By: Kelly Porcella
Do “elderly evaders,” those who committed violent crimes,
including murder, decades before being brought to justice, deserve
our sympathy, and as a result, leniency?
There is a debate between those who see the aging defendant as he
is today and argue to let the past remain the past, and those who
see the defendant as he was in the past and urge that justice must
be done today. The author examines both utilitarian and
retributivist arguments in favor of and against the lenient
sentencing of elderly evaders, through the use of American legal
jurisprudence and public policy, and ultimately argues that these
individuals do not deserve our sympathy. For the author, society’s
interest in general deterrence, having the punishment fit the
crime, ensuring uniform sentencing, and vindicating victims’ rights
outweigh any competing considerations.