Madoff gets 150 years

Bernie Madoff has been sentenced to 150 years in prison. I am a bit shocked by this sentence, and am probably in the minority in stating that I think it is much too harsh.

Madoff is in his 70s. A sentence of 20 years would basically amount to a death sentence, so why lay on the time? Likely to send a message, but I think when you sentence anyone this old to prison for more than a handful of years, the system is doing just that.

However, we need to take this into context. He did not kill anyone, he merely scammed people out of around $15B. Horrible? Yes, but not as bad as taking a life, and murders routinely get 20 years or less in prison.

So why would a sentence of 20 years be better? He would not be in a medium-maximum security but a low-minimum security if his sentence was less. That reduces the chances of him being assaulted in jail, which is virtually assured in a medium-maximum security facility. I'm not saying this guy deserves to be on a country club, but certainly don't want to see a 70 year old man suffer.