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In reply to the discussion: CEO who plundered massive city credit union pleads for mercy [View all]Jedi Guy
(3,171 posts)Addiction is not a get-out-of-jail-free card, literal or figurative. The harm you caused when you were in active addiction still happened, and its repercussions still affect people, some even up to the present day. Just because you're "clean" doesn't mean that the people you stole from or otherwise harmed are reimbursed or given redress. They're still broke... or heartbroken.
Part of proving that you're willing to change and not be that person anymore is to right as many of your wrongs as you can. Using addiction as an excuse tells me that he hasn't changed a bit, and simply doesn't want to deal with what he did. If he changed his plea to guilty, accepted whatever sentence the judge/jury felt was fair, and then went willingly to prison, I'd be willing to believe he's interested in being a reformed addict.
As it stands, I think he's just a greedy fuck who stole from people who trusted him, and is using addiction as a shield in an attempt to avoid punishment. Unless and until he accepts some punishment to prove that he's willing to do the hard work of reinventing himself, I hope he goes to jail for as long as the law allows.
TL;DR: People should not use the pain and hard work of real addicts to attempt to escape punishment.