Aren't these crimes too?

Crimes against the elderly aren't just committed by home invaders, unscrupulous caregivers, scam artists, or greedy relatives. Sometimes governments do it too.

I think of two cases of "crimes" against the elderly: those of Ronnie Biggs and Paddy Mitchell, both incarcerated for a long, long time.

Biggs, a minor player in the Great Train Robbery, made the mistake of embarrassing the British government many times over. He thumbed his nose at them until strokes and age left him too weak to raise his arm. Although he is nearly 78 years and helpless, the government has repeatedly denied him compassionate parole to die at home among his family.

Paddy Mitchell embarrassed the FBI as the elusive leader of the Stopwatch Gang, perhaps the most successful armed robbery gang in North American history. Their total take in the U.S. and Canada: $15 million in 100+ robberies. Paddy too is getting on in years. He's currently serving 30 years in a U.S. federal prison, but unlike Ronnie Biggs, he's not trying to get out. All he wants is a transfer to a Canadian prison to be close to his family. With that, he'll still likely die in prison. The U.S. and Canada have a formal prison transfer program in place, but the feds are saying, "No way. We've got him. We're keeping him."

'Tis a sad and spiteful thing they do.

Did Paddy or Ronnie kill anybody? No. Did they hurt anybody? No. Yet, Ronnie will die an old man in a prison hospital ward. So will Paddy in all probability -- Paddy just wants his to be Canadian. Lucky for Ronnie, though, he's so far gone, he may not realize where he is.