Police Officer in Jail for Killing an Unarmed Man He Repeatedly Shot in the Back

QuickSilver said:
My son is 46... so? Does that not mean it wouldn't be horrible for me to watch him murdered? YES.... the mother and father of this man saw the video.. and I imagine it broke their hearts.. Don't you?
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What good does an appeal to emotionalism have in determining guilt or innocence?

This is, I think, one of the biggest problems with the justice system in this country - everyone makes an emotional field-day out of it, pulling in relatives and friends that cry up a storm. Of course they're going to cry, especially in front of the cameras and the lawyers, but that has absolutely no bearing on whether a person is guilty or innocent.
 

Phil, do you dismiss the feelings of the parents who can now watch their son being gunned down, over and over? Do you dismiss the feelings of a mother like QS who has a son who may well wind up in a similar situation because he has deficits that he struggles against? In watching one news report on the subject now going on in S. Carolina, the newscaster mentioned a mother who was forced to call the police because her son who was schizophrenic (and some other issue) was losing his grip, and she got to watch the police shoot him too despite her telling them about his problems and her fear that they would hurt him. Do you dismiss their feelings? QuickSilver's comment was referencing that grief.

Maybe if you don't like that 'everyone makes an emotional field-day out of it, pulling in relatives and friends that cry up a storm.', we should eliminate victim impact statements before the judge decides on the sentence.

I think no one believes that guilt or innocence is decided by how much you or I 'cry', but that in no way minimizes the grief of anyone who has a loved one who's killed by the police.
 
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SifuPhil said:
What good does an appeal to emotionalism have in determining guilt or innocence?

This is, I think, one of the biggest problems with the justice system in this country - everyone makes an emotional field-day out of it, pulling in relatives and friends that cry up a storm. Of course they're going to cry, especially in front of the cameras and the lawyers, but that has absolutely no bearing on whether a person is guilty or innocent.
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Because we are HUMAN..?? And because a human AND humane quality is to be able to sympathize if not empathize with the suffering of another human? Do you think that is wrong? So what if it's our justice system? Where else is it more appropriate? That is where a good portion of the pain resides.
 

Debby said:
Phil, do you dismiss the feelings of the parents who can now watch their son being gunned down, over and over?
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As far as determining guilt or innocence in a court of law, yes.

Do you dismiss the feelings of a mother like QS who has a son who may well wind up in a similar situation because he has deficits that he struggles against? In watching one news report on the subject now going on in S. Carolina, the newscaster mentioned a mother who was forced to call the police because her son who was schizophrenic (and some other issue) was losing his grip, and she got to watch the police shoot him too despite her telling them about his problems and her fear that they would hurt him. Do you dismiss their feelings? QuickSilver's comment was referencing that grief.
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All of that is dancing around the main issue of determining guilt. It's clouding the logical process with emotions. What a relative does or does not feel upon the death of their kin has NOTHING to do with due process.

Maybe if you don't like that 'everyone makes an emotional field-day out of it, pulling in relatives and friends that cry up a storm.', we should eliminate victim impact statements before the judge decides on the sentence.
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Maybe we should. "Victim impact statements"? Kind of a silly phrase. Of COURSE a victim is going to be impacted, but once again all it does is open a door for emotions to be used to sway the court.

I think no one believes that guilt or innocence is decided by how much you or I 'cry', but that in now way minimizes the grief of anyone who has a loved one who's killed by the police.
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You can say that, having been witness to some of the more spectacular trials of the last few years? They were media circuses, powered not so much by fact but by emotions.

I'm not minimizing grief - I'm objecting to its use as a tool in the courts and in the media. People want to cry and get all sobby, go right ahead - but do i6 behind closed doors, and don't use it to condemn an innocent man, or allow a guilty one to go free.
 
QuickSilver said:
Because we are HUMAN..?? And because a human AND humane quality is to be able to sympathize if not empathize with the suffering of another human? Do you think that is wrong? So what if it's our justice system? Where else is it more appropriate? That is where a good portion of the pain resides.
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QS, I'll say the same thing to you I said to Debby - courts are NOT supposed to be run on emotions - they are supposed to be run on facts.

You want to sympathize with someone, go right ahead - but don't call a press conference first and start a riot. Do it quietly in the privacy of your home - don't wear your heart on your sleeve. Don't sit there and scream through the tears about how innocent your little darling was, when they have a rap sheet as long as my arm.

It isn't justice anymore - it's merely who screams the loudest and has the slickest lawyers.
 
Of course the facts are what should decide a case Phil..... however, I think to dismiss the emotionality of the situation is robotic to say the least.. We are human and humans have emotions..
 
Thanks QS, I had just seen those other two. I'm glad Feiden Santana is a strong upstanding young man, and did the right thing. I wish him well and hope that the cops don't find a way to retaliate against him for exposing their deeds and the lies that accompany them. I feel sorry for him, because of this his world has been turned upside down, but we need more good citizens like him to stand up for what is right in this country. We can move forward with men like him.
 
I feel sorry for him too... but also commend him. He at one point thought of erasing the video... AND moving out of town... but his conscience made him come forward. If not for him, this murder wouldn't have been brought to our National consciousness.. Perhaps we can now start to see some real change.
 
QuickSilver said:
Of course the facts are what should decide a case Phil..... however, I think to dismiss the emotionality of the situation is robotic to say the least.. We are human and humans have emotions..
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... and they are often the most responsible for gumming up the works.

I'll maintain to my dying breath that the administration of justice and the overt display of emotion are NOT good bed-partners.

As a side-bar - I just saw that commercial on TV for the ASPCA where they want you to contribute money for their organization. They don't give you facts, they don't show you the actual facilities and they don't really give a breakdown as to what your $19/month will provide beside "food and shelter".

But boy oh boy did they load that commercial with close-up shots of big-eyed animals in tight little cages!

As with the justice system in this country, they weren't selling the steak - they were selling the sizzle.
 
Just saw the interview with the witness who provided the video. Hope he is being protected.

There also was an interview with Slager's mother who said she hasn’t seen the video but doesn’t believe her son could do such a thing. Well………. :wtf: :doh:
 
How can this officer possibly defend that he thought his life was in danger when the suspect was runnng AWAY from him? In any scenario, how could he defend his actionseven if the guy HAD attempted to grab his taser? Isn't shooting busted taillight deadbeat dad suspects in the back a big no-no, anyway.
 

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