Posted on 05/02/2015 9:52:08 AM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
I have posted my initials thoughts on the criminal charges against six Baltimore police officers. Former federal prosecutor Bill Otis has offered more extensive, and better-informed, observations. Among them are the following, all of which make good sense to me:
Will the mob tolerate an acquittal? The calls in recent days have been for “justice.” I have considerable doubt whether those doing the loudest calling have even a slight interest in justice. I think they want to see policemen and policewomen punished simply because of who they are. If that is true, then the riots we have seen up to now will pale in comparison to the ones we’ll see in the event of an acquittal.
Freddie Gray was alive when he was put in the police van and all but dead when he came out. . . I have not seen any more evidence than anyone else. But the idea that these are merely politically motivated charges doesn’t hold up.
That they are not MERELY politically motivated does not mean that they aren’t in part, perhaps in large part, politically motivated. You cannot have watched the State’s Attorney’s press conference and not be very suspicious of political motivation. She was openly playing to the crowd.
Her behavior was not in my view unethical. A prosecutor is a public official and is allowed to announce official decisions. But her performance was grandstanding, and I view it as somewhere between extremely unfortunate and disgraceful. My impression is that she is too ideological for the job. Probably too young, too.
The coroner apparently ruled this case a homicide. I would like to know how he knows that, as opposed to, for example, accidental death.
I am more than a little suspicious of the speed with which these charges were brought. Is this standard procedure in Baltimore? I don’t know, but you have to wonder.
On the other hand, criminal charges do not require proof beyond a reasonable doubt. They require only probable cause.
A conviction, however, does require proof beyond a reasonable doubt. That is a tough standard, and may be particularly tough in this case, where (at least for the homicide charge) causation seems to me like an uphill climb for the prosecution. See this article describing Prof. John Banzhaf’s doubts about the provability of the homicide charge.
Bill hopes that this matter goes to trial so that the facts can be aired publicly. For what it’s worth (which may not be much since I have never practiced criminal law), I can imagine the prosecutor trying to negotiate plea deals with those who face lesser charges in exchange for their testimony against the other defendants.
If successful, she would then have leverage to obtain deals with other defendants. However, given the demands of the mob, the prosecutor might be hard pressed to offer a deal that the officers facing the most serious charges would be inclined to accept.
The racial dynamics of the plea bargaining process might prove interesting. Reportedly, the officer charged with murder is Black. Would this prosecutor cut deals with White defendants, and take to trial only, or mostly, Black defendants?
I start from the assumption that race won’t enter into the prosecutor’s decisions. But it very likely will enter the mob’s thinking, and the prosecutor has already played to the mob.
Will the mob tolerate an acquittal?
The Mob needs no Authentic Reason to Riot...
Either an acquittal or a conviction will serve their “needs” ....i.e.a FOCUS...on a presumed wrong doing !
“Will the mob tolerate an acquittal?”
Not to worry, if the trials are held in Baltimore County.
Conviction is a slam dunk.
“The Mob needs no Authentic Reason to Riot...”
Yep. Am I the only one that is surpeised that the Peaceful Protesters did not burn Baltimore down in celebration of the charges?
Somewhere I read that Gray had multiple vertebrae fractures as well as his neck, which, according to the ME, are not possible to self inflict. Having fractured several vertebrae with a fall off a roof, I can testify it does take a fair amount of force to do that.
From what has leaked out so far, my supposition is that Gray was bouncing around in the van, trying to injure himself for a possible lawsuit against the cops. And it's just possible the cops did a few quick stops to give him a rough ride and he ended up with fatal injuries. Just conjecture.
Never go to Baltimore
Liberal DA indicted a ham sandwich.
Further cases are going to be rough going for her as LEO’s are unlikely to do her any favors by going above and beyond in collecting evidence in iffy cases. But if dumbass Democrat voters keep electing her, who cares about conviction rates.
No reason needed, just an opportunity.
It would clear up a lot of this debate if Baltimore would just release the autopsy report.
Wonder what the delay is?
Like the “oakland raider fans”...so called...who’ve been know to riot about anything and nothing at all
they are in fact only referred to as FANS because they sport...Oakland Raider...”gear”
#1 - If you didn’t see Judge Alex’s response to the charges ..?? Check out FOXGO - and the video should be there. He said the charge for “Murder” or “2nd Degree Murder” are not substantiated by the information the DA gave to the public.
