OT: American justice system strikes again

[elocomotive]

I'm disgusted that she got away with it and that common sense is many times left behind because of the system, but that's just the way it is.

I'm not. I'm sad for the little girl. But when someone's very life or freedom is on the line, I think the standard should be a high one. All justice systems have flaws - it's simply a matter of which side you want to stray on. Some days I don't like ours as much as others, some days I think it's better. Especially when you hear about situations like the one involving Amanda Knox in Italy.

If you've ever been on a jury, you know that holding someone's freedom in your hands is not something taken lightly. I was on one where it was obvious the guy was guilty and we found him such, but even afterwards, I had doubts from time-to-time. I feel really bad for the jury members on this case. I'm sure it will haunt them for some time to come.

 

[SLY]

I hope she contracts a flesh eating disease and is reduced to nothing within a week.

 

[jstewismybastardson]

I'm not. When someone's very life or freedom is on the line, I think the standard should be a high one. All justice systems have flaws - it's simply a matter of which side you want to stray on. Some days I don't like ours as much as others, some days I think it's better. Especially when you hear about situations like the one involving Amanda Knox in Italy.

back to the equation:
American justice system > Canadian justice system > ... > Italian justice system

(here is where I post about my brush with the carabinieri)

and as far as media coverage of that "crime" of the century in Italy ... comparable if not more sensational than the way these types of stories get covered in the US

 

[Winged_Wheel88]

I hope she contracts a flesh eating disease and is reduced to nothing within a week.

Jeff, your only problem in life is that you never openly speak your mind.

 

[elocomotive]

I hope she contracts a flesh eating disease and is reduced to nothing within a week.

Given her history of fraud, theft, and lying, I would be surprised to not see her back in jail within the year. I'm not even sure how she is going to find some place safe to live and forget about anyone hiring her. She's going to have an insanely tough life in the best case scenario from here.

 

[elocomotive]

and as far as media coverage of that "crime" of the century in Italy ... comparable if not more sensational than the way these types of stories get covered in the US

So we use our "Crime of the Century" card really late in the last century and are playing it early in this one?

 

[sabresfaninthesouth]

I'm not. I'm sad for the little girl. But when someone's very life or freedom is on the line, I think the standard should be a high one. All justice systems have flaws - it's simply a matter of which side you want to stray on. Some days I don't like ours as much as others, some days I think it's better. Especially when you hear about situations like the one involving Amanda Knox in Italy.

This is how I see it.

I'm not offering an opinion on this particular case, because I honestly don't care and didn't even know who Casey Anthony was until about a day before the verdict was read, but you have to take the bad with the good in any system.

We in the US like to badmouth the system for screwing things up from time-to-time or being overly bureaucratic - and both are valid criticisms sometimes - but I think most people here believe that the US system is pretty solid overall.

 

[NorthCoastSteelersFan]

Our system sucks. However, it sucks a little bit less than any other system on the planet, and it sucks a WHOLE LOT less than quite a few of them.

 

[NorthCoastSteelersFan]

I hope she contracts a flesh eating disease and is reduced to nothing within a week.

Jeff, I share in that heart-warming sentiment. Considering her lifestyle, perhaps your wish will come true...we'll keep a good thought.

 

[filosofy29]

Clearly you cant see that I was sarcastically generalizing, but now that you bring it up... Yes, people from that region are bleeding hearts and try and find ways to protect people from circumstances they should face.

As for me saying "I'm not Mexican", I'm not, thankfully... How is that classless?

I agree in general with the above statement. That said, as a guy who falls a little on the Republican side, I took issue

Gotcha, I apologize then. I thought you were saying something else with the statement.....I really gotta stop drinking.....

 

[elocomotive]

Our system sucks. However, it sucks a little bit less than any other system on the planet, and it sucks a WHOLE LOT less than quite a few of them.

Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the others that have been tried. -Winston Churchill

 

[SLY]

I agree in general with the above statement. That said, as a guy who falls a little on the Republican side, I took issue

Gotcha, I apologize then. I thought you were saying something else with the statement.....I really gotta stop drinking.....

Yea, I didnt mean it as sports fans... I was just leaning in the direction that San Franciscans (sp?) are primarily liberal and will protect a person in that situation rather than cut their arms and legs off, seal the wounds to stop the bleeding and then proceed to hang them.

I would be an awesome dictator, I mean president.

 

[elocomotive]

That said, as a guy who falls a little on the Republican side...

Does your democratic side have better balance?

 

[filosofy29]

Does your democratic side have better balance?

lol, probably not. I usually hate talking about politics in general, but especially with my friends/family. The Republican friends call me a liberal and my Democrat friends call me a Republican.....I'm pretty close to right in the middle.

