I wasn't responding to the article. I was responding to the comment that said "I'd love to see all non violent offenders skip jail."

For people that don't see prison as punishment, indeed, Maddoff should not a done jail. He should have been bankrupt and forbidden to ever work with financial services.

This.

Remove all his assets, maybe even his citizenship. I mean when crime exceeds billions of dollars, that's a bit more than just petty theft or something too...

The punishment should fit the crime, but prisons should be ONLY to protect people from dangerous criminals (Serial killers, rapists, etc) and not a form of 'punishment'.

For madoff just tax him at 90% of his income for life, assuming he/kin have zero assets. Ensuring he has to work at walmart as a greeter just to get by. I'm sure that's probably just as bad as prison for many white-collar criminals.