Jay Stamper on Crime

Pleaded guilty to three white-collar felony charges in 2006

"I never meant to hurt anyone. There was no malice. In a way I was reckless, but there were mitigating circumstances," he said. Stamper moved to South Carolina a year ago to run for Graham's seat, and despite his history, he said he has found most people welcoming.

We are all criminals because we over-lawed

Whatever the cause, the fact is: the law is now so absurd that no one--not even a lawyer -- can be sure what the law even is.

You are a criminal. Don't believe me? You've never driven over the .08 limit, never taken an illegal drug, even a prescription medication in the wrong jurisdiction, never ripped one of those mattress tags off? And another thing: how do you know you've never broken the law when you don't know what the law is? Even lawmakers don't read the laws they pass. And even if you did read all of the laws, have you read the court decisions modifying the laws?

Pled guilty to SEC violation in exchange for zero sentence

As much as I want to blame the lawyers, I can't. The law is so complex and unascertainable that its very imponderability is becoming a valid excuse for noncompliance. Since all investors made money and were never defrauded, all the states dropped their investigations but Nevada.

So, did I nobly risk 120 years in state prison for a chance to clear my name? Hell no! I pled guilty, and in return for my pleading guilty to crimes I didn't commit, Nevada agreed to a reduction from 120 years down to zero years.