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  1. #1
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    Justice In The US Courts

    I've just finished reading a book entitle "Law and Disorder" by John Douglas. John Douglas is a former FBI profiler (over 25 years) who has been involved in such cases as the Jon Benet murder case and other high-profile murder cases.

    Although a definite believer in the death penalty, in this book he highlights several cases where defendants were found guilty and sentenced to death, even though there was no real evidence!

    In some cases, he became involved after-the-fact and was able to help free death row inmates after performing profiling that led to the real killer(s).

    What I found interesting was how often law enforcement would lie to suspects to coerce "confessions", even providing the suspects with the "correct" facts of the case whenever, the confessor's version differed from the reality!

    Although, I have always been a proponent of harsh punishment for individuals that deliberately commit crimes, I find it repugnant that the officials on the government's side of law enforcement and justice are allowed to lie and commit other acts of dishonesty and lack of integrity, in order to get a conviction!

    I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to get an "insiders" take on the state of our criminal justice system, particularly in the realm of high-publicity/high-pressure cases.

    RickThai

  2. #2
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    I guess no one reads books on TD??

  3. #3
    I'm in Jail

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  4. #4
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    Quote Originally Posted by RickThai View Post
    I guess no one reads books on TD??
    You're right, they dont

  5. #5
    Thailand Expat Boon Mee's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by RickThai View Post
    I guess no one reads books on TD??
    Been thinkin' 'bout gettin' one of them Kindle things...

  6. #6
    Pronce. PH said so AGAIN!
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    Quote Originally Posted by RickThai
    What I found interesting was how often law enforcement would lie to suspects to coerce "confessions", even providing the suspects with the "correct" facts of the case whenever, the confessor's version differed from the reality!

    Although, I have always been a proponent of harsh punishment for individuals that deliberately commit crimes, I find it repugnant that the officials on the government's side of law enforcement and justice are allowed to lie and commit other acts of dishonesty and lack of integrity, in order to get a conviction!
    If you have ~48 minutes to spare this is a fascinating lecture on why talking to the police is a really bad idea:


  7. #7
    Thailand Expat Boon Mee's Avatar
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    Talking about justice in the US Courts brings to mind an interesting News Item regarding True Justice:

    If Bikers Threaten You, Never Stop - If necessary, run ‘em down.

    Because, you know, a motorcycle is much smaller than an SUV. Or just shoot ‘em. But in civilized New York, the choice is running people down or having them attack you: ” One biker takes off his helmet, which he uses to smash through the driver’s side window. Another man tries to punch through a window to the backseat, where Lien’s baby was in a carseat. The shocking footage suddenly cuts off — but police said the bikers beat the driver up and slashed his face and chest.”

    The thin layer - the veneer of civilization is wearing off fast...
    A Deplorable Bitter Clinger

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by Boon Mee
    the veneer of civilization is wearing off fast
    Not where I live, and not where I come from. Speak for yerself, whiteman.

  9. #9
    Thailand Expat Boon Mee's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by sabang View Post
    Quote Originally Posted by Boon Mee
    the veneer of civilization is wearing off fast
    Not where I live, and not where I come from. Speak for yerself, whiteman.
    Not where I live either.

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by quimbian corholla View Post
    .

    If you have ~48 minutes to spare this is a fascinating lecture on why talking to the police is a really bad idea:

    For once, I am 100% in agreement with one of your posts.

    RickThai

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    When I look at the massively large jail population in the US, and the inordinate amount of them that are black or latin- over half of whom are in jail for marijuana possession or distribution, it gets me wondering. As does the massive difference in sentencing between possession of crack cocaine, and cocaine powder.

    It makes me wonder why you of all people Rick, a self styled conservative who believe black people benefit from affirmative action and white people are discriminated against, would take up this cause? Of course the reason your pathetic congress pisses about the way it does, is so that actual issues like this never get addressed, rarely even get mentioned.

  12. #12
    Pronce. PH said so AGAIN!
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    Quote Originally Posted by RickThai
    For once, I am 100% in agreement with one of your posts.
    Thank you, and you'll get over it!

    I found the second half particularly interesting: an ex military policeman who became a civilian police detective and is now studying to become a criminal defence attorney.

    The guy has seen how the system works from all sides and his explanation of how he is allowed to lie his arse off in interviews when building his case is really scary.

    If I ever got arrested in the USA then that is the guy I'd like sitting next to me.

