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Just some (of many) perspectives on Felicity Huffman’s sentencing

Lots of folks have lots of views on what we should make of the the sentencing of Felicity Huffman late last week to 14 days in incarceration in the college bribery scandal. Here are just a sampling of some of the pieces that caught my eye:

From CNN, “John Legend says prison is not always the answer after Felicity Huffman’s sentence

From Walter Palvo at Forbes, “Felicity Huffman And America’s Failing Criminal Justice System

From Fox News, “Felicity Huffman’s 14 day prison sentence in college admissions scam sparks outrage on social media

From Fox News, “Felicity Huffman’s prison sentence ‘more of a burden on the jail system’ than on the actress: expert

From David Oscar Marcus at The Hill, “Felicity Huffman’s 14-Day Sentence is Unjust — Because It’s Too High

From Ellen Podgor at White Collar Crime Prof Blog, “More Varsity Blues — Privilege and Perspective

To add my two cents, I will just say that I continue to be disappointed at our system’s and our society’s general failure to treat and view any sentencing terms other than imprisonment as “real punishment.” Of course, most persons subject to any form of criminal investigation and prosecution will report that the process itself is very often a significant punishment and so too can be any period of supervision and the array of collateral consequences (both formal and informal and often lifetime) that always accompany a criminal conviction. But, problematically, the perception persists that anything other than prison, and often anything less than a lengthy period in prison, is but a trifle.

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