As he did in Las Vegas, where security cameras captured him stealing a stranger’s suitcase with thousands of dollars’ worth of clothing inside, Sam Brinton has escaped any jail time for a similar theft at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.  The UK Daily Mail reports:

The non-binary former Energy Department official who was caught on camera stealing luggage from Minneapolis airport agreed to undergo a mental health evaluation - as he avoids jail time in Las Vegas for a similar crime.

Samuel Brinton, 35, who uses they/them pronouns agreed during a remote hearing in Hennepin County on Monday to participate in a adult diversion program after he was charged for stealing a woman's suitcase in September containing $2,325 of items from Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport. 

As a part of the program, Brinton - who was responsible for nuclear fuel and radioactive waste - will be required to write an apology to the victim, return the stolen items and participate in three days of community service.

That is an awfully light penalty for a felony. Theft of over $1,000 in value is a felony in Minnesota. So, he gets 3 days of community service, writes a letter, and sits for a mental health evaluation.  Compare that’s to the disruption his victim would have had – no clothing for a trip where she may have had demanding schedule commitments, the loss of privacy for intimate personal belongings, and the sense of vulnerability that will stay with her for the rest of her life.

In my book, people with high levels of responsibility should not escape punishment due to their elevated status. Instead, because they need to be held to higher standards than the rest of us, they should receive punishment on the severe end of the scale when they commit crimes.

Source: Linkedin via the UKDM