November 29, 2007
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$1 Million
Timothy Elliott won $1 million in the lottery.
His problem is that he is a convicted bank robber who violated his probation when he bought the lottery ticket. Part of his probation was he “may not gamble, purchase lottery tickets or visit an establishment where gaming is conducted.” The talk is now that they may stop payment on his 20 annual payments of $55,000 checks. Here is the link: Link
Do you think he should receive his lottery money?
Comments (105)
yes
EFF YES!!
Yes, but he should also face the normal punishment for violating probation. I’m guessing that would be a bit of jail time.
Give it to the bank he robbed, whatever is left he can keep!
Then to jail since he violated his probation! 
If a guy is on probation where he “may not drink,” if he is caught drinking, do they pump the alcohol out of his stomach…No! They just punish him more. Let the dude keep his winnings but punish him for violating his probation.
RYC: It’s a lot like the military in many respects, but the hours don’t suck as bad and the pay is WAY better. Not that it takes much to improve on either.
No, he should not be rewarded for breaking his probation.
Nope, and that might be more painful than 40 lashes.
ABsolutely. Then, he won’t be out robbing banks.
Nope. He shouldn’t be allowed to have it if it states he can’t gamble as a condition of his probation.
This story is too funny….
Actually, I just read SunnyMItsu’s comment – good point. I think he should get the “punishment” for breaking probation, but he should probably get the money. If he had gambled in Vegas and won some money, they [robably wouldn’t know the amount and he woulda kept that…so…
The probation highlights activities that would lead to additional punishment. The probation is not an edict stripping the man of his rights and liberty. He could play the lottery if he wants, it’s just that he has to suffer the inevitable concenquences of being caught playing.
So to answer your question: Yes, he should recieve his money.
SunnyMitsu
If a guy is on probation where he “may not drink,” if he is caught drinking, do they pump the alcohol out of his stomach…No! They just punish him more. Let the dude keep his winnings but punish him for violating his probation.
What an odd anology…
Drinking is different. Pumping alchohol out of the stomach is a useless gesture.(At our technological level it can’t be done.)
But with the money you can take that away. (No physical limitations there.)
Hey! I’m still in the Top twenty! How’bout that!
He violated his probation and he can be put in jail for that. He won the lottery fair and square so he should get the money. Why don’t they just make him pay a fine from his winnings?
i think there should be one million dollar fines on probation violations.
No… he broke probation…. what a waste of a perfectly good ticket…. crap… those could’ve been my numbers !
i’m with unworthyofhisgrace. that sounds like a good idea. he should not get the money. he violated probation! yeesh.
I’m wondering why on earth they would put that as part of his probation. I don’t know if that is a standard clause in a probation “contract” or not.
However, he should be punished for violating probation. If this is his first probation violation they shouldn’t just throw him back in jail. I don’t know what the proper course of action should be.
However, he won the money fair and square. He shouldn’t have it taken away. I agree with SunnyMitsu.
Keep the money and let him face the consequences….if its jail then its jail. He could put the money in the bank and let it earn interest. OR…..make him give up half of his earnings in fines..that would be fair too. Damn small print!
nope.
Give him the money,
then send him back to prison.
Yup!
sunnymitsu had a very good point. although i think this is a bit different since it is a tangible, unedible object, but still a very good point.
Yep, he agreed not to play the lottery.
I think answered that incorrectly, he should not receive his winnings. I also think that the cost of his ticket should not be refunded.
I also agree with SunnyMitsu. The money is his although it would be awsome if he had to pay the bank back for what he took in the first place.
He should be punished for violating probation, but the money is his.
No way, no how!! He broke his probation!! If anything, it should be given to his family, but not directly to him.
Yes, he should be able to keep it- I agree with SunnyMitsu, even if others think that analogy is flawed-
Let him keep the money
the law states he can not…
if he was smart he would have given it to a family member…..stupid bastard…no wonder he is in jail
Let him keep the money. Since when is it the Lottery’s job to make sure people aren’t violating their probabtion? Would they take away the winnings if he won $10 on a scratch card? Or if he won $100 at the horse races? I’m guessing probably not. It’s just the amount of money that’s got them all wound up. Let him keep his winnings but then punish him in whatever way you would normally for violating his probation.