  13. #13
    Thailand Expat Boon Mee's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by sabang View Post
    When I look at the massively large jail population in the US, and the inordinate amount of them that are black or latin- over half of whom are in jail for marijuana possession or distribution,.
    Got a link for that?

    Ask yourself who commits the majority of crime in America? Perhaps then you'll come to the shocking realization which segment of the population is 'over represented' in prison?

  14. #14
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    American exceptionalism in the 21st century-



    I note that one of the unheralded achievements of the Obama administration has been that incarceration rates have been coming down in the states, for three consecutive years now. Thats good- but it still resembles a Gulag nation more than a first world nation in this regard.

    Quote Originally Posted by Boon Mee
    Got a link for that?
    Erm, no- and I think I got my wires crossed- Maryjane is the majority reason for drug incarcerations in the states, although with advanced states like CA leading the way in decriminalisation, I daresay that is coming down.

    Quite a good article from a Libertarian perspective-

    Victimless Crime Constitutes 86% of The Federal Prison Population
    September 29, 2011

    When we talk about the war on drugs, which is increasingly turning into a real war, we often overlook the fact that the “criminals” involved in the drug trade aren’t actually violating anyone’s rights. When a drug dealer is hauled before a judge, there is no victim standing behind the prosecutor claiming damages. Everyone participating in the drug trade does so voluntarily. However, there are a lot more crimes for which this is also true. Millions upon millions of Americans have been thrown into cages without a victim ever claiming damages. It is important to look at the burden this mass level of incarceration places upon our society.

    In light of that, let us review some statistics which demonstrate just how destructive the mass incarceration of victimless criminals has become to our society. The 2011 federal prison population consisted of:

    Drugs 50.7%
    Public-order 35.0%,
    Violent 7.9%
    Property 5.8%
    Other .7%
    Drug offenses are self-explanatory as being victimless, but so too are public-order offenses, which also fall under the victimless crimes category. Public order offenses include such things as immigration, weapons charges, public drunkenness, selling lemonade without a license, dancing in public, feeding the homeless without a permit etc..

    ... I find some dark humor in the fact that those who engage in victimless crime don’t create any real victims until they are put behind bars, at which point they cause the State to steal $47,000 a year from the tax paying public.

    Victimless Crime Constitutes 86% of The Federal Prison Population | Libertarian News

    Tell me US taxpayer, are you electing your congressmen and paying them and their departments generously to address issues like this, or to try for the 42nd unsuccessful time to repeal or defund an act of law passed almost four years ago?

    Or, to put it another way, why is Congress spending it's time on this sort of thing? Is it to divert attention from the real issues? Such as-
    When did the US worker last get an increase in minimum wage?
    Who pays more tax- the middle class, or richest 1%?
    Why has 98% of the wealth increase in the US since 2008 gone to the richest 1% of the population?
    What are the economic ramifications of this?
    Is this sustainable? (NO!). Is this addressable? How?
    What were the actual economic effects of the Bush tax cuts?
    How many of our people are in jail? How much does this cost us?
    What do we spend on Healthcare? What do we get for what we spend?

    The reason the neo-'republicans' are pissing about and vandalising government the way they are, is to keep you, the Great Unwashed, not paying attention to such things- ie the Real issues. This is far from a victimless crime- the victim is You. If you cannot feel your nation slipping behind the rest of the advanced world- thru' deliberate policy choices- you are not so much blind, as mute. The brilliance of this con act has been convincing the US public there is nothing they can do about it, convincing them they are totally powerless and at the mercy of forces beyond their control or comprehension.

  15. #15
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    Another interesting snippet-

    Life in prison is not easy. Prisoners are forced to face their crimes, adapt to a new and unpleasant lifestyle and rehabilitate themselves for future release. Many prisoners become members of various communities to combat loneliness, and to ensure protection from the daily threats associated with life in jail. An unusually high number of convicts are being converted to Islam. In particular, African Americans in the prison system are converting in large numbers. According to estimates, up to 20 percent of prisoners in the U.S. are Muslims. This figure is approximately 20 times higher than the national Muslim population average
    U.S. Prisons | #1 News Site on the Threat of Radical Islam

  16. #16
    Thailand Expat MrG's Avatar
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    The American justice system, though not as bad as the blatently corrupt economic and political system, is edging up on them secondary to the corrupting influence of the privitization of prisons, IMO. Bodies fill cells, and bodies are harvested with corrupt, unfair laws such as the drug laws that target Blacks.

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