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Pennsylvania Judge Sentenced For 28 Years For Selling Kids to Prison System
http://blog.blacknews.com ^ | Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Posted on 12/15/2013 5:48:11 AM PST by Renfield

(Black News) Mark Ciavarella Jr, a 61-year old former judge in Pennsylvania, has been sentenced to nearly 30 years in prison for literally selling young juveniles for cash. He was convicted of accepting money in exchange for incarcerating thousands of adults and children into a prison facility owned by a developer who was paying him under the table. The kickbacks amounted to more than $1 million.

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has overturned some 4,000 convictions issued by him between 2003 and 2008, claiming he violated the constitutional rights of the juveniles – including the right to legal counsel and the right to intelligently enter a plea. Some of the juveniles he sentenced were as young as 10-years old.

Ciavarella was convicted of 12 counts, including racketeering, money laundering, mail fraud and tax evasion. He was also ordered to repay $1.2 million in restitution.

His “kids for cash” program has revealed that corruption is indeed within the prison system, mostly driven by the growth in private prisons seeking profits by any means necessary.


TOPICS: Chit/Chat; Local News; Miscellaneous; Society
KEYWORDS: corruption; corruptjudge; judgesellsjuveniles; kidsforcash; pajudge; pennsylania
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1 posted on 12/15/2013 5:48:11 AM PST by Renfield
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Comment #2 Removed by Moderator

To: Renfield

Only bigger and bigger government can save us...


3 posted on 12/15/2013 5:50:26 AM PST by 2banana (My common ground with terrorists - they want to die for islam and we want to kill them)
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To: Renfield

Guess which party? (It’s unmentionable.)


4 posted on 12/15/2013 5:53:08 AM PST by gusopol3
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To: Renfield

See? Nothing to fear from law enforcement, unless you’re doing something wrong!

The police and courts are just looking out for you.


5 posted on 12/15/2013 5:53:31 AM PST by noprogs (Borders, Language, Culture)
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To: Renfield
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has overturned some 4,000 convictions issued by him between 2003 and 2008, claiming he violated the constitutional rights of the juveniles.

The Court didn't claim that he violated the constitutional rights of the juveniles.

The Court determined that he violated the constitutional rights of the juveniles,

6 posted on 12/15/2013 5:56:07 AM PST by Steely Tom (If the Constitution can be a living document, I guess a corporation can be a person.)
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To: Renfield

There is big, big money in the jail and prison businesses and this points out just one of the ways law enforcement gets rich.


7 posted on 12/15/2013 6:02:13 AM PST by Zuben Elgenubi (NOPe to GOPe)
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To: Renfield

Sentence and punishment far too lenient.


8 posted on 12/15/2013 6:02:46 AM PST by Navy Patriot (Join the Democrats, it's not Fascism when WE do it, and the Constitution and law mean what WE say.)
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To: Renfield

If there is any justice, he’ll meet some of those juveniles now grown in prison.


9 posted on 12/15/2013 6:03:15 AM PST by allendale
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To: Zuben Elgenubi

And that’s why I’m against the privatization of the prison industry, no matter how much it saves tax payers.


10 posted on 12/15/2013 6:05:51 AM PST by christx30 (Freedom above all.)
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To: Renfield

As in similar scandals involving systemic judicial corruption, there were years of rumors and irregular practices before a determined official investigation was launched. It was eventually shown that many people were involved at a criminal level of culpability.


11 posted on 12/15/2013 6:17:25 AM PST by Rockingham
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To: gusopol3

In Pa (at least when I lived there), judges ran on a non-partisan ticket. The parties did endorse certain ones though.
Do you know him to be a Democrat or endorsed by the Democrats?


12 posted on 12/15/2013 6:17:44 AM PST by scrabblehack
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To: Renfield

His organs should be taken out and sold; with no anesthesia used.


13 posted on 12/15/2013 6:18:55 AM PST by HereInTheHeartland (Obama lied; our healthcare died.)
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To: Renfield

The guy should be drawn and quartered. This is not just some ole crime, this is the kind of thing that starts a revolution. If you can’t trust the judges, you can’t trust the government.


14 posted on 12/15/2013 6:20:04 AM PST by Born to Conserve
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To: Renfield

There was a Law and Order SUV episode about this very thing.


15 posted on 12/15/2013 6:20:37 AM PST by GSWarrior
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To: Renfield
He was convicted of accepting money in exchange for incarcerating thousands of adults and children into a prison facility owned by a developer who was paying him under the table. The kickbacks amounted to more than $1 million.

Disgusting.

Though most of our congresscritters would sell us all out for money and power.

16 posted on 12/15/2013 6:20:48 AM PST by Irenic (The pencil sharpener and Elmer's glue is put away-- we've lost the red wheel barrow)
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To: GSWarrior
There was a Law and Order SUV episode about this very thing.

Let me guess. The judge was a known Tea Party member?

17 posted on 12/15/2013 6:24:54 AM PST by mountn man (The Pleasure You Get From Life Is Equal To The Attitude You Put Into It)
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To: scrabblehack

Wikipedia states he was elected on the Luzerne County Democratic ticket in 1995. Furthermore , his co-conspirator, Michael T. Conahan who is currently serving a 17 year prison term on the same charges , is also a Democrat. I know I frequently hear of retention elections in PA and they do run on party lines.


18 posted on 12/15/2013 6:29:49 AM PST by gusopol3
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To: Renfield
His “kids for cash” program has revealed that corruption is indeed within the prison system, mostly driven by the growth in private prisons seeking profits by any means necessary.

This doesn't "mostly" prove anything of the kind. It proves this particular judge and prison operator were corrupt, but of itself it doesn't say anything about "the system" at all.

19 posted on 12/15/2013 6:32:56 AM PST by Sherman Logan
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To: scrabblehack
The story didn't say, so he must be a Democrat. If he was a Republican or Independent the story would have mentioned that in the first sentence.

You can take that to the bank.

20 posted on 12/15/2013 6:35:45 AM PST by Wingy
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