It's becoming about time we introduced something like this:

"But none like the one that nearly $1.8 million has been awarded to violent offenders..."

Me speak English good.

The United Way?

cool, where do i sign up?

Liberals are all about personal freedom except for when it comes to ones own money. They want to strip you of your income and give it to jerks like these. This is why Liberals should be all packed tightly into a rocket and shot to a distant galaxy.

Quick! Quick! 'The Wire' References required!


"Sheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeit"

Funneling money you say...

submitter: In Baltimore, MD there are many charities. But none like the one that has awarded nearly $1.8 million has been awarded to violent offenders such as carjackers, gang members, drug dealers, and sex offenders

That wasn't so hard now, was it?

> A sex offender was compensated for medical bills after being assaulted in prison, and burial expenses were paid to the families of two convicted murderers.

Gee, I'm having trouble with the outrage.

"Gaskins did not wish to have his face photographed."

WTF? I can see at least 1/3 of his face in that picture. So much for not having his face shown.

Apparently "The Wire" was not a work of fiction.

Liberal Nirvana...

subby,

FTFA: In Maryland, the number of claims has risen in recent years, partly because of outreach efforts by fund administrators.

Gee, I wonder what other factor contributed to an increase of claims?

JDOGclf: Liberals are all about personal freedom except for when it comes to ones own money. They want to strip you of your income and give it to jerks like these. This is why Liberals should be all packed tightly into a rocket and shot to a distant galaxy.

FTFA: The fund's revenue comes from court fees paid by offenders, a $3 surcharge on traffic tickets and federal aid. No tax dollars are used.

kilgorn: Liberal Nirvana...

Are you insane? Liberals all live in places like Chevy Chase, Bethesda, and Arlington, VA. I'd be surprised if 10% of the people in B'more were politically active.

I came here expecting Wire references, and I was not disappointed.

Finally found time to watch the finale last night, it was worth the wait.

/Sheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeit
//One day at a time, I s'pose

corbell: JDOGclf: Liberals are all about personal freedom except for when it comes to ones own money. They want to strip you of your income and give it to jerks like these. This is why Liberals should be all packed tightly into a rocket and shot to a distant galaxy.

FTFA: The fund's revenue comes from court fees paid by offenders, a $3 surcharge on traffic tickets and federal aid. No tax dollars are used.

JD'Ownd!

/and stop making things so partisan, good god...

Funds like these do NOT put cash in the pockets of the victims they simply cover medical and funeral expenses (which the public would generally be forced to pay as it is the poor who are most often victims of violent crimes).

The article notes that a person can be denied the reimbursement of such expenses if they were participating in a crime when injured.

FTA: "The issue is whether they were involved in a crime at the time they were injured, not their background."

corbell: FTFA: The fund's revenue comes from court fees paid by offenders, a $3 surcharge on traffic tickets and federal aid. No tax dollars are used.

A surcharge DOES sort of sound like a tax by another name.

fark that. If you commit a violent felony you should get nothing, ever. Most of the recipients of this $1.8 million should die of AIDS.

corbell:

Those are ALL either taxes or tax substitutes. Federal aid = tax money. Traffic ticket surcharge = tax on a penalty. Court fees = tax.

2743 awards

217 of them go to people who have committed a crime in the past

Less than 10% of the awards are to people with criminal records. This isn't bad. Considering that both committing crimes and being victim to them correlate strongly with living in a high-crime area, this is about what one should expect.

40oz_A_Knight: fark that. If you commit a violent felony you should get nothing, ever. Most of the recipients of this $1.8 million should die of AIDS.

C'mon, tell us how you really feel.

kilgorn: Liberal Nirvana...

You mean where everyone, including the criminals, get to be treated like victims and someone else pays for it? That pretty much sums it up I suppose.

FTFA: The fund's revenue comes from court fees paid by offenders, a $3 surcharge on traffic tickets and federal aid. No tax dollars are used.

"federal aid" =! tax dollars?

FAIL

kbarham: "Gaskins did not wish to have his face photographed."

WTF? I can see at least 1/3 of his face in that picture. So much for not having his face shown.

Apparently "The Wire" was not a work of fiction.

I presume this is because he doesn't want everyone to come up to him and say, "you have a girl's name?"

40oz_A_Knight: fark that. If you commit a violent felony you should get nothing, ever. Most of the recipients of this $1.8 million should die of AIDS.



AIDS ISN'T FUNNY!

fireclown: corbell: FTFA: The fund's revenue comes from court fees paid by offenders, a $3 surcharge on traffic tickets and federal aid. No tax dollars are used.

A surcharge DOES sort of sound like a tax by another name.

You can argue semantics all day long. But do it with Tatsuma or czarangelus.

I think the article sufficiently shows why the headline is a bit reactionary.

Um, this is the biggest non-issue story I've ever seen. What's next? Allowing criminals to get jobs after they serve their time? I'M OUTRAGED!

corbell: FTFA: The fund's revenue comes from court fees paid by offenders, a $3 surcharge on traffic tickets and federal aid. No tax dollars are used.

And where exactly do they think federal aid money come from?

Also, I would suspect that a high percentage of crime victims are criminals themselves--anyone know the numbers?

