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In this thread, let's wrangle about everything related to Law Enforcement, good and bad. Be it reforms that are not working, that are working, horrible abuses, good practices, US cops and international cops, whatever pertains to the concept of a "system by which some members of society act in an organized manner to enforce the law by discovering, deterring, rehabilitating or punishing persons who violate the rules and norms governing that society." While this will surely be mostly about the bad sides of Law Enforcement in the United States, don't let that stop you. Law Enforcement in the US kills more, fires more bullets and loses more officers than any civilized nation in the world, both absolutely and per capita. It offers plenty to talk about. In addition, the sentences in the United States are most draconian when pretty much compared to any other nation in the world. Only western nation to practice regular death penalties and to have life sentences without parole, despite most of the world having a life sentence of where only a small portion of it is spent behind bars. While prison reform is its own thread, Law Enforcement ties directly into it too and thus can't be separated from the discussion. While many are horrified by some of the abuses in Law Enforcement in the US, many more believe everything to be well in their black-white worldview where evil people get what they deserve and good people aren't affected. Reforming the police can be hard if the majority see nothing wrong with it. Here we can also discuss about the amount of force that should be necessary in policing, be it US mag-dumps or EU limb shots Or perhaps creating a police force like in the UK where routine officers do not carry nor are they trained to use firearms. We can talk about the firearms the police use, what boots they use and how horrible some of the acquisitions for small time departments are and how rife with corruption and handshakes they are. Or we can talk about Amsterdam Police in Netherlands putting up signs telling that people buying drugs should be more careful since a new batch is found dangerous. Because there are all kinds of goons from nerds to gals, from kiddy twiddlers to federal agents, from farmers to fighter pilots, so do we have Cop Goons. You can ask them questions here in the Ask a Cop Goon thread: http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3710350&perpage=40 Don't try to bring debate and discussion there or you might be met with hostility, drunkenness and lewd behavior. Humor is harsh, but if you have a legit question, odds are you'll get an answer very fast in an informative manner. I'll start with three good things related to American Law Enforcement. San Antonio trains officers to handle mental illness calls differently. http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/201...ontent=20140819 quote:It's almost 4 p.m., and police officers Ernest Stevens and Ned Bandoske have been driving around town in their unmarked black SUV since early this morning. The officers are part of San Antonio's mental health squad — a six-person unit that answers the frequent emergency calls where mental illness may be an issue. FBI Director said publicly things that many americans need to hear. Naturally, he is already a race baiter and a traitor and a supporter of thugs. http://www.cnn.com/2015/02/12/politics/police-race-relations-james-comey/ quote:FBI Director James Comey took on the issue of police and race relations Thursday challenging police to avoid "lazy mental short-cuts" that can lead to bias in the way they treat blacks and other minorities. And in other news, Richmond CA has tried another approach to police reform, helping people prone to crime instead of punishing them, and it seems to be working. http://richmondpulse.org/in-a-relationship-with-the-richmond-police-department/ quote:In the past decade, the police department in Richmond, Calif. has undergone a dramatic transformation. Spearheaded by an openly-gay and white chief in charge of policing this largely African American and Latino city, the changes are now bearing fruit, with crime down and trust between officers and the residents they are meant to protect on the rise. As departments nationwide look for ways to improve community ties in the wake of police killings in Ferguson and New York, Richmond stands as a promising template. Finally, enjoy police officers from countries where Police Services don't use grooming standards. Some lighter policing, here is this Lithuanian Police TV series showing a drunk or off-meds American girl threatening Lithunian cops with World War 3. It's loving hilarious. "Even though the girl asked help from the United Nations, she was escorted to the hospital by regular police officers." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53gAFuE0FwQ Subtitled. Vahakyla fucked around with this message at 06:10 on Apr 8, 2015 |
# ? Feb 18, 2015 22:08 |
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# ? Apr 29, 2024 05:09 |
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I'll also reserve the second OP in case I get super enthusiastic about doing somekind of megathread.
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# ? Feb 19, 2015 00:06 |
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I would like one beard and one submachinegun, please.
