Why Show Mercy?

Why should the Court show mercy? At the top of my list is no criminal history, I fully cooperated, full restitution paid, all Small Business Administration (SBA) loans were retired before sentencing, victimless crime, my actions are representative of a man who feels contrition and a duty to pay recompense, incarceration does not deter recidivism and the community will not be made safer by incarceration.

The people I employee, tenants and partners will be deprived of enrichment if I am incarcerated, local municipalities will be harmed by less tax revenue, more blight and a higher crime rate, and the community will suffer because I will not be able to offer affordable housing or improve property values. My parents will be deprived of the assisted living care they need. My incarceration would be a financial burden on limited government resources, and my actions did not cause lasting harm to the federal government. I believe these mitigating factors are a compelling reason for the judge to show mercy.

Another important component in the calculus is asking whether or not society is made safer by incarcerating the wrongdoer? First, I will confront the usual quip, “You should have thought about that before breaking the law.” This cynical admonition is both lazy and absurd. It ignores the glaring truth that my business operation was sustainable before the federal government shutdown the economy, and the only reason I came to the SBA in the first place was because of the federal government shutdown. The SBA put the cart before the horse by presuming I would not pay back my loans even though I had already started paying back my loans almost immediately.

The SBA deferred the first loan payment until 2022, and all of my SBA loans were paid off by year end of 2021. I am literally 29 years ahead of schedule on the payoff. I did not cause physical harm to any actual person, and I did not cause lasting harm to the federal government. How do I go about apologizing to the federal government? The judge in my case will be the only federal employee to hear my apology.

I believe my time is well spent apologizing to the actual people who have and will suffer if the judge decides incarceration is the necessary tool to teach me a lesson about my misdeeds. First and foremost, I apologized to my business associates, most of whom immediately volunteered to help me. Next, I apologized to my tenants that were evicted when I sold my assets to pay restitution. In every instance my tenants paid a higher rent to another landlord. Finally, I apologized to my wife and parents. It was a tearful experience.

I do not understand how the federal government can make the argument society is best served by my incarceration - it is cynical and harsh. My point-of-view will most likely be tainted by the prosecutor as insincere, but I remain a citizen of this great nation also, and the federal government’s argument that my incarceration will somehow benefit society grieves my soul. I am ashamed and frightened by the extent the institutions of government will defend deplorable government policy, abhor transparency, are largely unaccountable, and administer roughshod rule. The prospect of owing money to a government that wants to incarcerate me is terrifying.

In 1833 debtors’ prison was banned in the United States, and incarcerating indigent debtors was ruled unconstitutional in 1983 by the Supreme Court. However, modern debt collection practices permit collection agencies to ask a court for an arrest warrant if the accused debtor fails to appear. Private collection agencies often buy past due federal debt for pennies on the dollar, and I image a court would enjoy swift and unforgiving vengeance against a felon for failure to appear in court. It has become a ‘de facto’ debtors’ prisons. Is retribution all that matters in our legal system, how is justice being served? It is concerning to me, so I liquidated my assets and paid restitution before sentencing.

I made the federal government whole, I am mitigating my sentence with the court in hope of mercy, and I am using the identical sentence mitigation blueprint to save my marriage. It has been a roller coaster ride making it this far in my marriage mitigation efforts. I have much to do, and more mitigating too, but my marital bliss is aglow again. I wonder what justice will look like at the end of this?