Rudolph's Spreading Penumbra

Already, Rudolph's influence is spreading.  According to this story (hat tip to CrimProf), a sixty year old man with some medical problems was inspired by Rudolph's good fortune in landing in prison and ensuring that the government would "take care of him" in perpetuity. 

On TV, he followed the case of Rudolph — who pleaded guilty this spring in a deal that will send him to prison for life — and wanted the same fate. “He was saying that he wanted to be cared for by the federal government, that he was in poor health and wanted to be taken care of,” said Atlanta postal inspector Tracey Jefferson. Crutchfield, a 60-year-old electrical contractor who lived alone, claimed $90,000 in medical debts for an unspecified ailment and feared losing his home, another postal inspector testified at his preliminary hearing.

So the guy decides to unload seven shots at Earl Lazenby, a local letter carrier; that way he can serve the rest of his life in prison, and avoid his difficulties and debts. 

The explanation makes no sense to the Lazenbys [the victims' family]. “If all he wanted to do was commit a federal crime, all he had to do was walk into a bank with an empty gun and point it at them and say, ‘Give me your money.’ And that’s your federal crime, and no one gets hurt,” the letter carrier said. “Instead of trying to kill the mailman.”

This whole story reminds me of the familiar locution that life is better in prison for some because at least there you have an Arendtian right to rights. Crutchfield is responsible for his crimes; and we are responsible for ours.  But his motivation for his crime should have us thinking a bit more broadly about social dislocations and obligations of distributive justice. Universal medical care, anyone?

Very sad, all the same.