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# ? Feb 19, 2015 01:46 |
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I don't thinks this is the best source, but this is funny if it's true. A little bit lighthearted news out of New York. http://countercurrentnews.com/2015/02/cop-misses-dog-and-hits-police-sergeant-instead/ quote:We have all heard a lot of unfortunately stories lately about police officers shooting “man’s best friend.” But now, a police officer who was aiming at a dog missed the canine and accidentally shot his sergeant instead!
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# ? Feb 19, 2015 02:20 |
California man punches self in face, claims police brutality in attempt to secure release from jail White people
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# ? Feb 19, 2015 03:02 |
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He should've punched harder.
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# ? Feb 19, 2015 03:03 |
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Aaaaaand: http://www.cnn.com/2015/02/18/politics/ferguson-justice-department-lawsuit/index.html quote:"The Justice Department is preparing to bring a lawsuit against the Ferguson, Missouri, police department over a pattern of racially discriminatory tactics used by officers, if the police department does not agree to make changes on its own, sources tell CNN.
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# ? Feb 19, 2015 04:02 |
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http://www.cnn.com/2015/02/17/us/officer-dashcam-video-excessive-force-lawsuit/index.html ST Louis cops forget to turn all cameras off: quote:
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# ? Feb 26, 2015 01:12 |
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Florida police are using anti-terrorism equipment for basically anything, surprise! https://www.aclu.org/blog/national-security-technology-and-liberty/aclu-obtained-documents-reveal-breadth-secretive-sting quote:The ACLU is releasing records today obtained from law enforcement agencies across Florida about their acquisition and use of sophisticated cell phone location tracking devices known as “Stingrays.” These records provide the most detailed account to date of how law enforcement agencies across a single state are relying on the technology. (The full records are available here.)
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# ? Feb 26, 2015 01:17 |
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Vahakyla posted:http://www.cnn.com/2015/02/17/us/officer-dashcam-video-excessive-force-lawsuit/index.html Essentially, when the DA says they can't prosecute this absent the dash cam, the DA is telling an overt and obvious lie.
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# ? Feb 26, 2015 01:20 |
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Randbrick posted:There's something weird going on here. The existence or absence of dash cam video doesn't change the character of this case. If you get four or five cops who'll say that guy had a gun on him, you don't need a video recording. And no shenanigans about the video recording would change the basic features of that prosecution. I'm pretty sure the DA is trying to avoid attention to the cops turning off the camera and possibly somekind of monetary compensation for days in jail etc. He can prosecute it of course, but due to the increased scrutiny other people have in regards to the STL area, he chooses to fight elsewhere. There is also a Florida cop who decides to first push a man to the ground, then slap his face. http://www.cnn.com/2015/02/25/us/florida-ft-lauderdale-broward-county-police-slapping-dragging/index.html quote:Video shows the nine-year veteran of the Fort Lauderdale Police Department shoving the 58-year-old man to the ground. The two argue for a few seconds and, after telling the man to "get up" multiple times, Ramirez reaches for Laclair's arm. Vahakyla fucked around with this message at 01:27 on Feb 26, 2015 |
# ? Feb 26, 2015 01:24 |
Chicago cops are running a black site: http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/feb/24/chicago-police-detain-americans-black-site quote:Alleged police practices at Homan Square, according to those familiar with the facility who spoke out to the Guardian after its investigation into Chicago police abuse, include: quote:Homan Square is hardly concerned exclusively with terrorism. Several special units operate outside of it, including the anti-gang and anti-drug forces. If police “want money, guns, drugs”, or information on the flow of any of them onto Chicago’s streets, “they bring them there and use it as a place of interrogation off the books,” Hill said.
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# ? Feb 26, 2015 05:41 |
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VikingofRock posted:Chicago cops are running a black site: I'm sure this won't be covered by the news and if it does it'll be just a "few bad apples." I wonder how many other police departments have something like this?
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# ? Feb 26, 2015 06:39 |
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KomradeX posted:I'm sure this won't be covered by the news and if it does it'll be just a "few bad apples." I wonder how many other police departments have something like this? Black bagging suspects is hardly new...doing it this blatantly is certainly something though.
