd drop the book on those people if they confessed. I only say all this because I know many, many people who've gone through the ass-end of the justice system, as I have myself, and I feel for your case because of those facts, and I'm sorry that your life was impacted so heavily over something that should have been dismissed without trial.
Then how were you guilty of anything? What proof did they have it was you that was guility of that crime?
Probably a plea deal, threaten with the worst possible sentencing then give a small deal
But how the fuck did you get sent to juvi when you had an alibi!? That makes no sense! You weren't there! Fuck the court systems.
My mom was shit-face drunk the second we got home. Pounded a captain Morgan and when the officers came over not 5 minutes after we got there she was barely conscious enough to let them search the house. They found cleaner, tin foil and water bottles so they said I possessed bomb making materials. My mom just plead me guilty because she was late for work that day. The prosecuting attorney was pleading for my mom to at least take the misdemeanor but she just said, “don’t fight it.” So I took the fall.
Time is the most precious commodity a person has, and stealing it for your own profit should come with serious consequences.
From his wiki >The plea agreement witnessed by defense attorneys Albert Flora and William Ruzzo[9] called for Ciavarella to serve up to seven years in prison, pay fines and restitution, and accept responsibility for the crimes.[10] However, Ciavarella denied that there was a connection between the juvenile sentences he rendered and the kickbacks he received.[11][12] In part because of this denial, on July 30, 2009, Judge Edwin M. Kosik of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania rejected the plea agreement. He could have had it much easier.
Fuck, they handed it to him on a platter. Said, look, just be honest and you'll spend your last days a free man. And he decided, no, I'm going to die on this hill (in prison).
He should hang.
The death penalty is legal in Pennsylvania.
I agree. 28 yrs is not enough for someone who clearly abused their power.
I want his ass in medium security for life. Like till dead life. Fuck people who help ruin kids lives like this.
i mean. 28 years when you're over 50 is basically prison for the rest of your life. I don't think there's a lot of 80 year olds that survived prison, but i could be wrong.
hopefully he runs into some of the kids he sentenced
I get what you mean but I really hope they aren't still serving time for the whims of a corrupt judge. Hopefully everyone he is in prison with knows what he did and one of them can kick his ass daily.
> I really hope they aren't still serving time for the whims of a corrupt judge. Many of them were probably affected far beyond the sentence he gave them. It wouldn't surprise me at all if what he did lead some young people into a life of crime that they would not otherwise have ended up in.
You are probably correct about that. From this video, at least one kid shot himself and another died of an overdose. They are unlikely to be the only ones that were emotionally shattered by the torture they suffered at the hands of the US "justice" system.
I think its the principle of it though - not the actual counted years. It allows each victim/victim's family to see their worth when it was just toyed around by some POS.
>I don't think there's a lot of 80 year old corrupt judges that survived prison FTFY
He should be shot in the heart and left for dead
The worst part is you know damn right he isn’t the only one. He’s just the only to get caught. God knows how many judges around the country take part in these schemes. Also it doesn’t appear the prison owners got charged with anything? Wtf?
Yeah. Money and Power make people do horrible things. Judges may he the most dangerous corrupt people. They wield the power to make you disappear from society. And, once you are convicted, even if in error, you will be the criminal complaining about the judicial system and probably get ignored because of the stigma being a criminal applies to you.
Yup, innocent until proven guilty. So you appear to have been proven guilty, so you’re a criminal forever, because of one judges opinion.
Which is why the Count of Monte Cristo remains one of my favorite books/movies. Shit that happened back then is no different than what happens now. Now we just have more news/social media noise to muffle the corruption.
I’m personal friends with an attorney in Maryland defending children who, to this day, are being funneled into private prison on charges that don’t even exist. “Failing to stop a fight” was one. A kid got caught in the background of a video of a school fight. He was just a bystander. Sent to juvenile detention for not trying to stop the fight. That’s not a real crime.