40oz_A_Knight: corbell:

Those are ALL either taxes or tax substitutes. Federal aid = tax money. Traffic ticket surcharge = tax on a penalty. Court fees = tax.

I'm not so sure that it functions the same way, though. Because if you get caught doing something bad (i.e., traffic tickets or whatever else the fees are) then a just punishment might be that you have to financially contribute to something that you disagree with. And as KaneTheMediocre pointed out, it's not that much percentage-wise.

Sounds like all these people WERE victims of crime, thus eligible for aid from a victims compensation fund.

Who said recipients of charity (or compensation) are always nice, deserving folks?

Subby's syntax is giving me a hangover.

rancid weasel
Are you insane?

Quite, I plan to prove it...

/Gen. Order 24

mongo78: FTFA: The fund's revenue comes from court fees paid by offenders, a $3 surcharge on traffic tickets and federal aid. No tax dollars are used.

"federal aid" =! tax dollars?

FAIL

Where the hell do you think federal aid comes from? The Money Tree?

40oz_A_Knight: fark that. If you commit a violent felony you should get nothing, ever. Most of the recipients of this $1.8 million should die of AIDS.

So some of the 2526 people who have no criminal record should die of AIDS? Because that would be "most" of the recipients. Where did your stupidity come from? Genes? Talk radio? Head injury?

(Baltimore Sun) In Baltimore, MD

there are many charities. But none like the one nearly awarding $1.8 million to violent offenders such as carjackers, gang members, drug dealers, and sex offenders.


ThEre. Ftfy

Not that hard

ne2d: Also, I would suspect that a high percentage of crime victims are criminals themselves--anyone know the numbers?

I don't know, but the "blame the victim" contingent is already here, so I'm sure they can tell you.

ne2d: corbell: FTFA: The fund's revenue comes from court fees paid by offenders, a $3 surcharge on traffic tickets and federal aid. No tax dollars are used.

And where exactly do they think federal aid money come from?

Hey, I was quoting the article... "FTFA", anyways, it's obvious the federal aid did *NOT* come from tax money, but rather, came a loan from China, jeez.

What does that mean? The headline is gibberish. Not even good gibberish.

corbell: Hey, I was quoting the article... "FTFA", anyways, it's obvious the federal aid did *NOT* come from tax money, but rather, came a loan from China, jeez.

you win sir

From TFA:

"A sex offender was compensated for medical bills after being assaulted in prison, and burial expenses were paid to the families of two convicted murderers."

Huh? Doesn't the state already pay for their prisoners health care?
Granted, it's some of the worst health care on the planet, but it's paid for.

Burial expenses for convicted murderers? I thought that that was covered too.
It won't resemble a state funeral with viewing hours at the Capitol rotunda, but they still don't leave dead bodies laying around for sanitation workers to pick up.

"That compares with $4.37 million paid on 669 claims in 2003, when the board began keeping computer records"

2003? Wow, just wow. What did they use prior to 2003? Stone tablets?

JDOGclf: Liberals are all about personal freedom except for when it comes to ones own money. They want to strip you of your income and give it to jerks like these. This is why Liberals should be all packed tightly into a rocket and shot to a distant galaxy.

I'm ready to go. Can you tell me what it is conservatives are conserving before I leave?

Worst grammar in any headline today. Congrats, subby!

Inflatable Rhetoric: JDOGclf: Liberals are all about personal freedom except for when it comes to ones own money. They want to strip you of your income and give it to jerks like these. This is why Liberals should be all packed tightly into a rocket and shot to a distant galaxy.

I'm ready to go. Can you tell me what it is conservatives are conserving before I leave?

Is it "family values?" Is it "restoring honor and integrity to the White House?"

Naggers.

I could see having an interesting debate over the merits of denying certain social services to people convicted of crimes. It's not like there isn't precedent for taking away privileges after a felony conviction (voting, public housing, certain tax breaks, etc.).

This being Fark, though, let's not kid ourselves that it doesn't basically boil down to "DRTFA but HURRRRR CRIMINALS BAD LET THEM BLEED IN TEH STREETS ALSO THEIR PROBLABY BLACK."

Come to think of it, I would think most murder victims aren't nice people at all. They obviously did something to make someone want to kill them.

My friends's wife works for a charity in MD. I won't say which but it's a big one that tends to focus on Jewish issues.

The woman that runs the branch of this charity (my friends's wife's boss) is a busy socialite and is never around. Recently, when they were acepting applicants for a lead position at the charity, the boss never bothered to read any of the resumes.

She hired a mentaly retarded woman to a six figure management position.

They can't fire her now but it matters little. Aparently only about 10% of the money they raise go to the needy.

I get the point of the story, but if an average of $5 million has been paid out over the last five years and $1.8 million has gone to felons, it means that only somewhere around 5% of the money is going to these people.

The person they profiled didn't sound like a saint and probably shouldn't have been compensated as much as he was, and that helps make the story work. But poor families who have to bury their relatives are victims whether or not the deceased is a felon. Also, what if the person profiled had committed a felony in 1990, served three years in prison and was held up in 2008 after holding down a job for the last ten years?

Anyway, some kind of time limit sounds like a good idea, but blanket outrage is as stupid here as it is in all cases. Too bad the state's response was to try and pass a law that would bury the data.