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# ? Feb 26, 2015 06:46 |
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I'm sure there will be disciplinary hearings and a change in department policy to rename it to person of color site.
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# ? Feb 26, 2015 14:43 |
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VikingofRock posted:Chicago cops are running a black site: Well then. Everytime I figure it can't get more messed up, some people deliver.
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# ? Feb 26, 2015 19:02 |
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Also let me just leave this video of a French Leg shot to the thread: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_75uR4u5YEs
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# ? Feb 26, 2015 22:20 |
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I'm doing a course on language and power/politics and I have to write a short paper (1500ish words) in which I apply some of the theories I learned (Critical Discourse Analysis and stuff.) I already used the whole Lee Atwater/Southern Strategy thing for a Language and Society course I did last year, otherwise I would do that, but I was thinking of doing a short and simple analysis (it's an elective, after all) on the event a while back with the NY metro worker being assaulted by an off-duty cop which is interesting in light of the change of language used in reports of that event before and after it became clear it was a police officer. I remember it being talked about how some news agencies changed their stories, first talking about a senseless assault of a government worker by a thug, editing it to an essentially unfortunate incident (for which the transit employee was implicitly to blame.) I'm really not asking you guys to do my homework for me but I'm (1) not from the US so I'm not all that familiar with US newspapers and (2) not as engaged as I know a lot of you are, so if anyone could link me some articles on this I would really appreciate it. Preferably it would be a (mirror of the) original report and the edited version without too much analysis, because I want to do the analysis myself, but really even a nudge in the right direction would be a big help. Like I said, I'm not entirely familiar with all the journals and I'm sure some of you have exactly what I need bookmarked or at least know which papers I'm talking about, so it would save me a lot of googling/scouring through archives (if I could even access them) if you could help me out. I really only just need one or two examples of newspapers changing their story after it became apparent it was a cop that did the assault. Thanks in advance.
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# ? Feb 26, 2015 22:55 |
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re: field drug testing
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# ? Feb 26, 2015 23:07 |
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Vahakyla posted:Also let me just leave this video of a French Leg shot to the thread: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_75uR4u5YEs
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# ? Feb 27, 2015 01:57 |
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Taeke posted:I'm doing a course on language and power/politics and I have to write a short paper (1500ish words) in which I apply some of the theories I learned (Critical Discourse Analysis and stuff.) I already used the whole Lee Atwater/Southern Strategy thing for a Language and Society course I did last year, otherwise I would do that, but I was thinking of doing a short and simple analysis (it's an elective, after all) on the event a while back with the NY metro worker being assaulted by an off-duty cop which is interesting in light of the change of language used in reports of that event before and after it became clear it was a police officer. http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-crime/thug-attacks-female-mta-employee-bronx-cops-article-1.2061700 http://www.addictinginfo.org/2015/01/04/heres-how-differently-the-media-covers-an-assault-before-and-after-learning-it-was-done-by-a-cop/ Vahakyla fucked around with this message at 02:08 on Feb 27, 2015 |
# ? Feb 27, 2015 02:05 |
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http://thefreethoughtproject.com/video-mans-police-interaction-exposes-vast-conspiracy-film-police/#F3ZIDCeGEQpFDG3K.01
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# ? Feb 27, 2015 05:41 |
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Does this happen at all in Australia? Because I never hear of anything like this over here. Also I really like the police and pretty much have never had a bad experience with one.
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# ? Feb 27, 2015 05:58 |
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Do your police have a corrupting level of power, influence, and mythic hero status?
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# ? Feb 27, 2015 06:08 |
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WhiskeyJuvenile posted:http://thefreethoughtproject.com/video-mans-police-interaction-exposes-vast-conspiracy-film-police/#F3ZIDCeGEQpFDG3K.01 So wait, a group of cops and prosecutors decided to try and ruin a man's life... because he told one cop about a lawsuit? He wasn't even the one suing them! Literally shooting the messenger. It's not only evil, but beyond petty.