And yes, it was a good joke

 

[DaBoltsNIsles]

The one thing that bothers me about this entire trial is the aftermath. Casey Anthony & members of the jury are going to profit from this. It's just one more thing wrong with America.

 

[Comeds]

The one thing that bothers me about this entire trial is the aftermath. Casey Anthony & members of the jury are going to profit from this. It's just one more thing wrong with America.

I do not mean you, but I keep reading the same thing from people who are blogging about this, posting about this on Facebook, and complaining about the verdict to anyone will listen.
Its a fucking car wreck that people rubbernecked at for months creating psuedo-celebrities and now those very people who made these people 'famous' and 'infamous' are complaining about their creations cashing in.

 

[Forty_Sixand2]

Listen, you can't convict somebody of murder when there is reasonable doubt present. The prosecution did a good job of explaining that 1) Casey Anthony lied to law enforcement, and 2) There was something dead inside of her trunk. Those two facts alone are not enough to convict somebody of murder.

The American judicial system is far from perfect, as is any judicial system, but the fact that Casey Anthony was not found guilty is a testament to the fact that we have principles that we try to uphold.

Still an incredibly sad story all the way around.

^^^This about sums it up. We have our flaws, yes, but we do not convict people because of how it seems to the outside world. We put the burden of proof on the accusers, ans declare people innocent until proven guilty. If you are going to err, that is the only logical side.

 

[DaBoltsNIsles]

I do not mean you, but I keep reading the same thing from people who are blogging about this, posting about this on Facebook, and complaining about the verdict to anyone will listen.
Its a fucking car wreck that people rubbernecked at for months creating psuedo-celebrities and now those very people who made these people 'famous' and 'infamous' are complaining about their creations cashing in.

I agree with the verdict. The evidence was circumstantial. I didn't know much about the case until a week or so ago. People like Nancy Grace need to be taking off the air. They're a disgrace.

 

[forty_three]

If you've ever been on a jury,

This is the whole problem, the people who get on Juries. Last time I was called, I didn't last 2 minutes.

"Mr 43, what do you do for a living?"
"Computer Forensic analyst and Incident Responder at a fortune 100 company"
"Um... Do you have anyone in your family or your friends with a law enforcement background?"
"My uncle retired as second in command with the Maryland State Police, my dad retired as a Liuetnenat Colonel and Rifle range instructor with the Baltimore County Police. My grandfather was Central Barracks commander with the Baltimore City police, and three of my high school friends became policemen. One in Harford county, the other two in the city."
"The prosecution would like to select Mr 43"
"The defense says no fucking way".

Bye bye.

I actually came back to see who got picked. Among the potentials were a guy who is ex Marine who has two kids as cops. Another was a clearly successful black guy who had a very clear "no bullshit" attitude, and at least two teachers. None of them made it on.

Who did? Two people who passionately argued the results of the previous day's episode of Judge Judy and a woman in a Halter top and jean shorts, neck tattoos and $300 nails.

People with sense? No way. And the thing is, I would have had greater suspicion of anything the cops presented as evidence because I have an intimate knowledge of the responsibilities of investigators. Simply poinying and saying "He did it" would not have flown with me.

It's a miscarriage of justice because the concept of "reasonable doubt" is all but gone. Now "How do you know it wasn't Captain Jack Sparrow who did it" qualifies as "reasonable doubt". The smokescreens of Abuse, the accidental drowning crap, the meter reader moved the body... All crap. But crap that stuck.

I have that picture from South Park where Johnnie Cochrane is pointing at Chewbacca above my desk. It reminds me just how thorough I have to be.

 

[PhillyPhaithful48]

I have that picture from South Park where Johnnie Cochrane is pointing at Chewbacca above my desk. It reminds me just how thorough I have to be.

"Why would a Wookiee, an 8-foot-tall Wookiee, want to live on Endor, with a bunch of 2-foot-tall Ewoks? That does not make sense! But more important, you have to ask yourself: What does this have to do with this case? Nothing.

Ladies and gentlemen, it has nothing to do with this case! It does not make sense! Look at me. I'm a lawyer defending a major record company, and I'm talkin' about Chewbacca! Does that make sense? Ladies and gentlemen, I am not making any sense! None of this makes sense!

And so you have to remember, when you're in that jury room deliberatin' and conjugatin' the Emancipation Proclamation, does it make sense? No! Ladies and gentlemen of this supposed jury, it does not make sense! If Chewbacca lives on Endor, you must acquit! The defense rests."



^^^ The only reason I double majored in Legal Studies....