Vox, Oct./19:"The case for prosecuting the Sacklers and other opioid executives"

https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/10/10/20881636/sacklers-purdue-opioid-epidemic-prison-prosecution-criminal-investigation

 

Excerpt:

 

The justice system is supposed to keep Americans safe, hold criminals accountable, and deter would-be wrongdoers. If opioid company owners and executives like the Sacklers caused societal devastation and are allowed to get away with criminal activity, the system is failing at one of its core purposes.

 

Or as Diamantis put it, “If the Sacklers get to walk away, after decades of improperly marketing this opioid, as one of the richest families in the United States, you have to ask yourself: Is the criminal justice system appropriately or effectively deterring such conduct from Sackler families in the future?”

 

In general, the progressive impulse — and mine too — is to push for less incarceration and criminal punishment in general. But there’s a special argument for going after the Sacklers and other opioid executives. It’s what’s known in criminal justice policy as the “certainty of punishment”: People should know that if they commit crimes or cause harm, they will be held to account.

 

Over the past several decades, as federal and state governments have escalated mass incarceration and the war on drugs, they’ve mostly focused on severe punishments, such as harsh mandatory minimum prison sentences. But the research suggests that certainty of punishment matters far, far more than the severity.

 

In 2016, the National Institute of Justice summarized the evidence: “Research shows clearly that the chance of being caught is a vastly more effective deterrent than even draconian punishment.” They added, “Research has found evidence that prison can exacerbate, not reduce, recidivism. Prisons themselves may be schools for learning to commit crimes.” So more certainty of punishment can deter crime, while more severity can actually make it worse after a certain point.

 

There’s a common sense element to this: People tend to commit crimes thinking they’ll get away with them, so whether they’re punished by 10, 20, or 100 years in prison is really not that important. But if you change the notion that they can get away with crime — by making it more likely the criminal justice system will punish them — then you can make an impact.

 

“Instead of a ratcheting up of punishment or desire to make sure these guys really feel the impact, we should focus instead on ratcheting up prosecutions — so executives know that they’re on notice and you can’t get away with this,” Ashley Nellis, a senior research analyst at the Sentencing Project, told me.

https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/10/10/20881636/sacklers-purdue-opioid-epidemic-prison-prosecution-criminal-investigation

 

Excerpt:

 

The justice system is supposed to keep Americans safe, hold criminals accountable, and deter would-be wrongdoers. If opioid company owners and executives like the Sacklers caused societal devastation and are allowed to get away with criminal activity, the system is failing at one of its core purposes.

 

Or as Diamantis put it, “If the Sacklers get to walk away, after decades of improperly marketing this opioid, as one of the richest families in the United States, you have to ask yourself: Is the criminal justice system appropriately or effectively deterring such conduct from Sackler families in the future?”

 

In general, the progressive impulse — and mine too — is to push for less incarceration and criminal punishment in general. But there’s a special argument for going after the Sacklers and other opioid executives. It’s what’s known in criminal justice policy as the “certainty of punishment”: People should know that if they commit crimes or cause harm, they will be held to account.

 

Over the past several decades, as federal and state governments have escalated mass incarceration and the war on drugs, they’ve mostly focused on severe punishments, such as harsh mandatory minimum prison sentences. But the research suggests that certainty of punishment matters far, far more than the severity.

 

In 2016, the National Institute of Justice summarized the evidence: “Research shows clearly that the chance of being caught is a vastly more effective deterrent than even draconian punishment.” They added, “Research has found evidence that prison can exacerbate, not reduce, recidivism. Prisons themselves may be schools for learning to commit crimes.” So more certainty of punishment can deter crime, while more severity can actually make it worse after a certain point.

 

There’s a common sense element to this: People tend to commit crimes thinking they’ll get away with them, so whether they’re punished by 10, 20, or 100 years in prison is really not that important. But if you change the notion that they can get away with crime — by making it more likely the criminal justice system will punish them — then you can make an impact.

 

“Instead of a ratcheting up of punishment or desire to make sure these guys really feel the impact, we should focus instead on ratcheting up prosecutions — so executives know that they’re on notice and you can’t get away with this,” Ashley Nellis, a senior research analyst at the Sentencing Project, told me.

 

The linked article ends with this paragraph:

 

"As Humphreys, of Stanford, put it, “It would be a powerful deterrent within that group that yes, in fact, no matter how many country clubs you belong to and how many museums you endow, you can still end up behind bars.”

 

It is alleged that several members of the Sackler family, and some other CEO's of other corporations personally and aggressively marketed and distributed oxycontin and similar opioids knowing their activities contributed to opioid addiction and the deaths of 10's of thousands of people.

 

Is the payment of fines and possible prison sentences sufficient for what may be determined to be "criminally negligent homicide" of 10's of thousands of people?

 

Stayed tuned to the Sackler Saga et al, to find out I guess?

 

Thanks for posting this link.

And they were the ones who popularized valium. NEVER FORGET.

And they were the ones who popularized valium. NEVER FORGET.

 

So very true.

I read the article last night. Very good but very disconcerting. I don't think I have the words to describe how I feel. Just so nauseating...