convicted felons and lottery winnings

should a convicted felon be allowed to claim lottery winnings?

just imagine if ted bundy would've been allowed to play mega millions.just think of what he could do with his new toys,lol.........

Hi Mike,

i find this a pretty strange question.
I've read about it several times, here at LP and on other forums, and never quite gave it some thought.
Always figured "why not?"

But now you mention Ted Bundy, i immediatly think of Dutroux, who abducted, raped and killed children.
For me such persons should not be allowed very much anymore, put them away and throw away the key. So i guess they would not be able to collect any winnings, let alone play the lottery.

But then there other convicted fellons (still in jail or not?)
During the night here, the serie "cops" is sometimes on, and when i see why some people have to go to jail (even as little as asking a prostitute, which is than an undercover cop, to... you know... is enough to be handcuffed and treated as the next murderer   --> then you can hear some cops even say "good job today, we caught some bad guys", well, that kinda makes me wanna throw up)
I don't see why people who are convicted for such stupidities (even smoking weed or such) should be excluded from collecting lottery wins.

So i voted "yes", because "not sure" is not exactly how i feel. I am pretty sure for myself that monsters such as Bundy should not be allowed to collect, but i'm also convinced for myself that stupid "crimes" should not fall under that category.

Greetz
Ricky

i thought it would be a good poll.i agree with you.i don't think that someone should have to give up the right to buy a lottery ticket just because they had a quarter of weed on them or was drinking a beer and driving at 4am when the road was deserted.even if they passed bad checks or stole a television after they get out of jail they should have the right.a lot of times i just do these polls to see how most people think.its interesting sometimes to see the outcome.......

The money should be used to compensate the victims of their crimes. Any remaining revenue should be confiscated to pay for their prison costs.

There was a case in the UK, were a convicted rapist won 7 million pounds, he bought the lottery ticket while out on day release. His victims sues but got nowhere. I think the law was changed after that.

Iorworth Hoare, nearing the end of a life term for attempted rape, bought his winning ticket on day release.

Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell had seemed to suggest the government might intervene in Hoare's case to make sure his money went to victims.

But the Home Office has now insisted that cannot be done.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/3557372.stm

Most of the convicted felons in the US committed crimes without victims.  They'd have to find another use for the money.

If convicted felons couldn't win the lottery those prize values wouldn't grow nearly so fast because there'd be a lot fewer players in most states.

Probably it's a good idea anyway.  Puts more money into the general coffers to help pay for more prisons.

J

play on those politics are crazy

If you buy lottery tickets online than you would stand a chance of being a convicted felon in the corrupt state of WA. I think I'd just skip out of the US if I hit it big. It really depends on what the state or country considers a felon to be.

Yes, absolutely they should be allowed to collect. 

They should receive a net amount after all state cost to incarcerate plus all other fines, restitution charges related to crimes they've committed.

If there's anything left over then let them have at it.

People may disagree with me but I beleive if you have served your time and you are free you should be able to collect lottery winnings. Why not? If they are still allowed to put a dollar in then they should be able to collect if they win. If people don't want convicted felons to play make it a law that they can't legally purchase tickets and collect winnings.

Any lottery that would accept someone's money for a ticket and then refuse to pay them would probably be sued and then shut down. And rightfully so.

Remeber the poll about illegal immigrants hitting a jackpot? 

If they accept they bet they are legally implying they will make good op the payoff.

 Of course, there probably have been cases like this where the real winner "sent in a beard".

I agree with you Bellyache. Despite your crime, if you win you should collect.

It seems to me that there was such a case some years ago and that person did receive his lotto winnings but was not allowed access to the money until his release.