4 ms·

"Having a citation from a well regarded source is better than having no citation." Not if the "well regarded source" has a clear motive to lie. "There is prob

"Having a citation from a well regarded source is better than having no citation." Not if the "well regarded source" has a clear motive to lie. "There is probably a higher correlation for a statement from an official state agency being true" Not when the statement conveniently exculpates the agency or high ranking members of the agency of wrongdoing. Then there is probably a higher correlation for a statement being false. For example, when Jean Paul de Menezes was gunned down by the London Metropolitan police almost every claim made to defend themselves in the succeeding three days turned out to be false. They said that there were wires visible from his jacket. They said he was wearing a heavy coat. They said he vaulted the turnstile. They said that they shouted "armed police!" and he turned and walked towards him. None of it was true.

redial 10y ago
> Not if the "well regarded source" has a clear motive to lie. Then it is not a well regarded source any more.
- crdoconnor 10y ago
  The police are considered a well regarded source by the general public: "THOUSANDS of people plead guilty to crimes every year in the United States because they know that the odds of a jury’s believing their word over a police officer’s are slim to none." http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/03/opinion/sunday/why-police-officers-lie-under-oath.html http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/03/opinion/sunday/why-police-...
  - Klover 10y ago
    Your article is inaccessible to me beyond the first 2 paragraphs. Please provide additional quotation. I do see that it is in the opinion category, so perhaps a more reliable source could be provided? Something like a main article of the NYT would probably have less chance to be skewed into a bias, than an opinion piece by the author of "Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness". The reason I would like to know more, is because I learned so many years ago of the importance of doubt in criminal cases in the US. As Wikipedia tells it[1]: >Beyond a reasonable doubt is the highest burden of proof in any court in the United States. Criminal cases must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt. If it's currently the case where all that's needed for a suspect to be found guilty, is for a police officer to say they are, then the entire justice system needs to be reworked. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reasonable_doubt https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reasonable_doubt

redial 10y ago

> Not if the "well regarded source" has a clear motive to lie. Then it is not a well regarded source any more.

crdoconnor 10y ago
The police are considered a well regarded source by the general public: "THOUSANDS of people plead guilty to crimes every year in the United States because they know that the odds of a jury’s believing their word over a police officer’s are slim to none." http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/03/opinion/sunday/why-police-officers-lie-under-oath.html http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/03/opinion/sunday/why-police-...
- Klover 10y ago
  Your article is inaccessible to me beyond the first 2 paragraphs. Please provide additional quotation. I do see that it is in the opinion category, so perhaps a more reliable source could be provided? Something like a main article of the NYT would probably have less chance to be skewed into a bias, than an opinion piece by the author of "Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness". The reason I would like to know more, is because I learned so many years ago of the importance of doubt in criminal cases in the US. As Wikipedia tells it[1]: >Beyond a reasonable doubt is the highest burden of proof in any court in the United States. Criminal cases must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt. If it's currently the case where all that's needed for a suspect to be found guilty, is for a police officer to say they are, then the entire justice system needs to be reworked. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reasonable_doubt https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reasonable_doubt