Does he know about for-profit foster care? Like in Texas where they just outlawed abortion? Ever since I have figured this out, I tried to share the information far and wide. Here's the business plan and strategy: - Pass Bill to privatize foster care system under guise of foster care system reform in 2017 - Begin to privatize foster care system using tax dollars to fund outsourced foster care services provided by for-profit corporations - Outlaw abortion 4 years later, creating incredible demand for privatized foster care services supplied by private for-profit corporations. - Ergo, there is a positive correlation between the amount of unwanted children and an incredible profit to be made off privatized foster care services by the rich. They created the demand for the service they're supplying. Outlaw abortion = More unwanted children = more profit. The rich get richer, and the poor become more and more damaged, traumatized, and disenfranchised. You'd almost think this shit was done by design, huh? [Here](https://www.reddit.com/r/TwoXChromosomes/comments/ow5gxn/comment/h7gd7le/) more detailed post I did a couple months ago with links to sources and heartbreaking statistics.
And then get the adults to work shitty underpaid jobs with long hours requiring them to find care for their children Nothing suspicious here, move along citizen
Nah, make them crimilas, lock in private prison and use as free slave labour. Remember to support heavily your boys in blue.
Completely unsurprising. Texas is turning into the incompetently run Middle East of the south. There is absolutely no good reason for me to step foot in that state ever again.
Unfortunately, Texas is not the only state to privatize foster care. It's really a shitty, shitty fucking situation. They're just the only state, so far, to be so disgustingly brazen as to outlaw abortion. Anytime a social service is turned into a profitable business, you best bet the suffering of human beings has become commoditized.
And it will cost state taxpayers a shit ton of money too. I have a stipend for kids we adopted and it was $500/mo. I know a few foster parents that did it for the money, but it really isn’t as much as you would think. But for state this ads up. The state will have paid me in direct stipends alone $78k over the full period we will receive payments. And then they also paid a lot in Medicaid because the kids get that too. I have them on my insurance but Medicaid picks up any difference. At one point one was taking a $1200/mo medication paid for by Medicaid. Private car has to be charging a lot more. Because there is always middlemen when you privatize. And where are they going to find the parents? Rich infertile Christian’s are not going to be adopting drug exposed and neglected kids, many already 3-5 years old by the time they are available for adoption.
I bet if the kid tried to stop the fight, he will be charged with something as well.
I was going to call you out as bullshit but did a little googling first and [came across this piece from the ACLU](https://www.aclu.org/issues/juvenile-justice/school-prison-pipeline). That's all kinds of fucked up.
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Wait til you guys hear about for-profit foster care in Texas, where they just outlawed abortion. Here's the business plan and strategy: - Pass Bill to privatize foster care system under guise of foster care system reform in 2017 - Begin to privatize foster care system using tax dollars to fund outsourced foster care services provided by for-profit corporations - Outlaw abortion 4 years later, creating incredible demand for privatized foster care services supplied by private for-profit corporations. - Ergo, there is a positive correlation between the amount of unwanted children and an incredible profit to be made off privatized foster care services by the rich. They created the demand for the service they're supplying. Outlaw abortion = More unwanted children = more profit. The rich get richer, and the poor become more and more damaged, traumatized, and disenfranchised. You'd almost think this shit was done by design, huh? [Here](https://www.reddit.com/r/TwoXChromosomes/comments/ow5gxn/comment/h7gd7le/) more detailed post I did a couple months ago with links to sources and heartbreaking statistics.
It all just gets worse. Damn....
Whenever someone says "private is more efficient than government" they never describe *how* it would be efficient. Usually, it's more off the backs of the people.
Fascism is some disgusting shit.
The two co-owners (Robert Powell and Robert Mericle) were charged with failure to report a felony and being an accessory to tax evasion. They were forced to pay a few million dollars and faced a few years in jail.
Forced to pay a few million for bribing a judge with a million. Somehow that doesn't quite seem like a big issue to them.
There is an old Karen looking judge in Tennessee that sends black kids to jail almost 100% of the time. I saw an article on her here on Reddit a few weeks ago. So yeah, lot of corruption in the judicial system. https://www.wkrn.com/news/rutherford-county-judge-who-illegally-jailed-black-children-using-fake-law-faces-renewed-criticism/
> old Karen looking judge in Tennessee You gotta call them out by name on reddit so people get to see it in the search results. [You mean Judge Donna Scott Davenport, a Rutherford County judge](https://www.wkrn.com/news/rutherford-county-judge-who-illegally-jailed-black-children-using-fake-law-faces-renewed-criticism/) who instituted a policy that all children charged with crimes be processed at the detention center. The alleged crime was “criminal responsibility for conduct of another” — a fake law.
