Hacker Cinema
Kids for Cash
2014 · Film · documentary · 102 min
Directed by Robert May
Filmmaker Robert May chronicles the case of a once-respected judge who received kickbacks for sending juvenile offenders to prison, even for minor crimes.
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4 comments on Hacker News
This is known as the "Kids For Cash" scandal. There is a 2013 documentary by that title. I saw it, and it portrays a truly ugly tale.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kids_for_cash_scandal
> How do these cases not result in mass prosecutions?
In Luzerne County, PA, judges were paid off by local juvenile detention centers to sentence kids there. Over years, they sentenced many, many kids, in court, for absurdities (e.g., I think one kid was sentenced for throwing a sandwich at their teacher). Much of the court system and local legal community had to know; nobody put a stop to it. Judicial conduct boards and the PA Supreme Court were appealed to; they didn't act.
I forget how it finally came to light, but it got into the hands of federal rather than local state prosecutors. That's often how local corruption is stopped: the feds aren't tied to the local political system. The defendants, the Luzerne County judges, were clearly guilty of heinus crimes, ruining the lives of all these kids who spent high school in juvinile jail (imagine how your life would turn out). The federal prosecutors gave the defendants a sweetheart plea deal. Thankfully, the federal judge rejected the settlement and they were convicted and given long sentences.
(The Kids For Cash documentary tells the story.)
How does it not result in mass prosecutions? Look in the mirror. Me too. What corruption is going on in our communities? How about the IT community?
Ever see the documentary Kids For Cash? Happened 30 minutes away from this school.
Just want to comment that according to the documentary about the Kids for Cash scandal the media made it seem worse then it was.
Their side of the story was that Pennsylvanian's children correction facilities were crap and he did not feel comfortable sending kids there. He organized a group of investors to pay for a new facility. The real estate developer who got the contract to build it paid the judge a "finders fee" for the referral. The Judges didn't report the money. As far as the harsh sentences the judge was doing that for years as an over reaction to the Columbine thing. It's an interesting doc suggest checking it out.