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Re:What It’s Like to Get Online After 25 Years in Prison by handelaar on Tuesday April 23, 2013 @12:05PM (#5595980)
> Read about my prison sentence and my new project here

Tip: In the UK, operating a fund which hedges against criminal proceedings (colloquially, a 'bust fund') is a severe criminal offence in its own right.

Do reassure me that you've made very sure nobody where you are is likely to prosecute you a second time :)

Re:What It’s Like to Get Online After 25 Years in Prison by carlyle4545 on Tuesday April 23, 2013 @12:59PM (#5596339)
Unfortunately there aren't any reassurances I can give you. Several code sections in CA prohibit insurance against "willful acts, wrongful acts and criminal acts." However, Comeback's goal with custodial insurance isn't to make the consequences of being convicted of crimes less severe, it's to reduce the likelihood of recidivism upon release.

In a state where the recidivism rate is a staggering 65%, at a cost of tens of millions of dollars to taxpayers, we need something radical to turn things around. Over 40% of the prison population is incarcerated for violating the terms of their probation or parole. Custodial insurance is just crazy and disruptive enough of a concept to make a difference in reducing these obscene numbers.

We're working diligently to garner support amongst community activists, religious leaders, and most importantly politicians in hopes of easing any potential restrictions in offering custodial insurance.

Sadly there's a very real possibility that despite our noble intentions, Comeback may ultimately lead to a failed business and some very heavy fines...possibly even jail time.

Re:What It’s Like to Get Online After 25 Years in Prison by winter_blue on Tuesday April 23, 2013 @03:35PM (#5597408)
> possibly even jail time

Are you really ready to go to jail, yet again? That sounds quite bold, and foolish... of you. (No offense intended.)

My 2 cents: if you start getting sued again, you should just leave the country, for some place[1] with not as inane laws. Perhaps Comeback might be more viable there.

[1] Dunno where though... perhaps somewhere in Europe? They probably have low rates of recidivism to start with, though.

As a side point, I can't help but think -- a lot of the recidivism in the U.S. is somehow driven by laws and a system that continues to be upheld by the "stake holders". The stake holders here are, ofcourse those private "prison-as-a-business" corporations.

Re:What It’s Like to Get Online After 25 Years in Prison by carlyle4545 on Tuesday April 23, 2013 @03:56PM (#5597558)
>Are you really ready to go to jail, yet again? That sounds quite bold, and foolish... of you. (No offense intended.)

Fortune favors the bold and dances with the daring. I truly believe that.

>As a side point, I can't help but think -- a lot of the recidivism in the U.S. is somehow driven by laws and a system that continues to be upheld by the "stake holders". The stake holders here are, ofcourse those private "prison-as-a-business" corporations.

Bingo. Society has been using non-profit solutions, (i.e. government funded reentry programs) to combat a for-profit problem. It's time to fight fire with fire. Our revenue model relies on our ability to keep our policyholders out of jail. This means we're going to bust our ass to provide career training and job placement to reduce the likelihood of them returning to custody, thus reducing the likelihood of them filing a claim and us having to pay out. Our success is directly tied to the success of our policyholders. The better they do, the better we do. We're making it profitable to keep people out of jail.

Re:What It’s Like to Get Online After 25 Years in Prison by bramcohen on Tuesday April 23, 2013 @02:46PM (#5597128)
Low enforcement might start issuing warrants to hand over your customer list as a list of potential suspects. If I were you I'd start that rumor myself.
Re:What It’s Like to Get Online After 25 Years in Prison by winter_blue on Tuesday April 23, 2013 @03:31PM (#5597393)
> If I were you I'd start that rumor myself.

How would such a rumor help him at all? It would ruin his business!

> Low enforcement

I presume you were using some voice-to-text tool?

Re:What It’s Like to Get Online After 25 Years in Prison by bjterry on Tuesday April 23, 2013 @04:16PM (#5597670)
The rumor would presumably help him because it would discourage his clients from committing crimes, because they would be under additional scrutiny from law enforcement. It seems unlikely that it would actually matter though, since law enforcement already has a database of convicted felons that they go to first for crimes.
Re:What It’s Like to Get Online After 25 Years in Prison by carlyle4545 on Tuesday April 23, 2013 @06:26PM (#5598370)
>The rumor would presumably help him because it would discourage his clients from committing crimes,

That rumor would most likely discourage people from becoming clients in the first place.

While "getting out of the building" and talking to our assumed target demo, one of the reservations people had was the belief that we were working in concert with law enforcement.

Re:What It’s Like to Get Online After 25 Years in Prison by saraid216 on Tuesday April 23, 2013 @01:23PM (#5596525)
Please tell me you at least have some paid-for legal advice.
Re:What It’s Like to Get Online After 25 Years in Prison by carlyle4545 on Tuesday April 23, 2013 @01:34PM (#5596619)
Thankfully we have 2 attorneys sitting on our advisory board.

Edit: That's not to say we have it all figured out by any means. I'd love to read some feedback from the HN community. Not so much legal advice, but in terms of the overall concept of custodial insurance, (an insurance policy that covers a person's expenses for up to a year in the event they get taken into custody.)