1000 Words: Karma and the perp walk

Some of the worst terrorists in the world might not be as reviled in America as the man who made a perp walk today.

If smug were a felony, Martin Shkreli would’ve made the stroll months ago, after he bought the rights to Daraprim, which treated toxoplasmosis, a deadly illness for unborn babies and patients with compromised immune systems including those with HIV or cancer. Then he raised the raised the $14 price to $750 per pill. There was money to be made and he aimed to make it. He showed not an ounce of shame or remorse for doing so at the expense of the vulnerable.

Today, however, he took a walk after being indicted for draining a hedge fund of money, then covering it with shady deals.

Martin Shkreli, the former hedge fund manager under fire for buying a pharmaceutical company and ratcheting up the price of a life-saving drug, is escorted by law enforcement agents in New York Thursday, Dec. 17, 2015, after being taken into custody following a securities probe. A seven-count indictment unsealed in Brooklyn federal court Thursday charged Shkreli with conspiracy to commit securities fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud and securities fraud. (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle)

True, in the eyes of the law, he’s still an innocent man.

But still, $750 was the price of our sympathy.

NEW YORK, NY - DECEMBER 17:  Martin Shkreli (2nd R), CEO of Turing Pharmaceutical, is brought out of 26 Federal Plaza by law enforcement officials after being arrested for securities fraud on December 17, 2015 in New York City. Shkreli gained notoriety earlier this year for raising the price of Daraprim, a medicine used to treat the parasitic condition of toxoplasmosis, from $13.50 to $750 though the arrest that happened early this morning does not involve that price hike.  (Photo by Andrew Burton/Getty Images) Martin Shkreli, the former hedge fund manager under fire for buying a pharmaceutical company and ratcheting up the price of a life-saving drug, is belted into an awaiting car after being taken into custody following a securities probe, on Thursday, Dec. 17, 2015 in New York. A seven-count indictment unsealed in Brooklyn federal court Thursday charged Shkreli with conspiracy to commit securities fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud and securities fraud. (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle)