what if one of his buddies had hijacked his account as a joke?
The Facebook Comment That Ruined a Life
281–290 of 356 posts
Re: The Facebook Comment That Ruined a Life
#282This country has its fair share of over zealous prosecutors and out of control cops. We need a way to track these events to the individual to make it easier to identify patterns. When deputy Erik Gelhaus shot and killed an innocent 13 year old boy here in Santa Rosa I tried to find out if he had a history of violent interactions with the public. That's when I realized no one seemed to be tracking these events. There…
Agreed. And that is where I believe our country has gone so wrong. There are few checks and balances against a run amok justice system. There is little transparency to people who destroy lives as a part of their daily job.
Re: The Facebook Comment That Ruined a Life
#283Earlier quoted context omitted.
Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, North and South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia - fear these places.
Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, North and South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia - fear these places. Well, if you're going to paint with such a broad brush, go ahead and list the other 38. I hear there are bad people in San Francisco, Madison, Boise, Olympia, Reading and Topeka too. Then you should start listing Canadian provinces, because surely they've got some bad apple…
I grew up in Louisiana. The police here are just plain awful. But as young adults we were always warned about dealing with and avoiding dealing with police in Mississippi. Police in the deep south are not the same as police in other places.
Re: The Facebook Comment That Ruined a Life
#284Earlier quoted context omitted.
I hope you're not implying situations found in the Rwandan Genocide are typical in Africa.
Guess what also isn't typical? The treatment of this kid by police prosecutors in the US. The person he replied to sees one isolated incident in Texas, easily the most ass-backwards state in terms of morals and common sense, and assumes it's the case for the entire country of 310 million people.
I find that amusing, considering Austin TX is typically considered to be one of the most progressive regions in the state.
This isn't about Texas, or even Austin. It's about a corrupt police investigation and prosecution.
Re: The Facebook Comment That Ruined a Life
#285Earlier quoted context omitted.
It is, however, when you're subjected to Trial by Media.
Don't know about the USA, but here in Canada the media is also disallowed from discussing young offenders.
He's no longer a minor, so does that still apply because he was a minor at the time it happened?
Re: The Facebook Comment That Ruined a Life
#286Earlier quoted context omitted.
Don't know about the USA, but here in Canada the media is also disallowed from discussing young offenders.
He's no longer a minor, so does that still apply because he was a minor at the time it happened?
In Canada? Yup. The YOA is very expansive. For example, my neighborhood's most prolific tagger is in his mid-'20s and the press still isn't allowed to mention his name when he gets picked up for the nth time because he was previously arrested as a young offender. If they said "Joe Blow was arrested for writing tag X on an overpass" then everybody would know that Joe Blow is X and his young offenses of writing X on an overpass would be revealed.
You absolutely cannot be tied to crimes you committed as a youth. This way, no matter how bad you screw up, you have a clean slate as an adult.
Re: The Facebook Comment That Ruined a Life
#287> Until that point, his only brush with the law was a temporary restraining order two years earlier. > "He started threatening me, saying that he would kill me. ... I told the school officers, [and] they started watching him really closely. He would say that he would shoot up the school." So I'll start by playing Devil's Advocate very briefly. It's interesting how facts can be shaped with different language ("his onl…
Well, people have children. The protection they feel must be absolute, and here is someone who threatening them. If someone came up to me on the street and screamed I'm going to fucking kill you, I wouldn't argue for his freedom of speech.
You just said "I'm going to fucking kill you." If context does not matter (which is the entire premise of this case), then you are just as guilty as Justin. Are you still so eager to police speech?
Re: The Facebook Comment That Ruined a Life
#288Earlier quoted context omitted.
I hope the kid wins a shitload of money in a lawsuit against the state... and the cops get punished. Now what's the chance of this happening?
I don't get it, I thought the USA was a massive litigation centre and you could sue people for millions left right and centre? Are you saying that you can't sue people like that?
Police officers and prosecutors are immune from personal liability in a suit (the liability instead shifts onto the government). It is very often the case that gross misconduct that costs the government millions in damages will not result in any sort of punishment for the responsible official.
Re: The Facebook Comment That Ruined a Life
#289Wow, I didn't realise US police were that bad. After reading this I don't think I could ever feel safe enough to visit the US. Sounds like you'd have a better chance of getting justice in an African dictatorship where at least the dont-rape-me bribe would be affordable. Tourists really should be warned about this, because it's not the image the US tourist boards present to us at all.
Exactly! I think I can only visit the states again after I'm married and with kids, to go to Disneyland... it seems the only safe venture. I mean if you're single, go to a club and get into a fight, that would probably be enough to make your life hell already... going there is like russian roulette
You can't get into fights at Disneyland either. The best bet is to not assault people.
Re: The Facebook Comment That Ruined a Life
#290WIDELY MISREPORTED. Austin resident here. There is very little right about this case. He was joking, and his original post included indications of this. Prosecutors intentionally misrepresented and truncated his comments to mislead the Grand Jury. The arrest warrant issued claimed they found him by driver's license records but he has never had a Texas driver's license. They failed to protect him, an 18 year old kid,…
I hope the kid wins a shitload of money in a lawsuit against the state... and the cops get punished. Now what's the chance of this happening?
It is difficult to sue the state and officers acting on behalf of the state. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qualified_immunity and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sovereign_immunity_in_the_Unite....