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Looking at Carmen Ortiz's [track record](http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carmen_Ortiz http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carmen_Ortiz) of cases prosecuting involving

by harryf 14y ago

Looking at Carmen Ortiz's [track record](http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carmen_Ortiz http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carmen_Ortiz) of cases prosecuting involving corruption and organized crime, seems like this would be hurting one of the "good guys". No doubt she has enemies that must be gloating about the petition

toyg 14y ago
Yeah, because the world is like a Batman comic, right? When "good guys" screw up, they must take the same responsibility they ask of "bad guys". When "good guys" resort to bully or torture weaker opponents, they are as bad as anyone.
- harryf 14y ago
  Well my point was simply here is someone with a good reputation. Perhaps it's worth understanding exactly what took place crying for revenge.
  - mstefanko 14y ago
    I definitely agree with that notion. I think the problem we're facing is that the general public at this time knows most of what was going on. She's had a good reputation to this point. But she finally picked the wrong person to make an example of. Prosecutorial overreach is a funny thing. In that, her career may have been built on it. If the number of previous people we're actually bad people, the same tactics would of been far more accepted. Since this was a clear abuse of her power, even if it's something prosecutors generally get away with. The idea of making an example out of her seems vengeful and almost hypocritical. But it's not without its grounds.
  - guiambros 14y ago
    Here's a good article on HuffPo, exactly about the ongoing practice - and its incentives - of prosecutorial overreach: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/16/the-power-of-the-prosecut_n_2488653.html?1358359916 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/16/the-power-of-the-pr... The whole system is flawed; it rewards high-profile convictions, instead of justice. Wrong success metrics -> wrong job description -> wrong outcome. So, I have a lot of sympathy for those grieving Swartz's death AND fanning their natural anger to vengeance. They are not at odds. That's why I signed both petitions, and really hoping to see them coming through. Of course none of this will get her (nor Steve "Is he suicidal? Let's lock him down; the jail is safe" Heymann) fired, but hopefully it'll spark the debate within Obama's administration about the (appropriate) role of prosecutors in this country. Yeah, call me optimistic.
- deleted 14y ago
  [deleted]
rst 14y ago
As the page notes, some of those cases are also very controversial. Particularly the case of Tarek Mehanna, who was convicted of aiding a terrorist organization for translating some of their documents into English. No evidence was offered that he had assisted with their operations; the criminal offense was letting the rest of us know what they are thinking. (Do you feel safer not knowing? I don't.) Here's the ACLU page on the Mehanna case: http://aclum.org/usa_v_mehanna http://aclum.org/usa_v_mehanna This case did not result in a suicide; it did, however, feature a sentence of over 17 years.

by harryf 14y ago

toyg 14y ago

Yeah, because the world is like a Batman comic, right? When "good guys" screw up, they must take the same responsibility they ask of "bad guys". When "good guys" resort to bully or torture weaker opponents, they are as bad as anyone.

harryf 14y ago
Well my point was simply here is someone with a good reputation. Perhaps it's worth understanding exactly what took place crying for revenge.
- mstefanko 14y ago
  I definitely agree with that notion. I think the problem we're facing is that the general public at this time knows most of what was going on. She's had a good reputation to this point. But she finally picked the wrong person to make an example of. Prosecutorial overreach is a funny thing. In that, her career may have been built on it. If the number of previous people we're actually bad people, the same tactics would of been far more accepted. Since this was a clear abuse of her power, even if it's something prosecutors generally get away with. The idea of making an example out of her seems vengeful and almost hypocritical. But it's not without its grounds.
- guiambros 14y ago
  Here's a good article on HuffPo, exactly about the ongoing practice - and its incentives - of prosecutorial overreach: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/16/the-power-of-the-prosecut_n_2488653.html?1358359916 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/16/the-power-of-the-pr... The whole system is flawed; it rewards high-profile convictions, instead of justice. Wrong success metrics -> wrong job description -> wrong outcome. So, I have a lot of sympathy for those grieving Swartz's death AND fanning their natural anger to vengeance. They are not at odds. That's why I signed both petitions, and really hoping to see them coming through. Of course none of this will get her (nor Steve "Is he suicidal? Let's lock him down; the jail is safe" Heymann) fired, but hopefully it'll spark the debate within Obama's administration about the (appropriate) role of prosecutors in this country. Yeah, call me optimistic.
deleted 14y ago
[deleted]

rst 14y ago

As the page notes, some of those cases are also very controversial. Particularly the case of Tarek Mehanna, who was convicted of aiding a terrorist organization for translating some of their documents into English. No evidence was offered that he had assisted with their operations; the criminal offense was letting the rest of us know what they are thinking. (Do you feel safer not knowing? I don't.) Here's the ACLU page on the Mehanna case: http://aclum.org/usa_v_mehanna http://aclum.org/usa_v_mehanna This case did not result in a suicide; it did, however, feature a sentence of over 17 years.