I like saintvi’s answer. Likely this money may help keep this person out of trouble… if he was stealing because he was hard up.
He should get the money, but should be put in jail again for violating probation.
I think he should win it, and then be expected to give it all away to charities.
Well, if he violated his probation, then its a pretty cut and clear case; no soup for you! Still sucks to be him if he actually won but can’t claim it to to his previous slap on the wrist. But hey, rules are rules.
…most of the time.
Yes, he should get his money and yes he should reap the additional consequences of parole violation.
Not at all. Do criminals get to keep the money they steal from citizens?
No, he shouldn’t get the $. If you’re going to be stupid enough to rob a bank, then you don’t deserve the $. Let them take the $ and pay for his jail time, if not, the taxpayers of his state will be paying for his time in jail.
ryc: i’ll start using “oh, for fuck’s sake” then.
No. He violated his prohibation!
he clearly violated his probation, so the answer should be no. BUT, i think they should make an exception in this case. hell, what are the odds of it ever happening again ?. personally, i would have had someone else cash the ticket and given them a cut.
I think he should be allowed to choose a charitable organization to turn over his checks to until he’s done serving his jail time, including whatever time is added on for violating probation. If he gets out clean before the end of the 20 years, he gets the remaining checks.
No. He should not receive his money because he violated his probation.
Violating parole is against the law, so how about this analogy – if a guy steals a million dollars from a bank and is caught, does he have to give it back?
-David
no, i mean the guy broke his probation… they gave him probation for a reason…
He shouldn’t get the winnings.
Probation isn’t a stripping of citizen rights. The terms of probation highlights punishment and concenquences for particular actions. That concenquences can’t and doesn’t include magically undoing financial transactions the persons made.
If the term of a person’s probation outlaws the purchase of alcohol, and the guy buys a box of beers from a supermarket– that purchase isn’t magically unmade. The supermarket wasn’t physically forbidden from making the sale. There is nothing the government can do to turn back time and undo the purchase.
The idea extends to the lotto ticket. Also, it’s not as if the man could get a refund on all lotto tickets that didn’t yield a winning number. This would have to be the case for the logical consistency of anyone arguing against the man’s case.
Nope. He broke probation. Do not pass go, no not collect one million, go to jail, go directly to jail.
Unbelievable that he won the lottery under his probation! Sure he would get a good start with the money!
But I don’t think he should get it.
No, he violated probation.
It seems to me, that the majority response is that the man should not be able to keep his cash earnings.
It also seems to me that the lot of you decided on that response as an additional punishment of the person (the stripping of his earnings) NOT because it is the legal thing to do, but because the man is a criminal and deserves any punishment we can heap on him– even when the punishment is based on faulty legal principles.
punish him for violating his parole and he can have the money when he’s done with that…
based solely on your post: no.
yes! and give him exactly the same punishment as anyone violating probation.
Yes, he should.
gotta love the irony.
No
I know someone who works with probation violators. I don’t think the state should take his money, but he should be given the normal probation violation penalties. You have no idea how soft the courts go on some of these guys. It’s like a revolving door – they break probation and they’re out in 30 days for far worse offenses… Why make this guy any more of an example? Give him the money, and punish them like they do for every other re-offender.
nope.
talk about karma!
Yes!!!!!!
Not if he was violating his probation in playing the lottery.
yes.
Emjay1
I know someone who works with probation violators. I don’t think the state should take his money, but he should be given the normal probation violation penalties. You have no idea how soft the courts go on some of these guys. It’s like a revolving door – they break probation and they’re out in 30 days for far worse offenses… Why make this guy any more of an example? Give him the money, and punish them like they do for every other re-offender.
Yes!
thinking like a criminal, why didnt the dumbfuck just get someone to redeem it for him
Nah, they should give it to me.
He should give the money to me.
hahaha. that sucks.
i guess technically they can take the money away. and they probably should, because he might gamble all his winnings away and want to steal again or something.
but still. that sucks.
just make him pay a fine on it or find another way to punish him but let him keep his money.
