Should Thieves Go to Jail?

Written By: Dan Stanley  |  Posted: Saturday, January 30th, 2016

Larry Lokken, former long-time Eau Claire County Treasurer, was sentenced to 9.5 years in prison for stealing over half a million dollars from County taxpayers. This no doubt brought closure to the crime he had committed.  The question that remains though, is how will the County get the nearly $626,000 that Judge Theisen ordered him to pay back, if Lokken is sitting in prison?

Few things make less sense than putting in jail those who (Lokken in this case) are caught stealing. Rather, they need to pay restitution. That is the sensible and Christian way to punish those who steal. The Bible refers one time to the thief paying back four times what he stole. Another time he is to pay back seven times what he stole. This is not only Christian, but it makes sense and works best.

Our present practice has similarities here to the old debtor's prison. There was a time when people who could not pay their debt were put in jail.  The result was making it impossible for the guilty party to pay back what they owed as well as to take care of their family.  You can just imagine the consequences of doing this. Why put someone in prison because they owe money, thereby making it impossible for them to make things right?  They can't work to pay back their debt, so restitution's impossibility is aggravated.   Prison simply is not the answer for the debtor nor for the one who stole.

It seems good, the case in point (Lokken), to note that we have not personally visited with Lokken himself.  We are going by the conclusions the court came to and using him as an example of this larger and looming issue of restitution.  Our hope and prayer is for this man and his family to be able to overcome his actions, and in the end help them learn from what happened. 

In Lokken's case, the question will arise as to how could he repay some a large sum of money once, let alone four times that amount.  That is a fair question, but the answer is quite easy.  It may be that he owns that much in assets.  If so, then liquidate them and pay back what was stolen.  If, as a result of this, it leaves his family without, that is part of the price we pay for being part of a family.  Our sins affect our families.  This is life, - a sad part but real part of it.  Or, if he does not have enough to pay the $626,000 back completely, then the balance he still owes he can begin to pay back.  A good judge can determine what makes sense regarding how much he ought to pay over an extended period of time.  It may be he can never pay it all back.  If that is the case, then over his remaining life time, he can make payments until he departs from this life.  This is, again, life.  We ought to be satisfied with this arrangement.  Not only is he making restitution, he also is bearing the shame of the crime.  Further, he is not in prison, costing us money.  Also he is able to regroup his family and preserve them.  Being in prison hurts that in a way that is not only unnecessary, but harmful.

Those locally who have the power to put those who steal  in prison are a large part of the answer. The local sheriff, judges, prosecutors, and police may not write the laws, but they have great powers of influence. They are able to make the sentences as small as possible relative to jail time, plus influence legislators and the powers that be to get rid of this idea of putting people in jail for stealing. First, though, they need to realize putting the Lokken's in jail is not the answer. Help those you know who are people in power locally to see this. Don't let them off the hook. Remind them they are civil servants if you have to.  Persuade them to go this route.  It will be beneficial for everyone involved, both those who have lost due to stealing as well as those who have stolen.

One of the best things that could happen in Eau Claire today would be to let Larry Lokken and all those who steal out of jail, and make them pay restitution.

And what you do know for sure is, if he does not have the money to pay it back, putting him in jail will not help get it back.  Likewise, in all instances of stealing, there are good answers for restoring what has been stolen, in part or whole or more. And what we do know also is that putting them in jail is not one of those good answers.

Dan Stanley is an owner and contributing editor of The US Journal. Email: .