Crime and Punishment: Oklahoma (& Texas) style!

[Diogenes]

There is a case for arresting people on the basis of internet threats of violence, but given the statistical rarity of mass shootings, the bar has to be set very high. Basically, if someone poses with weapons, posts a hit list, has mental disorders, a bad reaction to pyschotropic prescription drugs, plays violent video games and worships the devil, then the authorities have grounds for intervention. Arresting some kid on the basis of one off the cuff dumb remark is getting carried away.

Worshiping the devil is a protected activity under the 1st amendment. Just saying.

Only since Roosevelt put Liberal kooks into the Federal Judiciary. Prior to that, "Worshiping the devil" was NOT a protected activity. It was in fact a criminal act, and would have gotten you thrown in prison.

The current "first amendment" protection interpretation would have been nonsensical prior to the 1930s.

[Diogenes]

There is a case for arresting people on the basis of internet threats of violence, but given the statistical rarity of mass shootings, the bar has to be set very high. Basically, if someone poses with weapons, posts a hit list, has mental disorders, a bad reaction to pyschotropic prescription drugs, plays violent video games and worships the devil, then the authorities have grounds for intervention. Arresting some kid on the basis of one off the cuff dumb remark is getting carried away.

That's called profiling. Profiling BAD!

If we can't pick something up with a scanner of some sort, American LE agencies are scared to do anything.

Profiling works. Ask Israeli security.

[choff]

You could argue that a lot of these mass murderers are faking satanic worship so they can say ' the devil made me do it' after the fact, but then the faking has to be considered a risk factor. It's a recurring theme with a lot of them, but remember, you only have an average of 2 mass shootings a year in N. America to prevent, so the number of pre crime interventions the authorities have to do is extremely low. When they don't do it and mayhem ensues, they get criticized that all the warning signs were there, why didn't they do something. That said, what you say with that poor kid in the video game forum was extreme over reaction.

[williatw]

Blacks benefit from Florida ‘Stand Your Ground’ law at disproportionate rate

http://dailycaller.com/2013/07/16/black ... te-rate/2/


One hundred thirty three people in the state of Florida have used a “Stand Your Ground” defense. Of these claims, 73 were considered “justified” (55 percent), while 39 resulted in criminal convictions and 21 cases are still pending.

Forty four African Americans in the state of Florida have claimed a “Stand Your Ground” defense. Of these claims, 24 were considered “justified” (55 percent), while 11 resulted in convictions and nine cases are still pending.

Of the 76 white people who have used the defense, 40 were considered “justified” (less than 53 percent), while 25 were convicted and 11 cases are still pending.


Ten Hispanics have used the defense, seven of them successfully, according to the database, which included George Zimmerman as a “Stand Your Ground” defendant.

Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” cases have resulted in 78 white victims against 40 black victims, including Martin, and 10 Hispanic victims.

“For a defense attorney, it (stand your ground) is an excellent tool. Even if your client is not found legal under stand your ground, it helps you flesh out the issues as the case proceeds to trial… It’s an opportunity to push forward with that position while also forcing the state to show their hand,” said defense attorney Chuck Hobbs, whose 20-year-old African-American client Earl Jackson was found not guilty of murder but was convicted on lesser charges after a 2009 gang shootout in a Tallahassee parking lot that left an innocent bystander dead.

Then-19-year-old African American Tony Hayward of Palm Beach County also benefited from the “Stand Your Ground” defense when he was acquitted in the shooting death of 22-year old Jyron Miles.

“Besides the shooter’s word and a grainy surveillance video, jurors had little to go on when deciding if Tony Hayward was defending his life when he shot and killed Jyron Miles, 22. Hayward, then 19, and his father were delivering newspapers when Miles appeared at about 3 a.m., according to newspaper reports. They said Miles aggressively demanded ‘is you straight?’ a phrase sometimes used to see if someone has drugs,” according to the Tampa Bay Times database. “The father and son said Miles then reached for what they thought was a gun, so the teen fired. The video did not show whether Miles had a gun, but police did not find one when they arrived…At his second trial in early 2011, Hayward was acquitted. His public defender argued that Hayward was standing his ground during the confrontation.”


The best known African American associated with Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” law is Marissa Alexander, who was prevented from invoking the law after firing a warning shot to protect herself from her abusive ex-husband. Alexander, who had no prior criminal record, was sentenced to 20 years in prison, and her case has become an important cause for supporters of the law. Alexander was prosecuted by Angela Corey, the same state attorney who lost the Zimmerman case.

[williatw]

Subway Stabbing Victim Can't Sue NYPD For Failing To Save Him

http://gothamist.com/2013/07/26/subway_ ... agains.php

A man who was brutally stabbed by Brooklyn subway slasher Maksim Gelman two years ago had his negligence case against the city dismissed in court yesterday, despite the fact that two transit officers had locked themselves in a motorman's car only a few feet from him at the time of the attack.

