Depending on who you ask, the American justice system is the best in the world, or it has a long way to go to clean up its problems. Probably no surprise that we lean toward, “We have a lot to fix, but it could be worse.”
Friggin’ optimists!
But we’re not Pollyannas because we probably spend more time this episode talking about what is wrong with justice in America than what’s right.
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We kick it off with a couple questions: Have you ever had an experience with the American criminal justice system? If so, what was the first?
America loves court-room dramas, so we jump on the bandwagon and talk about whether or not we’ve ever been to court as a plaintiff or defendant. (Since we’ve posted Shawn’s mugshot before, you at least have a good guess with one of the Gorillamen…)
Then we jump to whether or not we have turned to the American justice system for any sort of legal recourse.
We talk about our impression of the American criminal justice system before devoting some time to whether or not our courts work…and what might work better?
Americans like to think we are fair, but do we really practice what we preach? (Innocent until proven guilty, reasonable doubt, etc.?) Also, do we think most people found guilty of crimes actually committed them?
We devote some time to whether or not mandatory sentences are good things, before talking about if we sentence people too harshly, too light, or all-out inconsistently.
Americans are often all, “USA!!! USA!!! USA!!!” but is it merited for the U.S. having the best justice system on the planet, or do other countries put us to shame? (Like…maybe at least a dozen or so?)
Finally, we wrap it up with how we’d change the current system.
We’d love to hear about any run-ins with the legal system (or just what you’d do if you were in charge) you’ve had in the comments.
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My in-laws, in an attempt to hide the fact that they are cretinous racists, said they believe Trayvon Martin deserved “what he got” because he was “tall.” Yes, “tall” = big scary black manchild. And they vote and have served on juries. That is what’s wrong with our “justice” system.
In the meantime, prison guards in Florida literally, deliberately cooked an inmate to death in a prison shower. As in his flesh came off in cooked chunks. And police in New Mexico ordered a motorist to be repeated drugged and medically raped because the cop said the guy was “standing funny.” The police took him to two hospitals in the effort to find doctors who did the drugging and rapes. The list goes on… and this long list is just of the cases that are exposed. And video evidence of police brutality isn’t stopping police brutality, all it’s doing is determining the number of paid vacation days the cops get.
That’s what I think of the USA “justice” system.
Yep, all that! Sending people to war in a country that never attacked us and then having those guys come back and some of the more violent offenders becoming cops because they are military “heroes” is not a good combination. That’s not to say good people don’t come out of the military, but I know someone whose job it was to investigate gang activity and rapes and other heinous things in Iraq and Afghanistan done by our side, so…I feel confident in saying not all our military are even good guys, let alone heroes.
When you have cops breaking limbs because someone jaywalked or someone didn’t “show them the respect they deserved,” it’s messed up — and a wicked recipe for horrible things to happen.
I couldn’t be a cop. I know that if I walked in on a father raping a kid that I’d have a hard time NOT taking a shot at the guy. The person driving 100+ mph in traffic and running, endangering so many people? I’d want to take a shot at them…at least rough them out while extracting them from the vehicle. So for that reason (and many more), I’m not a cop. But for those who DO decide to become cops, they really should be some of the best damn people out there, and if we’re going to call groups of people animals and thugs because a certain percentage of people legally gathered to protest, then the same goes for cops.
I think about good people I know…how cops would try to get them to say certain things, just to “win.” I’m afraid to talk to cops in certain situations, and I shouldn’t be. I don’t even get speeding tickets; in fact, the only ticket I’ve had in 30 years of driving was from a corrupt small-town Texas cop who said I was going 52 or 53 in a 45 zone. I was still in a 55 zone, approaching a 45 mph zone — so I was already slowing down. Because I know in those tiny towns that if you’re not doing 42 by the time you hit that 45 mph sign, you’re likely to be pulled over. The cop seriously told me, “You best pay that ticket, son, ’cause I ain’t got nothing better to do than to drive up to Texas and bring you down here for failure to pay.”
When I worked in group homes, I worked with some people who sometimes got argumentative and even sometimes a bit violent. My job was to diffuse the situation — even if someone was “disrespecting” me and being a smart ass. As a cop, even if someone is swearing at me, it’s my job to let that shit roll off my back and diffuse a situation. Instead, someone looks at certain cops in a way they don’t like and people have found themselves fined, injured, or even dead.
Cops have generally been good to me, and I’ve always been cool with them. But the more we give cops weapons and gear they don’t need, the more likely they are to use it. When you have a sniper on top of a Humvee at a protest that hadn’t even turned violent, you’re looking for an excuse to go off — not contain violence. There are a fair number of cops out there who WANT to go off on someone like a jock on steroids, and sadly…people like your in-laws are quick to take their side at any cost.
Yep. My in-laws don’t have an opinion on anything until they’ve listened to the Fox news spin on it. Then they just parrot back what they’ve heard. They believe everything Fox news says or implies. Obama is a gun stealing, FEMA camp building, Muslim, socialist, communist, Kenyan. Corporation are people, and protesters are lazy. Pollution isn’t harmful, green energy doesn’t work, and global warming is a hoax. Everything with a Republican label is good, and everything with a Democrat label is bad. Gay marriage and evolution are simply wrong because they’re not in the Bible. Killer cops are heroes and true Americans. Blah blah blah…