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Will white-collar offenders get special sentencing help from new guidelines on age?

By Douglas A. Berman

The question in the title of this post is prompted by this Bloomberg story, which is headlined "White-Collar Criminals in US May Invoke Age to Seek Lighter Sentence." Here are excerpts: Elderly people convicted of financial fraud and other federal crimes will be more likely to invoke their age in seeking lower prison terms due to a change in U.S. sentencing guidelines set to go into effect Nov. 1, a white-collar crime expert said. The amendment states that age may be relevant in calculating sentencing ranges. The current language says age is ?not ordinarily relevant.? Some high-profile defendants such as Adelphia Communications Corp.?s John Rigas and former Illinois Governor George Ryan were in their 70s and 80s when sentenced. ?These sentences can turn into death sentences for individuals who are older,? Jeff Ifrah, co-author of ?Federal Sentencing for Business Crimes,? said in a phone interview...continue to full post

Full post as published by Sentencing Law and Policy on October 29, 2010 (boomark / email).