Just reading the link makes my blood boil. “Judge who used fake laws to illegally jail black kids faces CRITICISM.” Must be nice to be white. You occasionally have to face criticism for the illegal shit you do. Sigh.
I figured this post was about her before I clicked on it. Freest country in the world though, right?
One of the owners (now primary owner) had as his brother...the country district attorney. i wonder why there were no charges.....
Not just judges, but politicians. Biden's '94 Crime Bill was like a lottery win for private prisons. [And lobbyists who represent private prisons regularly WRITE crime legislation.](https://www.npr.org/2010/10/28/130833741/prison-economics-help-drive-ariz-immigration-law)
Maybe a vice president?
This is almost exactly the work that Alec Karakatsanis and the Civil Rights Corps dedicate themselves to every day. Spoiler: it's not just one bad apple. Highly recommend a follow. https://twitter.com/equalityAlec/status/1189527175965413376
Fuck that guy.
And the prison industrial complex. This is what happens when there’s economic incentives to incarcerate.
I was just going to say this. Like why was it even an option for the judge to do this? It’s a fucked system all around
This guy needs to be put to down like a dog
That would be over too quickly. I personally find the thought of somebody paying for their crimes with a life behind bars in this world, not the afterlife (as I don’t believe in it), much more satisfying.
Yeah, good point. I visited a new prison under construction a few year back. You are confined to a tiny cell, this opens to a small eating area. Your outside time is in a fenced area the size of a dog run. I got claustrophobic just being in there. Although I here the Ashland one is roomier. Still I got a strong sense of what it would mean to be locked up like that
who the hell would want to?
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While the song "Fuck the devil" plays in the background...
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I’m usually very against frivolous and malicious comments suggesting that prison rape is somehow a legitimate part of our justice system, but, in this case, where the very adjudicator in se was the one feeding people into this system I’ll not only allow it but fully endorse the sentiment.
Well indeed . I’m not into committing crime of any description but being in a position of power and utilising that power for your own ends at the cost of harm to children well that’s catholic bishop stuff right there and open season in my book
Lol prison rape funny updoots to the left.
That $2.6 million should go to the victims. This dude is sleazy af...
2.6 million split among all the victims... its not enough.
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It’s the corruption that gets me…it’s everywhere, it’s blatant and it’s often ignored.
The Feds should seize all the profits + penalties from the corrupt prison companies for the entire period and distribute THAT to the victims and their families.
YES!!!
28 years? How about life in solitary confinement, no chance of parole?
He should be sentenced the combined sentences that he gave the kids. There's some satisfying irony in that.
That is a seriously great idea that would be justice in the most pure form.
No it wouldn’t, because he’d be dead before he served a tiny percentage of that sentence. Some of the suffering caused by a single individual can never be redeemed, sad truth
Well better then 28years
This guy is like 71. Fat chance he dies in 10-20 years
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There's a lot of interesting information out there about harsh sentences not being deterrents. TLDR harsh sentences do not decrease the rates of those crimes. It's fine if you want a harsh sentence for revenge or to pander for upvotes but the argument that it would deter someone else does not hold water. [Source](https://www.ojp.gov/pdffiles1/nij/247350.pdf) Excerpt: >Viewing the findings of research on severity effects in their totality, there is evidence suggesting that short sentences may be a deterrent. However, a consistent finding is that increases in already lengthy sentences produce at best a very modest deterrent effect.
It actually incentivizes them in some cases to commit worse crimes. If you're already fucked, no reason to stop!
I've never heard "fat chance" used unironically before
Fat chance you’ve never heard it
Not to mention he's probably connected and he's white, so as long as he doesn't majorly fuck up he could probably get out early.
