Is there a tenth circle?

My heart broke a little bit tonight.

I've recently gotten into the habit of watching 60 Minutes. It's sometimes very uncomfortable to sit through the entire show because of the difficult subject matter presented during the segments. Tonight's episode focused on con artists who prey on fatally ill patients by promising life changing procedures. It was wrenching.

As a disclaimer, it is not my intention to use this blog as a forum to stand on a soapbox and express my views. However, I am making an exception in this case.

I have often thought that truly the lowest of the low are people who cheat and trick others. There are many depictions in entertainment of cheery, charming confidence men (and women), who wink and smirk to the camera. I'm thinking of Steve Martin and Michael Caine in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and Paul Newman and Robert Redford in The Sting.

The reality of confidence schemes is likely a lot less amusing and handsomely packaged.

It's said there's a sucker born every minute and con artists depend and thrive on those suckers. I find that to be a staggeringly pessimistic view of the world. Possibly soulless. But you would have to be both in order to take hope and pride and money away from unsuspecting, and usually innocent, people.

Con artists are not usually known to be violent and if caught, they are not usually given the same punishments as people who commit violent crimes. I find this to be a huge flaw in our legal system. Intent is everything and con arts are systematic and malicious in their intentions towards those they have marked in their "games".

According to Dante's Inferno, those guilty of fraud are committed to the eighth circle of hell. Which is OK, I guess. Except anyone who can look a dying person in the eyes after taking their life's saving and promise a cure for an incurable disease - like Lawrence Stowe did in the 60 Minutes episode tonight - isn't just a fraud but a betrayer of decency and humanity. Betrayal lands sinners right into the ninth circle - perhaps into a front row seat right next to Satan.

Sounds about right.