Crimes Against Humanity

In my mind, the latest financial crisis should be considered a crime against humanity and those that profited from it should be prosecuted as if they committed murder. Our financial leaders, those that were paid millions in exchange for their loyalty to do the right thing did the wrong thing and profited from it. If you think about the diversion of resources and energy it is easy to see that their theft of billions of dollars worth of labor and thus the working lives of tens of thousands of workers is in effect a type of murder. Anyone that steals more than the average earnings of an average worker should be put on trial for a type of murder. If you were paid a million and did committed fraud, you should be put on trial for a type of murder and punished accordingly. Did these individuals do more damage to people than a person involved in a consensual crime such as the sale of marijuana? I am sure a senior citizen that has their entire life savings wiped away would think that the perpetrator of that fraud should receive a longer sentence than someone that sold $200 worth of marijuana. Where is the justice? I say those that risked the fortunes of millions should pay with their lives.

A retroactive law needs to be passed that will allow the prosecution of those that gained from understating risk or ignoring risk. Just as someone hat builds a bridge can be prosecuted for building a flawed structure those that built investments with understated risks should be prosecuted for financial crimes. Those that knew the risks and did not state them while they profited from them should be named and prosecuted. If our justice system has to be altered by, so be it. Those that stole and profited based upon fraud--making a false statment they knew to be false--should be prosecuted. Of course people will plead they didnt' know they were lying.