Joebama American citizens 2024 print
11 months ago
Thursday, June 11, 2020
Over Charging a Violent Offender May FEEL Good, But IS it Good?
I just read that the Floyd family is asking that the charges against Derek Chauvin be upped to First Degree Murder.
I dearly hope the prosecutor does not do that.
That would be what is called "Over Charging", when a suspect is charged with more than the facts or evidence can justify.
If you Over-Charge someone, chances are they will be found "not guilty" of that inflated charge for lack of sufficient evidence, where they might have been found "guilty" of a lesser charge.
Can you imagine, considering the insane atmosphere surrounding this case, what would happen if Chauvin was found "not guilty"?
Maybe no jury would be so actually fair and unbiased to do that, even if the evidence didn't support the charges, given the chances of an explosion of violence that would almost certainly result.
But are we willing to risk it?
It's certainly possible that an honest and honorable jury will be empaneled.
First Degree Murder means premeditation. How can you reasonably have that when you're called to the site of a potential crime, out of the blue, by chance?
It's a scary, risky move. It may actually cause much heartbreak and torture to the Floyd family, and more serious harm, via much more violence, to America herself.
Prosecutors, respectfully decline the Floyds' request. And explain to them that they risk the man who killed their relative going free.
/gun
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I'm going to post here one article I wrote in Facebook. I'm debating whether or not I should post the other but both are relevant to the issue you raise, though not directly.
ReplyDeleteSeveral Possible Verdicts, One Outcome
Regardless of what the lynch mob wants, there will be a trial and Derek Chauvin will have his day in court. George Floyd will have his day in court as well and we will learn what he did that required he be restrained.
If Chauvin is found innocent, you can bet your bottom dollar the protests and riots will continue. The street violence is going to drive some politicians to file other charges against Chauvin until they get the verdict they want and believe will appease the rioters.
If Chauvin is found guilty of a lesser charge, such as manslaughter or involuntary manslaughter, that will have the same result as a verdict of innocent. The riots will continue.
If Chauvin is found guilty, the rioters will conclude that their tactics worked and will use them again at the earliest opportunity.
When you get to the heart of it, peaceful or not, the protesters are not interested in justice but only the outcome they want. And as we have seen, they will join the riots once the professional instigators get them started. Or, more ironically and as some videos have shown, they will employ violence against those trying to start violence. Quite hypocritical, isn't it?
The MOB cannot, and should not be appeased. But...there are an awful lot of questions about this "killing", as more facts come out.
DeleteI've heard from people in the legal community who would know here in MN that 2nd Degree Murder - Unintentional might be a stretch, the 3rd degree doesn't fly at all because it has to be due to actions not aimed at a particular person. The other 3 cops will also be hard to convict because the charge they put on them would almost require that they knew Chauvin was planning on killing Floyd. It's a bad deal all around, you can hope for a jury who's not too picky, and a judge who's willing to let things slide but that opens it up for appeals.
ReplyDeleteWhat a complete mess.
ReplyDelete