Karma is a bitch!!! LoL
NO, I’m kidding. Who knows whether or not this man is reformed… Who knows why this man felt compelled to rob a bank… I say he’s entitled to his winnings.
No I cant say I’m for that, lol.
How ironic. He robbed banks yet he won millions of dollars. No because he broke the rules and gambled on probation.
I wonder what the average salary of a probation officer is… I don’t know why.
Oh, I don’t know. I really don’t know! What an unfortunate situation that man is in.
Maybe it will keep him out of trouble. Or maybe it will get him into more trouble. Either way, I suppose the law is the law. He violated probation, so maybe he needs to go back in the slammer for a while, or pay a fine? What does the law say? Tough call, though. Probably the first easy break the guy has ever had, but he shouldn’t have been playing if it was against his probation.
NO! He knew before he bought the ticket that he wasn’t supposed to purchase it.
I’d say give him the money and punish him for violating his probation. He deserves the same punishment as someone who bought the ticket and didn’t win, otherwise it’s discriminate justice.
Hell no!
No, he is not respecting the law.
We cannot let everyone disrespect the law and get away from him.
The best possible way for him would be, give the money to his family because he is not supposed to receive the money, and then fine him for gambling.
Yes.
Because if he isn’t paid, the government is just making more money. . .
That’s all this is, the government is trying to use their law to save a million bucks!
Little wonder they have such incentive. . .
How bout change the lottery so it’s not state run?
Or change the probation law.
That would suck to get in trouble though for violating probation because of winning the lottery, that would suck to think you’ve won a million dollars and had it taken away.
I wonder if he’d still have done bank robbery if he had known the potential $ flow in his future?
Probably NOT.
I just don’t get the connection. He robs a bank…and then is not allowed to gamble. Maybe the money should go to the victim’s in the bank robbery…the tellers and customers who were there when it happened.
Of course not. He broke the law by robbing a bank and then violated probation. Allowing him to keep the lottery winnings is pretty much rewarding him for unlawful behavior. And we wouldnt want to convey the message that being bad nets you good things.
hah. no.
yeah why is playing the lottery a part of your probation? I’m with everyone who says give him the money so he’ll stop robbing banks…hell with all this exposure HE’LL probably get robbed and know what it feels like….
Yes. Give me a break he won the money fair and square. He should be punished for violating probation sure, but anything else is just vindictive.
Oh brother
The guy looks like hes had a hard life just give him the money!
This reminds me of a quote from Ms. Congeniality:
“What is the one most important thing our society needs?”
“That would be… harsher punishment for parole violators, Stan…and world peace!”
I don’t think this guy should get to keep it, he broke his probation, he shouldn’t be rewarded for doing it.
No. It sucks, but he broke the rules of his probation. Would have been interesting, though, to see how his life would have changed.
No! He knowingly broke the law by purchasing the lottery ticket. Even if he didn’t win, it’s against the law! If they let him keep the money, it’d be like letting a rapist keep the little girl he raped!
No. Wow- that sux.
no
hahahaha
He should not receive the money, in fact he should go back to jail for a parole violation
hell yeah.
You don’t get to keep a car you stole because you served a sentence, do you?
He shouldn’t get the money. I doubt they would’ve let him keep the money from his bank heist days, and I don’t think this is any different though. I feel bad for him though; he looks like he needs the money with that beard and that beanie.
oops too many ‘though’s in my comment
40 lashes and he can have the million.
as a former probation officer, I say let him have his money – but garnish it to make him pay the fees and retribution and fines that he was most likely NOT paying in the first place.
I think they should make him choose charities to donate the money to and then punish thew probation violation.
Absolutely not! Why is there even any consideration for this? He is a felon and was dumb enough to claim the money himself – he didn’t even get a friend or relative to do it for him. Dim witted people such as this should not be rewarded.
YES. He paid the $1. Give him his damn money.
(he looks like) SANTA!
haha man that sucks..
well he did violate his terms…
Give it to the prison instead
nope i don’t think he should be allowed 2 keep the money
i beleive they should take his ticket out of the lottery pool
and just replay it
but i don’t think he should receive punishment
he did break his probabation
but its just a lottery ticket
it is honestly not that big of a deal