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# ? Feb 27, 2015 06:18 |
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Dr Pepper posted:So wait, a group of cops and prosecutors decided to try and ruin a man's life... because he told one cop about a lawsuit? He wasn't even the one suing them! Literally shooting the messenger. Filing bogus obstruction, resisting arrest, and assault/battery charges is a the first step cops follow when they're faced with excessive force suits. Many states make ANY battery to a cop on the job a felony, and obstruction and witness intimidation charges almost always have a felony flavor. These charges gives them leverage over civil and possible civil plaintiffs, and often lets them to leverage bogus charges against the dismissal of civil lawsuits. I would hazard a guess that there was a lot more to Mr. Dezinger's nephew's brutality suit, and that there is a gag order in place, because it never comes up in the story. I'd also note that the felony charges were filed ONE YEAR after the process was served, which could correspond pretty well to the lifespan of a civil lawsuit. But, no, this was not some petty retaliation against a random process server, this was the local cops and DA's office targeting a family member of a civil plaintiff in an effort to force the plaintiff to back off on his claim. It's petty, cruel, and criminal, but it's also a lot more calculated than the story lets on. Of course, if any non-prosecutor (real) lawyer ever backed a bogus story under these circumstances, assisting in fraudulent barratry, it really wouldn't be an open question what would happen to that attorney. A lucky outcome would be a suspension from practice so long as to essentially be disbarment. That is to say nothing of the criminal charges that would follow. Jail or prison time would not be outside the realm of possibility. And none of these consequences would be hypothetical or abstract -- your rear end would be toast, and fast. Edit - One of the perjuring DA's still has a job on the taxpayer dime in that jurisdiction.
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# ? Feb 27, 2015 07:03 |
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Vahakyla posted:http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-crime/thug-attacks-female-mta-employee-bronx-cops-article-1.2061700 Exactly what I needed, thanks!
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# ? Feb 27, 2015 12:50 |
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Randbrick posted:Per the news report, the suit was filed by the victim's nephew. This wasn't even a SLAPP, it was a Strategic Prosecution Against Public Participation. Christ.
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# ? Feb 27, 2015 12:57 |
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Taeke posted:I'm doing a course on language and power/politics and I have to write a short paper (1500ish words) in which I apply some of the theories I learned (Critical Discourse Analysis and stuff.) I already used the whole Lee Atwater/Southern Strategy thing for a Language and Society course I did last year, otherwise I would do that, but I was thinking of doing a short and simple analysis (it's an elective, after all) on the event a while back with the NY metro worker being assaulted by an off-duty cop which is interesting in light of the change of language used in reports of that event before and after it became clear it was a police officer. Critique your own Language and Society paper. It'd be the perfect pure application of critical analysis. Also, the perfect crime.
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# ? Feb 27, 2015 13:05 |
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Randbrick posted:Per the news report, the suit was filed by the victim's nephew. i was about to ask, shouldn't those two prosecutors be facing disbarment? they didn't just hide evidence of the guy's innocence, they knowingly lied about his guilt i guess being a criminal prosecutor means there's literally no punishment for your actions unless those actions are "didn't throw enough people in jail this month"
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# ? Feb 27, 2015 13:28 |
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Lord Windy posted:Does this happen at all in Australia? Because I never hear of anything like this over here. Anecdotally, the police are probably worse than Europe but not as bad as the US. Australia has an excessive machismo culture which result in a more aggressive-than-norm police culture.
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# ? Feb 27, 2015 13:56 |
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wateroverfire posted:Critique your own Language and Society paper. It'd be the perfect pure application of critical analysis. Also, the perfect crime. Haha, that's not a bad idea, actually, and I might even be able to persuade the teacher but I think I'll try to keep it as simple as possible.
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# ? Feb 27, 2015 14:43 |
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Zeitgueist posted:http://thefreethoughtproject.com/senior-citizen-held-gunpoint-forced-remove-clothes-public-jailed-driving-classic-car/ Why on earth does it seem like the default course of action for a cop is "Draw gun, scream at person"
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# ? Feb 27, 2015 19:42 |
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Dr Pepper posted:Why on earth does it seem like the default course of action for a cop is "Draw gun, scream at person"
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# ? Feb 27, 2015 20:24 |
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Dr Pepper posted:Why on earth does it seem like the default course of action for a cop is "Draw gun, scream at person" Because if that officer had only screamed at the mentally ill man going towards his pick-up truck he would not have gotten out a rifle and made the cop be the one to scream for another reason.
