Our prisons must be full

#Veterans #PrisonSpace #Probation

Are we short on prison space in this country? We must be. It’s the only logical explanation for so many criminals being given probation instead of prison time.

For example, take the scammers who sold misbranded N95 masks during the pandemic and price gouged hospitals. The masks were promised to be approved by the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) when they were not and were accompanied by test-result literature that was actually for a different mask. Hospitals paid $2.6 million for the masks that had much lower filtration efficiency.

So what was the punishment? One year of probation and a fine of only $9,500.

Then there was the real estate agent property manager who didn’t tell anybody about the lead-based paint in the housing where veterans lived with their families. Any structure built before 1978 likely has lead-based paint, a serious health hazard. The agent knew this and still signed rental agreements without notifying residents about the paint. A baby living there was found to have high blood lead levels because of the lead in the paint.

The agent’s scammer pals, a hazardous material mitigation service, were hired to go in and clean up the lead paint. They didn’t and were eventually nailed with one count of the False Claims Act. And after putting lives in danger, what was the punishment for the real estate agent and the scammer pals? Probation and fines.

Then there was the guy who schemed to grab Covid funding to the tune of nearly a half million dollars. Punishment: a fine and – you guessed it – probation.

And what of the guy who groped a student nurse at a VA hospital, a case of abusive sexual contact? The guidelines indicate he could have gotten up to two years in prison. Yet he gets a free pass. Once again: probation.

I can only conclude that our prisons are full. There’s no other explanation for only giving probation to these criminals.

(c) 2025 King Features Synd., Inc.