Posted on 02/09/2002 6:53:27 AM PST by crypt2k
Why not on TV?
Well then what is your guess as to the percentage of "innocent people convicted" to "guilty convicted"? I get a feeling you think the government usually gets it wrong ... that there is a HUGE percentage of innocent people languishing in jail not just a sorry minority.
BTW, during the O.J. trial I met very, very few conservatives who thought OJ was innocent. The only conservatives who did were espousing the same thing I think I'm hearing.
I thought I heard the father say that too and if he did, something is weird here. I know that if I woke up to my burglar alarm going off and found a door open, there is no way I would just 'go back to bed and think nothing of it'.
Do you really know that to be true?
There were some very troubling allegations on the radio (760 KFMB, in San Diego) Friday afternoon. Citing highly placed law enforcement sources interviewed at length on Thursday, it was alleged the parents had locked themselves in their garage, with "friends"--fellow swingers--smoking pot and engaged in sexual behavior at the approximate time of the 'abduction'.
Mr. Westerfield, not listed as a registered sex offender, allegedly had a substantial stash of child pornography at his home and appeared to be in some sort of negotiations with the authorities in exchange for information about the missing girl's whereabouts. Westerfeld had allegedly offered to host a "swingers" party in his home for/with the parents.
IMHO, if these allegations are true, as quoted on radio, there is certainly concern for the welfare of the remaining two children and some measure of liability on part of the parents.
Frankly, at this late date, it's likely the girl is dead. Unfortunately.
I have no idea of how many people might be innocent who are in jail, but I remember a time when no one believed that anyone in jail could be innocent.
But DNA has proven that premise to be wrong.
And we all know, or should know, that not all policemen and DA's are honest in their pursuit of criminals.
They sometimes let the guilty go free because they are afraid of them, take the Martha Moxley case, for example.
Here's the problem with that approach. This is how guilty people react when confronted by police. When you behave in this manner, you are telling police that you are somehow involved. The investigation starts looking very carefully at you. Time and resources are then wasted on a red herring while the guilty have time to complete their crime and get away. Since you haven't committed the crime, you are keeping law enforcement from finding the real perps. In the initial stages of an investigation, time is of utmost importance.
So, go ahead and exercise your rights. You're entitled. But you're not helping the victims. You're impeding the investigation.
Well, I think money goes along way in BUYING innocence in a court of law (in Moxley's case before it gets there). O.J. bought his innocence with an expensive crack team of attorneys, an inept prosecution and a hopelessly dumb, racist jury. Very sad ... and it happens all the time.
................
I don't think they were bought off in the Moxley case ... and I don't think they were afraid. I think they were "in awe". You and I are probably in agreement about the Moxleys ... though possibly not about the Van Dams and their neighbor. I think the police are right to go after him at this point. And furthermore, neither of us knows what the police have found at this point. Let's wait ... and hope. :)
People who go out in public with their emotions on their sleeves are looking for pity, in my view.
Parents who go on television in the hope of finding their lost children should get help from the public. They should not have to cry in public to get the help.
If they don't cry, it does not neccasarily mean they are not grieving, they might just be private types.
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