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This took place in a low crime community that was fortunate to have some very smart and experienced law enforcement professionals who were able to see through t
by blisterpeanuts 10y ago
This took place in a low crime community that was fortunate to have some very smart and experienced law enforcement professionals who were able to see through the Peters' ruse.
Certainly, had this happened in a high crime area, the police would simply not have had the time to properly investigate. The victim would not have been believed, and might well have done some prison time.
One way to look at this asymmetric justice system is that the Irvine standard is what all cities should aspire to. We should provide police departments and courts with the resources to solve cases and pursue justice at the same high level as was done in the Easter case.
In the long run, this would increase people's confidence and faith in the criminal justice system to treat everyone fairly and equally, and consequently there would be a commensurate increased respect for the law.
- ceejayoz 10y ago> One way to look at this asymmetric justice system is that the Irvine standard is what all cities should aspire to. Maybe, maybe not. I'd want to know if a black janitor caught up in a similar situation at the same school would've received the same benefit of the doubt and resources dedicated to exonerating them.
- GirlsCanCode 10y agoRacist much? I don't think a black schoolteacher or principal would have fared any better. But you, a typical racist on Hacker News, connects "black" and "janitor" reflexively.
- blisterpeanuts 10y agoTrue, but he probably stands a better chance of receiving justice in Irvine than he would in south LA, especially if the school and the parents vouch for him, as they vouched for Mrs. Peters. Fifty years ago, forget it, he'd be thrown in prison. But today, in some ways, police are even more careful around minority suspects out of fear of lawsuits, riots, protests, and other career-ending events, a few tragic officer-involved shootings notwithstanding.
- ZeroGravitas 10y agoAny stats I've seen have suggested that any time Police are given leeway to choose who they pick on, then minorities and the poor are chosen, for the very rational reason that they are relatively powerless, which seems to contradict your tale of police officers walking on eggshells around them. Around the rich and well connected on the other hand, yes that seems plausible.
- blisterpeanuts 10y agoI'm not making this up; it's based on what some police officers I know have told me.
- ceejayoz 10y agoThat's a bit like polling Trump on how the debates went.