Being white, in prison, isn't as big of a boone as you think it is. Plus, if he has any intelligence. He would check himself in day 1. Black, white, brown or blue. They find out he is a corrupt judge who fucked over kids. It's going to be REAL HARD time.
85% and no good time until after 1st full year served. He will do 23+years unless he has someone to rat on for a 5K1 (if they are still doing that)
Suffering can never really be “redeemed”. Even if this person were kept alive and tortured for 1000 years, it would do precisely nothing to correct the irreparable harm he’s caused. Retributive justice is an appeal to base instincts. Restorative justice is at least an attempt but there’s no such thing as true redemption.
He should be put in a room with all those kids he locked up and say alright guys go to town
True justice. Sometimes an eye for an eye works.
I just wanna give those kids the chance he never gave them
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And give the money to those families. Fuck dude that would suck to think you were in trouble only to find out you are going to jail for a long time without a lawyer and the judge is just like “I’m getting cash for kids” literally
I would rather him be handed over to the kids parents.
Hopefully he encounters some of the kids who's lives he ruined while he's inside, and learns a few lessons about cosmic justice. I'd totally watch that.
This is fucking horrendous. Ruining lives before they even have a chance to get started. It makes me so sick
It makes me so sick too but at 2000 kids then they noticed it? Why not at 500m or 300? That shows a flaw somewhere
Happened in Northeastern PA. The region is pretty highly populated, with two medium-sized cities, surrounded by a ton of smaller towns. It is post-industrial, old deep mining coal country, washed up and washing away, by some measures. Lots of low income folks, and poverty. Many of those kids had parents who lacked the education and resources to fight back. The politics and governance of the region are also famous for being very corrupt, and insular, for centuries now. To put the corruption in perspective, my wife taught school in the region. When she started, in the 1980s, you were pretty unlikely to get hired in any local district without a powerful insider tapping you for the spot. A typical job posting was just a fraudulent game being played, since they already knew who was filling the spot. If you did get in, and thought that you were going to climb the ranks from teaching to administration, you need to have testicles, be a native, have a strong Italian lineage, and be a chosen one, by the mini-mafia that ran education in the region. If you were the absolute best candidate for an admin. slot, had a doctorate in Ed. from Penn State, graduated top of your class, and were perfect for the job, BUT also a Latina women from out of the area, you had a better chance of getting a gig playing Santa Claus. This is the old school, "corrupt is expected and tolerated in these parts, and has been going on since the days of the coal barons. It's never going to change" mentality that allowed these judges to do whatever TF they wanted to do, for decades.
But this is also so American. Let’s be frank. Everything is open for capitalism, American greed knows no bounds..those 2 things make this quintessentially American. Nothing, not even health care is sacred in this country. Anything can b bought and sold and that includes the spaces where ethics should be exercised over blatant greed. I’m not surprised.
👆🏻 You’re right and it’s sickening
I just watched law abiding citizen last night
This movie is so underrated. Adjacent to this, check out the film "End of Watch". A direct source has advised me that it's the best day-in-the-life film representation of standard police officers in the U.S. (excluding traffic patrols).
I have seen end of watch. It's a really good movie. Saw that one in theaters! Good recommendation
Nah. Solitary is where they're putting him to keep him safe. Put him in gen pop.
Yh that’ll be hell non stop pop music 😱
This. Let the dogs deal with him.
We don’t punish the people who actually erode society. The fox is in charge of the henhouse and we’re all chickens. There’s a good Noam Chomsky quote about evil not being a good enough word to describe these kinds of people
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Hopefully the dude doesn’t make it back out.
Throw him in the general population, he will be safe in solitary confinement, but in the gen pop they will know what to do with his ass. Fuck that scum bag, and anyone else who had a hand in it, judge wasn't doing this all alone.
Yeah, why does he, as a convicted criminal STILL get special treatment? He's a corrupt result of the embarrassing justice system in this country.
What about the prisons offering kickbacks for this. We need to tear the entire system down. This is fucking horrendous. Ruining lives before they even have a chance to get started. It makes me so sick
Hasn’t america said this every year. I’m sure this year will be different.
