Appeals court denies Blagojevich request for third sentencing

safran · #1 04-21-2017, 09:23 AM

Appeals court denies Blagojevich request for third sentencing

CHICAGO — A federal court has taken just three days to reject the appeal of imprisoned former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich seeking a third sentencing.
The unanimous ruling Friday by the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago dismissed arguments that the Democrat's trial-court judge should have reduced his 14-year prison term for corruption because of his good behavior behind bars.

Read the entire article below:

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/app...ing/ar-BBA7UiE

I am not in the least surprised.

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**IzzyLouWho** · #2 04-21-2017, 09:58 AM

Oh good grief... Blago is where he should be.

fiat_nox · #3 04-21-2017, 01:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by safran

...
Read the entire article below:
http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/app...ing/ar-BBA7UiE ...]

This has really started my day off with a grin.

Quote:

The written opinion from the three-judge panel says, "Blagojevich's treatment of fellow inmates may show that outside of office he is an admirable person." But it continues that the lower court was punishing him for his behavior as governor, not as a prisoner.

It may make me a horrible person, but politicians actually serving time for their crimes makes me giggle my ass off and begin to have just a smidge of hope for our criminal justice system. [but just a smidge!]

**IzzyLouWho** · #4 04-21-2017, 01:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fiat_nox

This has really started my day off with a grin.

It may make me a horrible person, but politicians actually serving time for their crimes makes me giggle my ass off and begin to have just a smidge of hope for our criminal justice system. [but just a smidge!]

You're not a horrible person. People wonder why I have an attitude about politicians from my state. They're corrupt. Does anyone remember WHAT he did to land in prison in the first place?

I do.

**nimuay** · #5 04-21-2017, 01:12 PM

A well and truly earned 14 years! He violated public trust in a most ugly way and reduced the validity of decent politicians dramatically, trying to buy and sell offices.

safran · #6 04-21-2017, 07:31 PM

There is another article in the Chicago Trib. stating Blago thinks the feds want him to apologize for a crime he didn't commit.

Like it or not, fair or not the feds are big on remorse, regret and accepting responsibility.

I know of two different women I met here that plead guilty, but didn't come across as accepting responsibility and in both cases they were very unhappy with their sentences.

When you apologize in a federal court it is best to not try and justify why you plead guilty if you really don't think you are guilty. Federal judges don't seem too interested in alibis.

I hate it for his family, but then I hate it for all the families here too.

yourself · #7 04-21-2017, 07:53 PM

too bad Gov. Ryan's not still in the pen - they'd be good roomies. Federal prison is becoming quite the retirement community for IL governors....

Still, remembering that their family and friends may be members of this site, I do have compassion for them. Talk about your change in circumstance - governor of IL to federal inmate. And let's remember some of the good Gov. Rod did - he abolished the death penalty in the state. This was a very good thing.

safran · #8 04-21-2017, 08:06 PM

I sent his wife a FB message when he was sentenced inviting her to joint us here and never heard back from her or saw any posts I thought could have been her.

I also highlighted my past and offered lessons in how to deal with the feds; email, sending books, phone calls - she must have figured it out somehow.

And yes, a message like that via FB leaves plenty of room for doubt, but this site is easy enough to find if one has the interest.

rnsgaig · #9 04-21-2017, 08:23 PM

Excellent point yourself. Both Ryan and Blago worked hard and made enormous sacrifices to end the death penalty in IL. That was a huge accomplishment and I am thankful to them for it.

I get that the crimes that both committed were a violation of public trust, but at the end of the day, they stole money. That is what my LO is incarcerated for. I am in no position to criticize.

**IzzyLouWho** · #10 04-22-2017, 06:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by yourself

too bad Gov. Ryan's not still in the pen - they'd be good roomies. Federal prison is becoming quite the retirement community for IL governors....

Still, remembering that their family and friends may be members of this site, I do have compassion for them. Talk about your change in circumstance - governor of IL to federal inmate. And let's remember some of the good Gov. Rod did - he abolished the death penalty in the state. This was a very good thing.

Giv Quinn abolished the death penalty in Illinois... Not Blago.
http://abcnews.go.com/amp/Politics/i...ry?id=13095912

rnsgaig · #11 04-22-2017, 07:20 AM

Ryan commuted the sentences of all 173 DR inmates in 2003 and issued a moratorium on the death penalty. After that the legislature worked on restoring it by putting reforms in place. Blago vetoed the reforms and kept Ryan's moratorium. While Quinn was the one who actually abolished the death penalty in IL, Ryan and Blago paved the way and deserve to share in the credit.

yourself · #12 04-22-2017, 09:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rnsgaig

Ryan commuted the sentences of all 173 DR inmates in 2003 and issued a moratorium on the death penalty. After that the legislature worked on restoring it by putting reforms in place. Blago vetoed the reforms and kept Ryan's moratorium. While Quinn was the one who actually abolished the death penalty in IL, Ryan and Blago paved the way and deserve to share in the credit.

Ryan put together the commission on the DP, and that commission came back with some interesting findings, resulting in the short lived "Death Bar" that allowed attorneys to ask for death cases if they met certain qualifications as junior or senior members of the bar. Further, they created a general fund for death penalty litigations - taxes from the state paid for the litigation, making the litigation much more attractive in rural counties where the county wouldn't have to pay for it, or even a life trial. There were a number of other things - I think it was Turrow who wrote about it.

Anyway, Ryan did do the moratorium. While Quinn was the one who actually signed the legislation abolishing the DP, it was all Blago's. He's the one who put it together. He's the one. Thanks, rns - I knew it was him. I was working in IL at the time. I was there during Ryan as well. It was a fascinating time. the Area 2/Berg stuff was shocking and untenable. Northwestern proved what a great asset it was to the State as a university, and the true value of investigative journalism - imagine being an undergrad and your journalistic skills stop an execution mere hours before it was scheduled to be carried out, and that the person then walks free because he was actually innocent. How powerful is that? How powerful a statement about the death penalty is that?

Anyway. IL still sends a lot of governors to the federal pen for the same reasons that non governors go to prison.