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Oct. 3rd, 2011 02:36 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
leticia1) The murder of a popular, beloved, easy to get along with cute blond with lots of photogenic grieving family is no worse a crime than the murder of that sullen lonely laundromat attendant that no one actually remembers the name of.
2) Being related to the victim of a murder gives no one magic insight into who actually dun it, especially if they were in another state or country at the time of their murder. Their knowledge of previous interactions with the deceased might be helpful to investigators, but even clear records of previous antagonism doesn't prove murder. In the case of near random encounters, family has -nothing- to offer in terms of proving guilt, unless they actually witnessed it.
3) "Victim Impact Statements" regarding murders have no place in the courtroom, no place in determining guilt (especially in determining guilt, since "my poor babies have no mommy now!" doesn't prove any statement about who did it one way or the other, SEE POINT 2) and no place in sentencing, since SEE POINT 1.
4) No matter how many people are convicted of the crime, and how brutal their sentences are, the dead will still be dead. Convicting the innocent is not going to bring the dead back. Putting a possibly innocent man on death row and even executing him - or even an extremely guilty one! - will not bring the dead back. Jailing everyone who was connected with the murdered person even peripherally will not bring the dead back. And if your grieving process requires blood, innocent or not, to soothe your soul, you need to see a counselor. Vengeance is not justice. Justice is not vengeance.
5) Innocent until proven guilty should not mean "Innocent until someone more white (wealthy, well-connected, privileged, fill in the blank) wants someone to blame to soothe their grief."
In other words, I am so -sick- of hearing 'statements of the family of the victim'. Shut up. Go to the funeral. Help the police if you can. But justice is not and should not be about you*. And if the deceased is dead, quite frankly, justice isn't about the dead, either. Justice is about the living and protecting society - including innocents who may be accused in a mad frenzy for closure. (Hint, you'll get better closure from not having to stick your fingers in your ears and go "I DON'T BELIEVE YOU" and then forever ever after wondering if the REAL killer is out there laughing at you somewhere.)
*Addendum - I do believe the -government- should provide some reasonable financial recompense to the victims of violent crime, or the survivors thereof, especially in the situation where the victim of a murder had dependents who have lost an income. I would consider that a part of -true- justice. But that has nothing to do with prosecution.
2) Being related to the victim of a murder gives no one magic insight into who actually dun it, especially if they were in another state or country at the time of their murder. Their knowledge of previous interactions with the deceased might be helpful to investigators, but even clear records of previous antagonism doesn't prove murder. In the case of near random encounters, family has -nothing- to offer in terms of proving guilt, unless they actually witnessed it.
3) "Victim Impact Statements" regarding murders have no place in the courtroom, no place in determining guilt (especially in determining guilt, since "my poor babies have no mommy now!" doesn't prove any statement about who did it one way or the other, SEE POINT 2) and no place in sentencing, since SEE POINT 1.
4) No matter how many people are convicted of the crime, and how brutal their sentences are, the dead will still be dead. Convicting the innocent is not going to bring the dead back. Putting a possibly innocent man on death row and even executing him - or even an extremely guilty one! - will not bring the dead back. Jailing everyone who was connected with the murdered person even peripherally will not bring the dead back. And if your grieving process requires blood, innocent or not, to soothe your soul, you need to see a counselor. Vengeance is not justice. Justice is not vengeance.
5) Innocent until proven guilty should not mean "Innocent until someone more white (wealthy, well-connected, privileged, fill in the blank) wants someone to blame to soothe their grief."
In other words, I am so -sick- of hearing 'statements of the family of the victim'. Shut up. Go to the funeral. Help the police if you can. But justice is not and should not be about you*. And if the deceased is dead, quite frankly, justice isn't about the dead, either. Justice is about the living and protecting society - including innocents who may be accused in a mad frenzy for closure. (Hint, you'll get better closure from not having to stick your fingers in your ears and go "I DON'T BELIEVE YOU" and then forever ever after wondering if the REAL killer is out there laughing at you somewhere.)
*Addendum - I do believe the -government- should provide some reasonable financial recompense to the victims of violent crime, or the survivors thereof, especially in the situation where the victim of a murder had dependents who have lost an income. I would consider that a part of -true- justice. But that has nothing to do with prosecution.