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# ? Feb 27, 2015 21:44 |
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I gotta get into the copping business.
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# ? Feb 27, 2015 21:55 |
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http://www.post-gazette.com/local/c...es/201502270211 Hopefully our new Police Chief can put his money where his mouth is. Someone did send him a letter that gives more detail into what happened http://m.dailykos.com/story/2015/02/27/1367284/-Pittsburgh-man-writes-police-chief-after-witnessing-police-brutality-sees-immediate-coverup
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# ? Feb 28, 2015 00:52 |
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quote:The arrest is now the subject of an internal review requested by police Chief Cameron McLay, who “also says in his comments about this matter that he believes everything is in compliance, but he just wants to make sure,” public safety spokeswoman Sonya Toler said. “It's understandable that untrained people would question the use of something they’re not trained in.” I always find this sort of thing charming, as though cops completed advanced coursework in the more complex comparative subtleties of beating the poo poo out of people who annoy them. Like if I walked in on a plumber screaming in rage and whaling away at my boiler with a basin wrench, I guess I should just turn around and walk the other way while the professional does his thing.
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# ? Feb 28, 2015 01:13 |
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# ? Apr 29, 2024 05:09 |
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Just today I finished being in a sequestered jury. We were sequestered for several days in a case where the main count was for attempted first degree murder. While interesting, it was also very depressing. Both the defendant and the victim (who was shot in the calf and then chased through a convenience store while being shot at 5 more times*) had a criminal record and were poor black people living in a poo poo part of the city. The victim had actually gone to the law office of the defendant's lawyer and requested not to prosecute, largely because he didn't want to have to come down to the courts and testify (or ruin the defendant's life). He was clearly very unhappy to be there as a witness. The only evidence that the defendant was the shooter was that the victim pointed him out on a panel of 6 faces (he had only known the shooter by his street name, not his full name). Granted, it was pretty convincing and I couldn't think of any reason for the witness to be lying (he didn't seem to know the defendant well and didn't even want to prosecute in the first place), but it's still stressful when you're talking about basically the rest of the defendant's (who was 40-something) life being spent in jail. After all court proceedings, right before deliberations began, I was chosen as one of the two alternates (14 are chosen for the jury, with 2 randomly being chosen as alternates after the court proceedings and right before deliberations). In a way I'm kind of relieved that I won't potentially be involved in ruined this guy's life, even if he is guilty. On the other hand, I'll be really upset if the defendant ends up being convicted of attempted first degree murder, when I definitely wouldn't have settled for anything above attempted second degree murder (there was basically nothing proving that the shooter wasn't intoxicated or acting in the passion of the moment or something). At the end, I'm left just feeling sort of empty about the whole thing. Even if the defendant was the shooter (which he probably was), the victim had specifically said that he didn't want to ruin his life or anything, or even prosecute in the first place. So given that prison isn't really rehabilitative, what is him being convicted of this crime going to accomplish? I guess it might prevent him from committing some other crime, but I have a strong feeling from watching the video that the defendant (if he was the shooter) was drunk or under the influence of something when he shot the victim. Everything considered, being on a sequestered jury was a very unique experience. You end up talking with a bunch of strangers a whole lot when you don't have any internet access or TV. We got a lot of free food and the hotel they kept us at was nice. I'm still pretty relieved it's over, though. *We were shown a video that showed everything that happened pretty clearly, but there was no sound and you couldn't make out the face of anyone, so it couldn't really ID the shooter. edit: As a side note, I was kind of amazed at how similar the court proceedings were to the sort of stuff you see on TV and in major cases. Not in terms of having DNA evidence and stuff (our case only had the video and 4 witnesses - the victim + 3 police officers involved in the investigation), but in terms of the defense and prosecution giving these really involved speeches and objecting to things and what have you.
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# ? Feb 28, 2015 02:26 |