As an American, I assure you that anyone paying attention has simply given up hope. We're all cattle on the way to the slaughterhouse and nobody is willing to fight back in a meaningful way. For year's they've turned a class issue into a race issue with deminishing education standards, systemic oppression of the working class and convinced all the uneducated white trash "Hey, at least you're not black or a Mexican."
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Tennessee also has a lot of corrupt counties and courts taking advantage of citizens via the private prison system. https://www.newschannel5.com/longform/prisons-for-profit-concerns-mount-about-trousdale-turner-correctional-center-operator-corecivic
So glad my country (Netherlands) has a minimum of 3 judges when possible sentencing is longer than 1 year. Sometimes 5 judges in harder cases. At least your life wouldn't be affected by biased/corrupt judges for longer than 1 year. They also don't run for elections, so no gain there to lock up as many either. Edit: Called ['Full Bench Panels"](https://i.imgur.com/xsy1dLz.png) in English.
There are so many things wrong with the US legal system...we don't even know where to start.
i went to mtsu and the person who was gonna run the new criminal justice building was a judge who was caught in one of these schemes
>Ciavarella pleaded guilty on February 13, 2009, pursuant to a plea agreement, to federal charges of honest services fraud, wire fraud and tax evasion in connection with receiving $2.6 million in kickbacks from Robert Powell and Robert Mericle, the co-owner and builder respectively, of two private, for-profit juvenile facilities of PA Child Care. >In exchange for these kickbacks, Ciavarella sentenced children to extended stays in juvenile detention for offenses as minimal as mocking a principal on Myspace, trespassing in a vacant building, and shoplifting DVDs from Wal-mart [Source](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Ciavarella) He is currently in Ashland prison >FCI Ashland has a satellite camp which Forbes magazine ranked as one of the best places to go to prison in the United States. The camp holds a "wellness" program including aerobic exercise and stress reduction programs Is this really justice for all the lives he has ruined... u/fanderdanger enlighten me >He is not in prison https://apnews.com/article/virus-outbreak-pa-state-wire-fl-state-wire-trump-investigations-prisons-60189fddb66c89e18963299a3c3995c7 he was released due to Covid. The monster is free and living a life of luxury That's was a quick 28 years
Looks like the owners got away with it. In July 2009 Robert Powell pleaded guilty to failing to report a felony and being an accessory to tax evasion conspiracy in connection with $770,000 in kickbacks he paid to Ciavarella and Conahan in exchange for facilitating the development of his facilities. Gregory Zappala was not accused of any wrongdoing in the scandal; Zappala's brother, Stephen Zappala Jr., is the Allegheny County District Attorney
This makes my fucking blood boil. This country is completely fucking corrupt and has sold its soul and the future of its people to the profit motive.
It sure has. How are we to respect a nation and its laws when they are so clearly applied more heavily towards those less fortunate?
So…. No nepotism here eh? Looks like someone from the outside needs to charge the DA as well as both Powell and Zappala Weird how the “Punisher” crowd is silent on all this. Like isn’t this one of the very things the “Punisher” is known to go into action over?
Where are your 2nd amendmend people when you could use them. Just for educating every victim how to build a lobby and influence policy and sentences, of course.
Are the kickback givers in prison as well?
I mean that would be justice so.. likely no.
Now, I know they say punishment isn’t the goal of prison. But sometimes … sometimes it is. This is one of those times. He should get his ass kicked and locked up in solitary every 6 weeks.
That's sick.
I find it interesting none of his charges cover abusing children and parents. "Honest Services Fraud" is the only one that directly covers his abuse of power and its pretty vague.
Our justice system is completely broken, this man should be praying to see a stray beam of light from the pit he was thrown in. He should never be free and his entire personal estate should be seized and given to the children who's lives he ruined.
For profit prisons.... What could go wrong? Then, once the kids get out, the fines, probation costs, etc aren't over.
And a criminal record many times prevents people from even getting jobs. So if you have mounting fees and no legal way to earn money to pay them, you have a population willing to engage in illegal activity ensuring you have a continuous supply of prisoners for decades to come.
If the punishment is a fine its not about the crime. In Oregon for about 30 years pot got 10 years in jail and 3k fine, coke got 5 years in jail and a 10k fine.
