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Prison time is based on harm (or so the theory goes). How much harm is done by any action to its victim is subjective to the victim's circumstance.

Calculating harm isn't a maths problem, which is why judges exist. Moreover, wishing that prison time were directly proportional to monetary loss would be an abandonment of morality.




This is an interesting thought experiment.

Harm is relative right.

Steal 10 million dollars from a family owned small business that leads to their bankruptcy and the family homes being lost? Life In Prison.

Steal 10 million dollars from Bezos? Fine. This actually seems somewhat reasonable to me, I have a feeling you are more likely to get punished stealing from Bezos than the family business though.


Yes. It's no secret that in the real world justice favours the wealthy, for more than just the fact that money buys the best lawyers.


No. Guilt is based on intent, not harm. And there are many victimless crimes (like buying controlled substances) where the harm is zero and the penalty far from zero.




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