bmetzler's Journal: Law & Order

It used to be that the legal system was meant as a safety net to protect the innocent from false charges. Now however, the legal system's sole purpose is to protect the guilty as much as possible from the consquences of their actions.

I'll bite...

[Allen Zadr]

How?

Not that I won't agree with you, given justification, just that I am not under that impression, and it seems a very bold statement to make.

Confessions used to be inaccurate at best

[Marxist Hacker 42]

You do understand how this problem evolved, right? Back in the day before Miranda rights, a common method of solving crimes in the United States was to pick up some homeless drifter, beat them silly until they admit to being guilty of the crime, get them to plead guilty so that there's no need for a real trial, and call it case closed.

That's the history that the system is trying to avoid with the current situation. From there, criminal trials became primarily about rights- the victim's right to testify v

Re:Confessions used to be inaccurate at best

[GenSolo]

What about society's right to a fair trial? I'm all for punishing corrupt government officials. I have no problem putting cops in jail for violating someone's Miranda rights or conducting an illegal search. What I do have a problem with is Miranada getting to walk free despite being a rapist and murderer. I, for one, would rather have a system where the guilty are punished, even if they're part of the government. I want to see every innocent person go free, and if the state can't prove beyond a reasona

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[account_deleted]

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Re:Confessions used to be inaccurate at best

[the_mad_poster]

Yes, but you have to take into consideration the fact that you're borderline mentally retarded.

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[account_deleted]

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Re:heh

[the_mad_poster]

I'm sorry, it's a product of low self esteem. Just like everyone else here.

Re:I'll bite...

[Bill Dog]

...but defense lawyers are full of it shifting the blaim...

And that's the hole in the other side of the safety net, if you ask me.

Because judges allow, for some inexplicable reason, defense attorneys to dig up irrelevant dirt on victims of crime and actually present it in court and use it to trash the victims when it has nothing to do with the case, a victim may not report the crime or testify, allowing the guilty to go free (rape being the obvious example).

Victims should have the right of a fair trial as