Today it sucks to be Timothy Elliot. Timothy purchased a scratch ticket in the Massachusetts state lottery and won 1 million dollars. Huray! Oh, wait. Why does it suck to be Timothy if he just won 1 million dollars? Because he might be on his way to prison because he won. Confused yet?
Timothy is a twice convicted bank robber. About the only thing he did right was not use a gun when committed his last robbery. Timothy pleaded guilty to the robbery in 2006 and was placed on probation.
With me so far? Good. Part of the terms of Timothy’s probation states he is ordered by the court: “to not gamble, purchase lottery tickets, or visit establishments where gaming is conducted, including restaurants where Keno may be played,” Whoops! It seems purchasing that lottery ticket was a probation violation. From what I understand judges, juries and courts don’t like it when people violate the terms of their probation.
The two big questions now are:
1 – Should he go to prison for violating his probation? He did violate the parole but didn’t harm anybody nor cause any suffering on other people. Heck, he didn’t even litter. I say give him community service.
2 – Should he keep his winnings? This is a tricky one. Can you allow somebody to keep funds gained illegally? My first instinct is to say no, he must forfeit his winnings. Then I look at the CEOs and politicians that have stolen money from people over and over and it hits me that Timothy hasn’t stolen from anybody (this time). Let the man keep his money. At least the taxes are being paid on it.
I hope when all is said and done it doesn’t suck to be Timothy. With any luck he’ll pick up some trash, read to a few kids, take meals to a few old people and then enjoy life as a rich man.
The only thing I could think about when I saw his picture was “Santa plays the lottery?”
Smile!
[...] 19, 2008 by The Traveler Back in November I wrote about Timothy Elliot. Timothy was a failed bank robber that was out on probation. One of the terms of his probation is [...]