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A: Just a few.

Q: One of the questions on the "fantasy character" test made me stop to think for a while: is it better to convict an innocent person or let a guilty person go free?
 
I thoght let a guilty dude go free, because He'll probably just wind up getting himself into trouble again, and convicting an innoscent person is just totally bullshit. The suffering they'd feel for no good reason just isnt worth it, and altough the guilty free dude may cause harm while not locked away from society, so is about 20 bizillion other criminal bastards that arnt in prison. One more isnt going to chnage too much.

Q: Iwas actually thinking about asking that question aswell, so what do You think on the subject?
 
A: yes, letting a guilty person go free is better imo as well (i'm getting soft, i know i am). the whole mechanism of punishing the guilty is not intended to systematically sanction every culprit. limitations of all sorts come into play that justify abstaining from condemnation, which is something that should only take place in a selected number of circumstances. uncertainty or the benefit of doubt should work in favour of not punishing.

Q: same q.
 
Am I the only one who chose convicting an innocent? Just as you can reason that the guilty guy will probably get himself into trouble again (which is great if he's a child molesting serial killer, right?), an innocent can always take action to get himself out of jail. It also depends very much on the sentence and the criminal - letting an innocent spend 3 months in jail is in my opinion preferable to letting a madman go free to do whatever he wants to whoever he chooses.

Same question again.
 
Northern Lights said:
an innocent can always take action to get himself out of jail.
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i was under the impression that we were talking about final sentences. time in jail while waiting for appeal or other phases in one's judicial travails do not really count as "convicting an innocent", as they affect innocent and guilty people alike in any case.
 
Well, can't final sentences be appealed then, should there appear evidence of the convicted's innocence? From what I remember some guy spent 8 years in jail in Sweden only to be acquitted after new witnesses came forth and so on. From what I've seen, no sentence is truly final...
 
Northern Lights said:
Well, can't final sentences be appealed then, should there appear evidence of the convicted's innocence?
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ask ben. :p but as far as i know in the majority of countries you can't be put to trial twice for the same crime, and this goes for both the innocent and the guilty alike.
 
No, you can't be tried for exactly the same crime again, but you can appeal in light of new evidence, and here in England there are multiple levels of appeal.
First you start off in the courts of first instance. Upon appeal, things move up to the Court of Appeal. A further appeal can take it to the House of Lords, whose decision is final. So, if you feel you have been wrongly convicted, there are multiple levels of appeal to go for.
 
Not too sure. I'm pretty sure there is some way of making it admissable after the fact, i.e. DNA evidence exhonerating someone locked up before such methods were feasible.

Forgot to tell you, Ben, I'm taking a Legal course this semester. Oh the fun things about law I never knew.

We've got a few more levels of appeal over here. Start in trial court, move to appeals, then to state supreme court. If their ruling contradicts a ruling of another state in a similar case, though, the trial could get bumped into the federal system, and would head to the circuit courts of appeals, and then the Supreme court.

~kov.
 
Yep, new evidence which proves the innocence of the person involved will result in their release, and the trial of the one who the evidence incriminates (if that's possible...usually it's a case of them finding out the police beat the crap out of the suspect for a confession, or tampered with evidence, and then the case falls through with no-one found guilty).

Edit: just thought I should add that new evidence doesn't result in a whole new trial from scratch (as a general rule), but the merits of the case are viewed in light of the new evidence. Only in rare circumstances will all evidence need to be re-examined and all witnesses recalled etc.

Edit 2: Nice Kov, how you finding it? It's a lot to take in isn't it, and it's very hard to summarise anything to do with law, because it's almost easier to determine law by its exceptions than its details (at least in English law). How do you find the whole State - Federal law divide? Hopelessly complicated?
 
back on track:

a: letting a guilty person go free is better for me too, and no i'm not getting soft. :p the general idea is that convicting innocents gives a signal that is completely off any incentive system: you can go about your business without doing any wrong and still you can be locked up. people are not really motivated to do anything with this hanging over their heads. on the other hand, the idea that maybe someone commits a crime and goes free doesn't impact on most people's lives directly.

q: what was your worst subject in school?
 
A: i can't say i recall exactly, but it was probably gymnastics. the teachers kept lowering my almost perfect general grade just because i couldn't/didn't want to run or play basketball or whatnot. fucktards.

Q: your favourite?
 
A: social studies since I loved learning about history. Even if some of it is depressing, some is inspiring.

Q: you? (but lunchbreak doesn't count)

extra question: is that Jake Gyllenhaal creature attractive? As some people say he's ugly, but I think he's hot. I'd definitely do him, or have a difficult time saying no. :p
 
A: I was going to skip this question or just say 'Math' at the risk of sounding like a complete nerd..
But after reading Siren's post I don't feel like such a nerd after all :D
(I'm just kidding :P fucktards they are)

Q: ..your best and worst subject?


Northern Lights said:
Am I the only one who chose convicting an innocent? Just as you can reason that the guilty guy will probably get himself into trouble again (which is great if he's a child molesting serial killer, right?), an innocent can always take action to get himself out of jail. It also depends very much on the sentence and the criminal - letting an innocent spend 3 months in jail is in my opinion preferable to letting a madman go free to do whatever he wants to whoever he chooses.
Click to expand...
I had a long comparative argument as reply to this, explaining my strong disagreement with you, but it got too lengthy and ..blah.
Now, I'll just say this:
Innocent people DO go to jail, and the stories are some of the saddest things to hear. For innocent people to go to jail is, in a way, a crime on its own. Not only that, but it is a crime that somebody, or a group of people got away with and will never be made accountable for, which makes your preference somewhat flawed by paradox.
From a more personal perspective, I can tell you that I would prefer to get stabbed 5 times in the stomach and have the asshole get away with it, than have my freedom taken away.
I would also rather be killed (though not without a fight) than to serve a life sentence in jail.. every waking day knowing what's out there and that I won't taste it again ..taste life, taste freedom. It'd be like having your life, your hopes, and dreams taken from you, but living with the pain of that separation each and every day..
If the person is innocent, that would be worse a crime than murder itself..
 
MorbidEnemy said:
MATH!!!!!
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Well look at the enthusiasm on you..
You can be the nerd here then, how's that? :P
*buys MorbidEnemy a beer*


Child of Time said:
..although I've always been the type of guy who likes school.
Click to expand...
That's not a statement one would expect to hear from someone using the words 'Most loathed..' :P


Kov said:
erm... anything to do with electrical engineering :( (thusly, why i'm not an EE anymore)
Click to expand...
So you decided to quit it afterall? What happened, dude?
And what are you pursuing now?
 
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