#2 - Anybody ever hear of “change of venue” ..?? I believe that is the first thing that will be granted to these officers - since they will have great lawyers supplied by their Police Union. After the change of venue is done - most of the other charges can be (and IMHO should be) dropped. Most of the charges are NOT PROVABLE beyond a reasonable doubt .. which is very important.
#3 - I am always willing to give police and military the benefit of the doubt - simply because the THUGS do not care who they hurt or who’s property they damage. Gray was a petty criminal and drug dealer .. he was someone who was habitually in trouble. It’s hard for police to have sympathy for such perps; and then the police will go out of their way to play ball with kids in their neighborhood who do not get into trouble.
Frankly, unless you have worked as a police officer (or personally know someone who is one), it will be hard to reconcile any of their actions. If more people would watch “COPS” or “COPS RELOADED” .. more than just one time, they might get a real sense of what the average police officer has to endure every day he’s on the job.
Since the Mayor of Baltimore - publically invited Sharpton to come to Baltimore (and that invitation is on video) - just what were people expecting ..??
As usual, when Sharpton shows up - ALL HELL BREAKS LOOSE. There’s no such thing as “justice” with Sharpton.
Mobs - like fish - start to stink after a few days. They’re already getting boring.
Baltimore CITY - quite different than Baltimore County.
Perhaps it's the same medical training and years of experience that would dismiss two rifle shots to the back of the head as suicide...............
The officers are thrown to the lions. The mob exploded in a paroxysm of irrational jubilation. A Che Guevara style tribunal will judge the accused policemen - no more innocent until proven guilty according to mob law. Four of the six accused officers are the ones charged with manslaughter. Of those 4, three are Blacks and one is White. Their heads will be presented to the mobs in a silver plate to placate the rabble of noisy angry thugs.
“The liberal left can be as rigid and destructive as any force in American life.” Dem. senator Daniel Moynihan
Democratic hard left control of Baltimore is the root causes of the riots and racial division in spite that all the power is in the hand of Black democrats for several generations.
Baltimore Mayor, Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, ordered the police: to “stand down” “LET THEM LOOT. IT’ S ONLY PROPERTY”. We saw hell explode after the Black democratic mayor gave the thugs carte blanche to destroy the city. The police weren’t allowed to defend the city. More than 100 officers were injured, some seriously.
Why the Baltimore riots, looting and destruction of their own Black neighborhoods? Did the Blacks doubted for a moment that the Black establishment in control of Baltimore will fail to condemn the officers to the highest penalty allowed by Law?
Facts are irrelevant for Anarchists, Communists, professionals agitators and “community organizers” followers of Marxist Saul Alinsky’s “Rules for Radicals” strategy.
Obama is the most racist and divisive president in our history. Obama does not want unity. He wants to keep the country as polarized and disoriented as possible. Obama has been inflaming racial tension since he took power. According Alinisky’s tactics adopted by Obama, change has to be brought through relentless agitation and “trouble making” of a kind that radically disrupts society as it is.
David Horowitz' excellent recently published pamphlet "Barack Obama's Rules for Revolution: The Alinsky Model" offers keen insights into Alinsky and what it might mean when Alinsky followers are in positions of power. The conclusions he reaches are not pleasant but are borne out by current events, public utterances of the president, his history, and the work of Alinsky himself.
What we are seeing is the most radical President in our country’s history who is unable to govern because governing is not his purpose. The Alinskyite, ever the destroyer of institutions, cannot govern because governments and societies are built upon institutions.
Do Black lives really matter? How many of the parents of Blacks murdered by Blacks received a call of Obama or send his personal representative to the funeral? Did our condolences in chief has ever called the parents of so many Whites killed by Blacks?
As Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke said : Obama ‘Quietly Enjoying’ Unrest in Baltimore.
Moynihan was sooooo ahead of his time. He could have been a freeper if he had lived longer...
“Liberal DA indicted a ham sandwich.”
And now that liberal DA must get a conviction.
And you gotta admit, trying to convict a ham sandwich is gonna look pretty stupid.
No, Democrat DA accomplished the political objective with the trumped up indictment.
Now it is a matter of how long it will take for her to back down and drop the charges, as the defense lawyers make Swiss cheese of her "evidence."
Of course she hopes media and the mobs will become distracted before the case falls apart.
Now the DA has to deal with a lifetime of "dude[ette], you indicted a freaking HAM SANDWICH; that is brilliantly stupid. Stay away from my cases."
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