The Case of Richard Glossip • Hacker News Board

Re: The Case of Richard Glossip

#231

Post by justin_vanw » Sat, Oct 03, 2015, 9:40 PM UTC

hobs wrote: post #228

justin_vanw wrote: post #226

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We do have prisons where we keep people without trial. We don't, as far as I know, have entire prisons where we hold people without trial because they 'know secrets' and we are afraid they might tell them. In fact, I don't know of a single instance of this, outside of people who agreed to keep some secret but then changed their mind (snowden).

Fair, but I dont think anyone made that claim.

But that's EXACTLY what they said???

>>Though we're not scared of what they'd do, mind you; usually it's what they'd say that's the problem. Non-allied parties who know classified information they shouldn't are effectively infohazards from a government's perspective.

Re: The Case of Richard Glossip

#232

Post by justin_vanw » Sat, Oct 03, 2015, 9:48 PM UTC

claudius wrote: post #205

justin_vanw wrote: post #145

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Non common law countries have consistently suspended almost all civil rights from time to time. In all the common law countries you list, this is basically unheard of, at least in the last 400 years. Our common law system has evolved to be resilient against many different things, rather than being designed to maximize efficiency of a few things. It is certainly not perfect, there is no doubt of that. Combined with th…

> Non common law countries have consistently suspended almost all civil rights from time to time. Some civil law countries have suspended civil rights during the last 400 years. Some common law countries have suspended civil rights during the last 400 years (e.g.: English revolution, detainment of Americans with Japenese ancestry during World War 2). > Combined with the culture and other institutional patterns it has…

Well we'll see how long Europe can go before it completely burns itself down. I think we are up to almost 70 years (the record is what, 99 years?).

Re: The Case of Richard Glossip

#233

Post by justin_vanw » Sun, Oct 04, 2015, 2:17 AM UTC

philwelch wrote: post #211

justin_vanw wrote: post #148

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are two issues here that most commentary about this case seems to be happy to conflate: - Is he guilty - Should he be executed These are independent questions. One is a question of fact, and there seems to be almost no credible reason to doubt his guilt. The other is a question of ethics and policy. As for your argument on why the death penalty is barbaric, it is not a valid argument. Reductio ad absurdum, your…

These are not two independent questions, it turns out. When you are acting upon a judgment of fact, one's certainty in that judgment is a deciding factor in the severity of the action one takes in responding to it. For example, suppose you have a family friend, Randall, who is accused of being a child molester. If you are perhaps 5% certain that Randall is a child molester, you would be justified in not letting your…

Yes, you are absolutely right.

I should have said the question the articles are conflating are:

  - Is he guilty?

  - Should we have a death penalty?