Gentlemen Criminals??

cousinlucky · 07-30-2014, 02:06 AM

In my very younger days I became acquainted with a professional pickpocket that frequented some of the same nightclubs that I did. He usually abhorred violence, except in matters of disrespect. I considered him a " gentleman criminal "!! I noticed this article and thought others might like to peruse it!!
http://listverse.com/2014/07/28/10-r...man-criminals/

floppywhopper · 07-30-2014, 02:34 PM

loved this quote from that article

Quote:

He’d been an orphan most of his life

when did he stop being an orphan

metaschima · 07-30-2014, 03:15 PM

Maybe he wasn't an orphan before his parents died, not after.

Anyway, I don't hold criminals in high regard, but I do understand that some people are on the wrong side of the coin, and never really have the opportunity to rise in status ... prison certainly does them more harm than good. If you steal because you must, and don't harm or kill, then you could be considered a "gentleman" criminal. Not all of them on that list qualify tho. No killing and no stealing for profit only for sustenance.

frankbell · 07-30-2014, 08:39 PM

A thief who acts like a gentleman or lady is still a thief, whether or not laws have been broken.

We may need us some Robin Hoods, but I haven't seen evidence of one yet outside of legend.

DavidMcCann · 07-31-2014, 11:23 AM

I was never very found of "gentleman criminals" in fiction — Raffles, Lupin, etc — and I certainly have no time for real ones. As for the man who robbed my university library and got 4 years — I've have given him a harder sentence, probably something involving boiling oil!

metaschima · 07-31-2014, 12:01 PM

I'm not sure where judges get sentence lengths. Do they roll dice ? I've seen people get more for armed robbery than for capital murder. It also depends heavily on your lawyer. People who commit armed robbery are less likely to have a good lawyer.

frankbell · 07-31-2014, 07:27 PM

In the USA, Federal judges often have little discretion in sentences for many types of crimes because of mandatory minimum sentences.

And money matters.

cousinlucky · 07-31-2014, 09:18 PM

I have always been of the opinion that the victims should be the ones that sentence the criminals that have preyed upon them.

brianL · 08-01-2014, 03:41 AM

The European Court of Human Rights is always trying to interfere with our justice system. They recently tried to stop our judges handing out whole life sentences, but failed. Seems they care about the perpetrators more than the victims.

DavidMcCann · 08-01-2014, 10:22 AM

The trouble with the European Court is that there is no requirement that its judges should have ever sat as judges in their own countries! Imagine a lawyer with no judicial experience being appointed to the British or US supreme courts, or to the French Court of Cassation. One of those inexperienced judges is British, so we can't blame it all on "them".

AnanthaP · 08-03-2014, 07:35 AM

Quote:

He usually abhorred violence, except in matters of disrespect.

I am sure you will see that this shows that he was ruthless with those who called him out .ie. those who opposed him.

It seems to me that he was part of a gang and he feigned being aggrieved by "disrespectful" people to effect a slick escape.

OK

xyzone · 08-03-2014, 09:53 PM

That kid in Texas that got off for killing 4 people after shoplifting liquor and driving drunk was no gentleman. He was rich. If you're a criminal, you're better off in the judicial being rich instead of a gentleman. Ask the criminal bankers.

273 · 08-04-2014, 02:16 AM

I think the "gentleman criminal" idea is a bit of a myth.
However, I did have to grin when I learned of Jimmy Carr's fabulous tax avoidance. I don't blame anyone for trying to avoid paying those who demand money with menaces.

k3lt01 · 08-04-2014, 03:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by metaschima

I'm not sure where judges get sentence lengths. Do they roll dice ? I've seen people get more for armed robbery than for capital murder. It also depends heavily on your lawyer. People who commit armed robbery are less likely to have a good lawyer.

Common Law jurisdictions (of which the USA is one) have approximately a thousand years of precedences to use for imposing sentences. The idea behind Common Law is no matter who you are, where you are from, how much money you have, if you are found guilty you will get the same sentence as the person next to you for the same crime. Unfortunately it rarely works this way. Sentence lengths depend on 2 things, judicial custom and government making law.