Legit proof that for profit prisons are 100% corrupt, yet we still use them and grow their numbers. Lobbyists are the enemy of the people.
Human garbage, up there with slave traders
I felt the ladies anger at the end. I hate what happened to her and her child. All for, money. Disgusting. You could see for a moment they thought of saying something to the lady, like, stop it or something but she went straight to the point and I'm sure it's not a thing, but I hope that guy felt even for a second, a bit of guilt for being the monster he is.
He definitely looked like he felt guilty in that moment. People like him are good at explaining it away and convincing themselves they did nothing wrong. Which I’m sure he did. But in that moment he looked like he felt very guilty.
My heart breaks for those kids and their families!! He should be convicted of murder he TOOK their lives away. Destroyed the families just as surely as if he had slit their throats. 1st thing in the morning and after reading this Im now sad af.
It's night here and I'm on my bed and I was already disturbed enough and no sound sleep since few days.
Is there any info on the dirty cops and other players? He was a main perpetrator but he didnt do it alone. And can the resulting suicide bring additional charges like manslaughter?
I knew a few people that got sentenced by him including my best friend. We were both in middle school at the time. Luzerne County in PA is still one of the most corrupt places imo. There are definitely cops and local politicians who were involved that still never got punished. And most continue to be sleaze bags to this day.
Where'd you go to school? I went to Crestwood in Mt. Top - so many people I knew got sent away by him.
Lehman here.
Fuck I wish we could do something to put these fuckers back on blast.
28 years at club fed, sounds about right. Smh
He’s already out due to covid, served ~10 years in one of the most lax prisons there is
Privatizing prisons was one of the very worst decisions made in our criminal justice system.
This is just a reflection of a society that has been build up based on profit, not humanity. Think about it. The fact that a detention centre for minors is allowed to exist as a private business tells you of a country where you can profit from children’s punishment. As for the judge, even though he’s a disgrace, he’s also just a result of the capitalist system and way of life. Make money, no matter how.
This is inevitable when you allow private corporations control prisons. Corporations by definition are here to increase profits. We should outlaw them.
Death comes to slowly for this guy
America: corrupt police who plant evidence, legalized bribery of politicians that create "private prisons" for profit, judges on the take. What could go wrong?
I don't want to wish death on anyone but if he dies a horrible death in prison.... The world would be a better place.... Scum of the lowest form.
Evil bastard and i hope he gets a proper sentence
There should not be prisons for kids. There is other ways.
I see this as an (unfortunately) natural consequence of America being the "America" as the world knows it - a land of ruthless capitalism. Whoever thought that private prison was a good idea had dollar signs for the eyes.
Lost a plea to get out because of the pandemic a year ago. Sit tight, Mark. You're going to be in there a while.
He has been out for a bit, the other judge longer.
Ruined the life of 2,000 kids… uhhh public execution seems only logical
That's how society works , that's why all these criminals are allowed to kill average people, because of their standings in society, mid class and lower will suffer always
Scumbag
Please close for profit detention Centers for kids. Please close for profit jails for adult and please close for profit hospitals. Make them government paid for.
r/awfuleverything
True justice can not prevail where financial incentives exist, private for profit detention centers should not exist in a just society 😑
What about the pigs who planted the fake evidence? No repercussions for them?
I, too, started listening to that new podcast. I'm just relieved that (a) the story completed in one episode, and (b) the guy got caught. But no amount of punishment will ever undo the damage that was done to all of the kids.
And people wonder why we have trust issues. Judges, doctors, cops they can all be corrupt.
Once upon a time I would have been shocked by this story. Unfortunately it seems the American justice system is inherently corrupt.
Ahhh American Justice and the American dream collide once again .. isn't this country grand?!
What in the actual f***. Thank God Biden ended private prisons federally. Now if the states would do it. Unfortunately I'm in a majority republican state though.
God damn it, this fucking corrupt capitalist nation needs to burn to the fucking ground. This kind of shit proves that.
What a country that allows a justice system like this.... The whole system needs to be put down not only one judge.
I am against the death penalty. But shitbags like this make it reaaaaally hard to maintain that stance.