Posted on 09/23/2011 12:03:34 PM PDT by Stoat
We have such a prison industry here that probably wouldn’t like their supply of very cheap, locked-up laborers being offed by vigilante citizens.
Personally I certainly could go for this idea.
When my parents moved here in 1955, the Smith Tower was the tallest building west of the Mississippi, there was no significant street gang problem and Ladies could ride the bus alone in safety. Sadly, those days are long gone.
A female acquaintance who rides the bus daily has been physically attacked by random crazy people at least five times while on the bus. I won't go downtown unless I'm well-armed, and I try to avoid going at all during hours of darkness.
It's not so much that they want to be "gentle and fair", as that people, including government employees, tend to respond rationally to the incentives of their system.
If prosecutors are judged by convictions, then they have an incentive to plea bargain in order to get any sort of conviction in minimal time.
Plus they have no incentive to put away career criminals, since more crimes and arrests mean more worthless convictions and more case load justifying a bigger budget and staff.
To really cut back on crime, the people must recognize that most crime is committed by a relatively small number of career criminals, and change the criteria that prosecutors and judges are evaluated upon accordingly.
We also need to have it be the case that when a productive citizen shoots a career criminal, then that citizen is automatically given the benefit of the doubt as to the necessity for the shooting, and granted immunity from lawsuits.
This is just a minor story about entry level street crime. The real Seattle will come shining through when they begin digging the waterfront on Alaskan Way.
In recent years, Belltown has also become known for packs of black guys randomly targeting and beating the hell out of people, including that old white guy a few weeks ago who they left in a coma.
I violated the “take a deep breath before you post” rule
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
Sort of like the ‘newsreader’ stating “Tonights Jackpot is worth 200 million dollars. BUT you only have one chance in 50 million to win (or whatever)”
Breathlessly making that statement, while true, but emphasizing it, when in reality, if the jackpot was ONE dollar, the chances of winning remain the same.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.