RICHMOND — More than half of Virginians believe former governor Robert F. McDonnell should go to prison after a jury found him guilty of 11 counts of public corruption, according to a poll released Monday.
The poll, sponsored by the University of Mary Washington’s Center for Leadership and Media Studies, found 60 percent of adults said McDonnell (R) should be sentenced to prison time, while 28 percent say he should not and 12 percent weren’t sure or wouldn’t answer.
Are we just blood-thirsty? I think I would vote for long probation rather than prison. Prison is a waste of money because it is expensive. Neither McDonnell is a danger to society. Probation and community service (thousands of hours) helps Virginia. Prison costs Virginians and if federal prison, the rest of the country.
Is prison to punish or is it to remove those who are deemed dangerous from society?
For the record:
75 percent of Democrats, 70 percent of independents and 57 percent of Republicans want to see McDonnell go to prison.
He should serve some amount of time. How else to you let others know that you should not be taking unreported money from individuals. You nor I can lend $160k to our kids for free – why should he have been able to take ‘loans’ from someone else for free? Punishing him will deter others, letting him off will encourage them.
He will also be known as a mediocre Governor – VRS underfunded, raised taxes, did not fix our roads, spent 300 million on a road to nowhere, etc.
I think prison’s pretty harsh for what he did (and didn’t do). Pretty petty stuff, really, and he didn’t lean on staff to do things for Williams.
It’s pretty unlikely that he’ll do time, but if he does, it’ll be in an “executive prison.”
From what I have read, there is no such thing any more. 30 years ago Allenwood (sp) was known as the country club prison. Nowadays, not so much. It is full of drug dealers and Mafia types.
@Pat.Herve
Where is the road to nowhere?
He is a thief and a crook. He should do time.
The goal is to tighten up ethics in VA politics.
For McD, The trial was good enough punishment…his political path is tarnished so he won’t have an chance to continue this behavior in higher office settings.
However, a good reason to give him jail time is for the greater good of changing other politician’s behavior. I don’t see ethic reform on the horizon…just CYA actions by politicians. Jail time might light a fire.
Wouldn’t they just think “sucks to be McDonnell?” I don’t know why it didn’t light a fire under the legislature.
@Moon-howler
http://www.timesdispatch.com/news/state-regional/virginia-politics/mcdonnell-aggressively-pursued-risky-u-s-plan-report-says/article_4b912285-8f6c-509c-9246-87f31aec67a6.html
we should call it the planned road to nowhere, as they spent $300Million and built nothing.
@Moon-howler
Exactly, Moon – it did not light a fire under the legislature, which is why he needs to face some time so that the legislature will know that there is a punishment attached to it if they do not do anything.
How about one year for each count he was found guilty of.
He did the crime, he should do the time. I’ve got no problem throwing the book at people for cases of public corruption. I’d say a minimum of 3 years, but anything less than 10 years wouldn’t be excessive to me.
Why am *I* being the whimp and defending a governor who I called Governor Ultra-Sound. What’s wrong with me?
I just don’t want to waste money ‘punishing’ him. I really don’t think prisons should be for punishment. They should be to keep harmful people away from the rest of society.
While nothing could be more sleazy, odiferous (if there is such a word) and wince-inducing than the graspiness (if there is such a word) of the Governor’s family (and he was part of this, although I continue to believe in a fairly passive and secondary way), the fact remains that the Governor did not violate Virginia’s deliberately primitive ethics laws and that the federal charges are built on very wispy foundations. I continue to believe Bob McDonnell tried hard to do a good job for all Virginians when he held office. It wasn’t perfect, I didn’t agree with everything, but, by and large, it was reasonably well-run. I expect that the course of this through the federal appellate process, while perhaps not completely solving the McDonnells’ problems, will shine some light on the shakiness of the federal statutes that were carted in to deal with an admittedly smelly state system.
Nonetheless, all this stink emanates from the General Assembly, which has dislocated its institutional shoulders patting itself on the back for declining to raise salaries, while at the same time feeding at the indulgent trough of an ethics system that makes lobbyists gifts into expected party favours. The McDonnells, like many Governors, came out of that system and, after years living in it, perhaps their moral compass points were pretty well worn down. That’s not an excuse, but, in my mind, it is a large part of the explanation.
I don’t see this is primarily criminal as much as I see it as just plain rot in the system and expectations of the state legislature and executive branches. Virginia is a great state. Virginians are great people. They deserve better governance. Two-term Governors, rational districting, strict ethics laws, reasonable compensation for legislators and statewide officials. That’s what we have every right to expect and demand.
I agree with you, Scout.
I also love to use the word odiferous. I sure hope it is a word.
Yes it stunk but no, he didn’t break Virginia’s law.
I continue to be embarrassed for them, however.
I agree with Scout!!!