Gelman stabbed Joseph Lozito in the face, neck, hands and head on an uptown 3 train in February 2011, after fatally stabbing four people and injuring three others in a 28-hour period. Lozito, a father of two and an avid martial arts fan, was able to tackle Gelman and hold him down, and Gelman was eventually arrested by the transit officers. Lozito sued the city, arguing that the police officers had locked themselves in the conductor's car and failed to come to his aid in time.

The city, meanwhile, claimed that the NYPD had no "special duty" to intervene at the time, and that they were in the motorman's car because they believed Gelman had a gun. And Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Margaret Chan has sided with the city, noting that there was no evidence the cops were aware Lozito was in danger at the time.
Chan did however, note the heroism of Lozito's actions: "The dismissal of this lawsuit does not lessen Mr. Lozito’s bravery or the pain of his injuries," she wrote in her decision yesterday. "Mr. Lozito heroically maneuvered the knife away from Gelman and subdued him on the subway floor." Gelman was sentenced to 200 years in prison in January 2012; he was sentenced to an additional 25 years for Lozito's stabbing the following month.

[paperburn1]

This has been case law for years, cops carry guns for self protection not to enforce the law and are no obligations to provide protection to the population supreme court 1963

[JoeP]

Nice story. Some comments: guy was smart to have learned some martial arts beforehand, because you pretty much cannot use any weapon to defend yourself in NYC. The cops, of whom I presume were armed well (probably tazers, mace, nightsticks, and 9mm glocks) watching the battle behind the locked door is the icing on the cake.

I hear that the NYPD confiscates even those useful small blade pocket knives from blue collar type workers down there in the subway, and if you complain about it, they arrest you for a "gravity knife" or somesuch charge.

[ladajo]

This has been case law for years, cops carry guns for self protection not to enforce the law and are no obligations to provide protection to the population supreme court 1963

What a quaint idea "Protect and Serve" is.
Apparently some folks have issues with reading Webster's when in doubt of what words mean.

My understanding of legal rulings regarding police duty is that they are not compelled to risk thier own life to prevent crime. They do so by choice. They are not military. They can quit. So armed or not, it is the choice of the officer to engage. It is like fire fighters, they are also not compelled to enter the burning building to rescue someone. They choose.
I think you may have misrepresented.

"Policed" & "Policing" - Transitive verb

po·liced po·lic·ing

Definition of POLICE
1 archaic: govern

2: to control, regulate, or keep in order by use of police

3: to make clean and put in order

4 a: to supervise the operation, execution, or administration of to prevent or detect and prosecute violations of rules and regulations
b: to exercise such supervision over the policies and activities of

5: to perform the functions of a police force in or over

Examples of POLICE

The officers police the streets for reckless drivers.
The coast is policed by the military.
The international agency polices the development of atomic energy facilities.

Origin of POLICE
in sense 1, from Middle French policier, from police conduct of public affairs;
in other senses, from 2 police
First Known Use: 1589

Police (plural) noun

1a: the internal organization or regulation of a political unit through exercise of governmental powers especially with respect to general comfort, health, morals, safety, or prosperity
b: control and regulation of affairs affecting the general order and welfare of any unit or area
c: the system of laws for effecting such control

2a: the department of government concerned primarily with maintenance of public order, safety, and health and enforcement of laws and possessing executive, judicial, and legislative powers
b: the department of government charged with prevention, detection, and prosecution of public nuisances and crimes

3a: police force
b plural: police officers

4a: a private organization resembling a police force <campus police>
b plural: the members of a private police organization

5a: the action or process of cleaning and putting in order
b: military personnel detailed to perform this function

6: one attempting to regulate or censor a specified field or activity <the fashion police>

[williatw]

Why Are Black "Leaders" Anti Gun ?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4n8egXfmJM

[ScottL]

Zimmerman's motto continues to be women and children first.

http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/10/justice/z ... ?hpt=hp_t3

[Stubby]

Zimmerman's motto continues to be women and children first.

http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/10/justice/z ... ?hpt=hp_t3

O'Mara appeared to struggle with his anger at his client during Monday's incident in which he went to Zimmerman's house while police were still there. During a press conference later, O'Mara was asked if he had any advice for Zimmerman, and he answered, "Pay me."

[Diogenes]

Zimmerman's motto continues to be women and children first.

http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/10/justice/z ... ?hpt=hp_t3

Trayvon Martin was a violent drug addled Juvenile delinquent who badly needed to be shot and killed. That you refer to him as a "child" is merely evidence that you prefer to promulgate a lie when it suits your political inclination.

[ladajo]

Don't forget to post the pics of Trayvon playing with guns and talking about buying and selling them to make money (for drugs).

[Stubby]

Zimmerman's motto continues to be women and children first.

http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/10/justice/z ... ?hpt=hp_t3

Trayvon Martin was a violent drug addled Juvenile delinquent who badly needed to be shot and killed. That you refer to him as a "child" is merely evidence that you prefer to promulgate a lie when it suits your political inclination.

wow you just called for the execution of most teenagers. Extreme version of 'spare the rod and spoil the child'.
and the irony of your last sentence is just stupendous.

[hanelyp]

Stubby, do you have a reading comprehension problem or are you deliberately obtuse?