4 ms·

We've seen prosecutorial overreach over and over again on protest activities (and whistleblowing and computer crimes). This is more of that. Whether he ends up

We've seen prosecutorial overreach over and over again on protest activities (and whistleblowing and computer crimes). This is more of that. Whether he ends up being sentenced this harshly doesn't alter the fact that it is absurd, and immoral, that it's possible and at the discretion of a prosecutor who has a vested interest in putting people in jail for a long time. That the state is taking the bank's word that washable children's chalk caused $6000 worth of damage is also absurd. There's a lot of absurdity and unethical behavior in this story, and I think outrage is justified.

tptacek 13y ago
I agree. If I lived in San Diego, I'd donate money to get rid of that City Attorney, who is flagrantly wasting taxpayer dollars on frivolous prosecutions that are trashing the city's image. I would have grave concerns about the judgement of a City Attorney who thought that 13 counts of vandalism for chalking a building --- a charge that practically demands a vigorous and expensive defense --- was the right way to get this guy to stop chalking buildings. The RT story is still ridiculous.
- dlss 13y ago
  Here's the huffington post version: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/25/jeff-olson-california-banks_n_3499177.html http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/25/jeff-olson-californ... From the article: "[Olsen] eventually got a call from San Diego's Gang Unit in August 2012, when he gave up the artistic protests. The Reader reports that Freeman aggressively pressured city attorneys to bring charges against Olson until they announced that they would do so in April"
  - tptacek 13y ago
    The prosecution definitely appears abusive.
- deleted 13y ago
  [deleted]
- strlen 13y ago
  The cost of water (which we steal from the other states, of course) to wash the chalk away is much lower than the cost of the lawyer. I wonder if there's a public choice/political economy theory on prosecutorial overreach and how to discourage it other than on a case-by-case basis (which is very difficult, generally).

tptacek 13y ago

I agree. If I lived in San Diego, I'd donate money to get rid of that City Attorney, who is flagrantly wasting taxpayer dollars on frivolous prosecutions that are trashing the city's image. I would have grave concerns about the judgement of a City Attorney who thought that 13 counts of vandalism for chalking a building --- a charge that practically demands a vigorous and expensive defense --- was the right way to get this guy to stop chalking buildings. The RT story is still ridiculous.

dlss 13y ago
Here's the huffington post version: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/25/jeff-olson-california-banks_n_3499177.html http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/25/jeff-olson-californ... From the article: "[Olsen] eventually got a call from San Diego's Gang Unit in August 2012, when he gave up the artistic protests. The Reader reports that Freeman aggressively pressured city attorneys to bring charges against Olson until they announced that they would do so in April"
- tptacek 13y ago
  The prosecution definitely appears abusive.
deleted 13y ago
[deleted]
strlen 13y ago
The cost of water (which we steal from the other states, of course) to wash the chalk away is much lower than the cost of the lawyer. I wonder if there's a public choice/political economy theory on prosecutorial overreach and how to discourage it other than on a case-by-case basis (which is very difficult, generally).