imported post
Oh brother. Not the "Miranda handcuffed the police" BS again.....
Here are the facts: Ernesto Miranda was interviewed by the police, who got a confession to a rape out of him. Miranda's lawyers argued successfully before SCOTUS that he had confessed because he belirved he had no other option. Hence the so-called "Miranda Warnings" routinely read to suspects before formal interrogation. HOWEVER!!!
Miranda got a new trial. As it turned out the cops did not NEED a coerced confession, and he was convicted anew, even though his statements were not allowed. Mirnda was convicted of rape, and as ro what happened to him I do not know nor do I care. He is just another rapist as far as I am concerned.
As to the "Miranda warnings" I read an article about a Montgomery Co. MD cop a while back who wanted to get a mooonlight job as a car salesman and the owner of the dealership doubted his ability as a salesman, and the cop told him:
"Every day almost I drag guys into a room where they don't want to be and who don't want to talk to me. THEN I tell them they don't HAVE to talk to me, AND that if they DO talk to me I will use WHATEVER THEY SAY TO ME to put them in jail.
And THEN I get them to tell me in detail the worst thing they have ever done.
AND YOU DON'T THINK I CAN SELL A &^%^^$ing CAR????"
Like I said, there were Chester Molestors in my day. Diff was, often there ws no formal police/government involvement. When for example a neighbor boy (true story) tried to get me to "go back in the bushes", I told my dad. He was 16, I was 9. My dad told me he would take care of it. The next day he had a talk with the older boy which consisted of my dad smacking the crap out of him. I did not know about this until way later but I did know that "Dougie" from that point on acted as if I was radioactive. No court appearences or "bad-touch doll" re-enactments for me, just the knowledge thqat I was protected. Three quarters of the crap we lay on the police and the courts these days could be resolved if only individual citizens and the community locally would stand up for what is right. Back when you could get a revolver shipped to your doorstep, that was the case. Not - alas- anymore.
