Disgraced former congressman Anthony Weiner is being sent to prison for 21 months — and they may be worse than he even suspects. While Bernie Madoff, the Wall Street Ponzi schemer with a sociopath’s profile, is reportedly popular in prison among fellow inmates, Weiner can expect no such respect. There are a few crimes that tend to make a prisoner a target of his fellow inmates, who like to dispense additional justice on the inside. If the prisoner robbed a bank, it’s kudos and welcome, for the most part. But a prisoner who’s locked up as a child molester or pedophile can expect a very unwelcome and even violent stay in prison, courtesy of his fellow inmates. (Crimes against seniors are also considered beyond the pale.) As an article in Slate puts it: “Convicts who have committed crimes against children, especially sexual abuse, are hated, harassed, and abused. Many inmates refer to molesters as “dirty” prisoners, and some insist that assaulting or killing them represents a service to society.”
Weiner’s crime included sexting — sending obscene messages to — a 15-year-old girl. She was a minor, and not by a little bit. In fact, Weiner’s victim was the tender age of any number of prisoners’ daughters and sisters. Sexting may not carry quite the taboo as physical molestation, but it’s the same category of crime. Adding to the bad part of Weiner’s resume is that he was also a politician being paid by the people’s taxes. Weiner, of course, will likely be watched over carefully in prison given the risk of violence against him. But Weiner will be no Bernie Madoff in prison. He does have the advantage of one day getting out, whereas Madoff is in for life and them some.
