American Express, have avoided the cost and stigma of defending themselves against criminal charges with a so-called deferred prosecution agreement, which allows the government to collect fines and appoint an outside monitor to impose internal reforms without going through a trial. In many cases, the name of the monitor and the details of the agreement are kept secret.
Deferred prosecutions have become a favorite tool of the Bush administration. But some legal experts now wonder if the policy shift has led companies, in particular financial institutions now under investigation for their roles in the subprime mortgage debacle, to test the limits of corporate anti-fraud laws.
Corporations have the rights and privileges of a person, without the responsibilities. We need to treat the corporations like the snake it is, cut off its head and then let it die. Hold the CEOs responsible for the actions of the corporations. Try then as the criminals they are.
This is a problem for both Democrat and Republican administrations. Even when they do file criminal charges, they file them against corporations. Well, corporations can’t be put in jail. What a great deal for those who sell out the United States, its citizens, and its Constitution. When laws like bribery laws are broken, people need to go to jail! When corporate execs sell out their shareholders, people need to go to jail. But that only happens when the out-of-ppower party takes a bribe – so it can be used for political gain by the in-power party.