Donald Trump’s former campaign manager and convicted criminal Paul Manafort was sentenced to 47 months in prison. District Court Judge T. S. Ellis looked at Manafort’s eight convictions for tax fraud, bank fraud, and hiding foreign accounts and said that Manafort had "lived an otherwise blameless life, was a good friend, and generous person to others."* What amounts to less than four years in prison is an incredibly light sentence by most any standard. But let’s put it into perspective against another sentence handed down in a New York City courtroom just a few weeks ago.
In November 2015, 53-year-old Levi Mitchell, a homeless man living in New York City, was convicted of criminal possession of a forged instrument in the first degree. At the end of January 2019, news outlets began to report that Mitchell was having his sentence reduced. Mitchell’s initial sentence was four to eight years, and the New York courts were bringing that sentence down to three to six years. What did he do to get an eight-year sentence? Did he not lead a “blameless life?”
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According to the New York Courts’ report, Mitchell “entered a pharmacy and attempted to pay for a tube of toothpaste using a counterfeit $20 bill. The bill was rejected by the cashier, and defendant left the store without completing the transaction.” Huh. But, there’s more. “Shortly thereafter, defendant was observed by the police, where he was attempting to purchase food with a counterfeit $20 bill. The restaurant cashier refused to accept the bill. Defendant was stopped by the police in front of yet another fast-food restaurant.”
A homeless man attempted to buy toothpaste and food with fake money. Being rejected from one place, he went to another place—TO BUY FOOD. Police say that Mitchell had five fake $20s on him when he was arrested. Fake money is fraud—sort of like pretending you don’t have money that should be taxed is fraud; or faking how much money you have to get real money out of banks; or secretly hiding money all over the place so that no one knows how much money you have for taxes, and no one knows exactly where you make your money from in the first place? Tomato tomato.
In reducing Mitchell’s sentence, the New York court writes that while Mitchell was charged with five counts of criminal possession of a forged instrument—for each counterfeit $20 he had in his possession—he was only convicted on one count. “The immediate object of defendant's crime was to purchase basic human necessities, including food and toothpaste. In consideration of the fact that he was a 53-year-old, unemployed homeless man, with longstanding medical and substance abuse issues, a reduction of his sentence to 3 to 6 years is appropriate.”
According to the court report, Mitchell has an “extensive criminal history” that seems to be predominantly non-violent and all of his most recent run-ins over the past decade “are mostly related to his longtime drug addiction.” The dissenting opinion in the court report pointed to Mitchell’s conviction for attempted rape in the first degree back in 1995. The reduction in the sentence for the forged $20 was the minimum allowed by New York law.
So, after more than three years in prison for trying to buy toothpaste and a meal with a fake $20 bill, Mr. Mitchell will likely end up doing more time than Paul Manafort will do for his recent criminal conviction. In general, sentencing for most every crime should be lower, with considerations taken for to how best to reform the individual convicted—i.e. punishment versus rehabilitation. However, the only people that seem to be afforded that luxury are the wealthiest among us.
*Every time I read this quote I feel like I should take some kind of anti-anxiety med.