GROUP 3 DISCUSSION Chapters 9 10 Summary CHAPTER 9 Unequal law favors the rich Many crimes in the suites go unpunished because most crime focus is on the streets due to its potential violence and vivid portrayal on TV 100 One reason why the corporations get off easy is because public prosecutors are greatly underfunded and understaffed Some corporations profited from unpaid slave labor during WW II and from selling the enemy weapons Sure the companies are fined but nobody gets put in jail for these massive crimes Many people died at the hands of corporate negligence and the amounts fined have equaled as little as a measly 500 101 Most cases of mass larceny go unpunished altogether Individuals are imprisoned on massive scales each year for tax evasion but companies are only fined a very small amount of what they owe Even then penalties are often uncollected or suspended 103 One exception was Bernard Madoff who received the outlandish jail time of 150 years at the age of 71 In cases such as these if someone tries to speak out against the corporation s crimes they can be sued for slander and disparagement Corporations can afford better lawyers and almost often win court cases The poor uneducated minorities are more likely to be arrested denied bail and plead guilty without adequate legal representation 106 Because of this it puts them further into poverty when they cannot get a job because of their criminal record Many petty crimes are punished harshly and unfairly The more well known or famous you are the less harsh the sentence We cover up the crimes of celebrities to avoid harming their image but make a big deal out of punishing ordinary citizens for lesser crimes The U S as of 2009 had the largest prison population in the world 108 Most people in prison are one time drug offenders with no violent history Ninety percent of these people already suffer from low income and will have to struggle to find work once finished serving their time There is cruel treatment and unhygienic conditions in prison rather than it being a correctional facility as we claim Most inmates end up dying from disease suicide or murder by other inmates The fallible law system has convicted innumerable innocent people many of which have actually been put to death Sexist justice is also a huge issue with the current U S law system Domestic violence and rape cases are often unjustly looked at as the woman s fault Homophobia has also made judges and juries sway toward the wrong side on many court cases regardless of proof of innocence Children receive insufficient protection from the law as well Many custody cases result in the child being placed in the wrong hands Child abusers are not very harshly punished and children can still be sent to work for extensive hours in factories or as prostitutes unbeknownst to the government African Americans are also treated unjustly by the law often persecuted more harshly After serving time in prison they are less likely to find jobs as opposed to whites who were convicted of worse crimes CHAPTER 10 The state department and U S Immigration and Customs Enforcement ICE exclude anyone from abroad who might be affiliated with communist anarchist or allegedly terrorist groups or who engage in activities prejudicial to the public interest 119 This rule denies many innocent people the right to visit our country The government is supposedly protecting us but is condemning these people for their thoughts not actions Even though nobody can be denied a visa there remains a lookout list of innumerable people who may possibly be connected to organized groups Even though the U S signed the Helsinki accords which cannot impose travel restrictions among citizens many U S citizens have been denied passports 120 Congress passed a totalitarian type law in 2003 that can censor any course curriculum at publicly funded institutions that contains anti American criticisms of U S foreign policy 120 The FBI according to Parenti is not doing its job It has used illegal break ins forged documents and telephone taps to gain information to apparently protect the U S against radicals Director of the FBI J Edgar Hoover even used FBI funds for his private profit and accepted lavish gifts from wealthy friends whom he then protected from their criminal investigations 121 The police force has been viewed in the same light According to the text police officers are nowhere to be found when there is real crime but show up in masses to fight peaceful demonstrations 121 The U S government has a history of politically motivated arrests 123 Many examples are given of instances in which prisoners of war were taken by the U S for reasons as simple as refusing to serve in the armed forces Prisoners who express their views against the government or protest their conditions are subject to multiple unfair and cruel punishments such as mind altering drugs beatings isolation etc 123 Legal force has been used by the U S as an excuse for political murder according to Parenti There have been many instances of police attacking shooting peaceful protestors Some of these murders include people who were impassioned about politics and were investigating thoroughly the policies and scandals involved with the government The FBI claims to be keeping the peace but according to Parenti is creating more chaos by making quick arrests without evidence and unjustly punishing people 128 The national security state consists of the president the secretaries of state and defense the National Security Council the Joint Chiefs of Staff and numerous intelligence agencies like the FBI and CIA Their main focus is to defeat movements at home and abroad that seek alternatives to free market globalization 129 In violation of the National Security Act of 1947 which states that the CIA shall have no police subpoena law enforcement or internal security functions the agency has equipped and trained local police forces in the U S and conducts covert operations against U S citizens within this country and abroad 130 According to Parenti U S intelligence agencies commit crimes against humanity 131 The CIA was apparently involved in cocaine transport in the 1980s and contributed to the epidemic Parenti states that even though we need a strong intelligence system the CIA has gone beyond its duty and has been unlawfully involved in areas such as drug trafficking torture sabotage and assassinations 133 Presidents themselves namely Nixon and Reagan were involved