imported post
richarcm wrote:
FreedomJoyAdventure wrote:
marshaul wrote:
Mike Nifong and prosecutors like him provide the winning argument against capital punishment.
Exactly so. The problem with prosecutors (and judges and sheriffs and police chiefs) is that so many of them are out to make a name for themselves in order to advance their political careers. And unfortunately they sometimes do so at the expense of innocent citizens.
"Mistrust those in whom the urge to punish is strong." -Friedrich Nietzsche
Two things that I immediately dismiss in a debate are references to Wikipedia and quotations.
Perhaps we should mistrust those whom the urge to ABOLISH punishment is strong.....hmmm....makes you wonder what their personal motive is to detach punishment from a crime....
A few things:
- richarcm, this isn't personal for me, FYI. You are welcome to disagree with me and distrust me if you like. You seem to have a strong emotional investment in punishing others. I am interested in enjoying the fruits of life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness, hopefully with minimal interference from or to others. I believe in the golden rule, and I'm committed to doing what works.
- It appears that this thread is suffering from mission creep, much like our governments and law enforcement agencies. Perhaps we should create a new thread titled, 'What should society do with criminals?' or something like that, since the title and original topic was 'Leo's aren't all bad'.
- So back to the original premise, 'Leo's aren't all bad': there are a lot of good people who go into Law Enforcement. Some of them manage to remain 'good', some of them do not. Law Enforcement also attracts authoritarians,bullies, and people who feel a need to punish others. There are several problems with Law Enforcement. The state uses LEOs to raise revenue (speeding tickets) and to infringe on the rights and freedom of the people in many, many ways. Who do you think 'To protect and to Serve' applies to? The courts have repeatedly ruled that the police have no obligation to protect individual citizens. So ultimately, the police are here 'To Protect and to Serve' the state. When faced with the choice of enforcing an unconstitutional law, or not enforcing it and risk losing his job and pension, what do you think the average LEO will do? It'susually difficult and expensive to get into Law Enforcement. I don't expect many LEOswill give up their careers for your rights or mine. Which brings us back to the problem: good or bad, LEOs are people and can be expected to act in their own interest. When their interests conflict with your rights, guess who loses?
- Society as a whole has a right to protect itself against criminals. I assert that society has a responsibility to do this in a manner that is least likely to impact the rights of innocent citizens.