Among Celebrity Criminals, I Fear Michael Vick the Most (8/27/07)
by Dean Hartwell
If we want to be tough on crime, as our presidential candidates are saying they will be, we should identify criminal behavior that most threatens society. We should also determine which criminals will present the greatest threats in the future.
Consider which of the following criminals in the news should receive our greatest attention:
The Browns. The IRS has charged Ed and Elaine Brown with tax evasion and a judge has sentenced them to five years in federal prison. They have sequestered themselves in their homes out of protest of the income tax, which they say the government has no law to enforce its payment by residents.
Michael Vick. He reportedly will formally plead guilty today, Monday, August 27th, to conspiracy charges on dog fighting, including executing dogs that did not perform well in a league he and others participated in. He could get between one to five years in prison but, strangely, the penalty would be much higher if he bet on the dogfights, a charge that he has denied.
Lindsey Lohan, Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie. These three have made headlines with their recent arrests for driving under the influence. All of them have or will have to serve time in jail for their conduct, which the law says in California is a misdemeanor.
So, whom should we be on the watch for?
I’m not looking at the Browns. Instead, I commend them for at least studying the issue before concluding that the income tax is unconstitutional. It sounds like they refuse to pay the IRS out of personal convictions rather than greed. People who take a non-violent stand on moral principle do not scare me.
The three Hollywood women all put other people’s lives in danger with their driving. But if we always placed a high emphasis on what could have happened, most of us would probably be in prison ourselves. The law (and rightfully so) tends to punish based on what actually happened. It remains to be seen whether these three women learned any lessons or not, but sometimes shaming works.
That leaves us with Vick. His behavior toward the dogs was reprehensible. I am frightened by those who harm animals, who are totally defenseless, because it takes a twisted mind to do these things Vick did. Can we really be sure people like him won’t harm people next?