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P2PJones t1_j22dzb2 wrote

Reply to comment by Hei5enberg in Texas man appeals death sentence, stating Comedy Central episode violated his rights by djc8

>If they do that to convict someone "everyone knows" is guilty that's one thing...

yes, the WORST thing.

If 'everyone knows' it, why don't you have lots of properly acquired evidence to prove it.

At the witch trials 'everyone knew' they were a witch.

Remember, what 'everyone knows', is usually '100 bullshit'.

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Londonforce t1_j24bqw4 wrote

Just to be clear, the guy was found guilty without this tape (meaning they had evidence beyond reasonable doubt).

The tape was used during sentencing to determine what penalty he should get. The fact that he's a murderer is not in question.

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P2PJones t1_j25ylyy wrote

Correct, they used this tape, shown heavily out of context, to show the jury he had no remorse, lading to the death penalty.

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Londonforce t1_j2609sb wrote

Exactly, I'm just raising it because your points about the witch trials seemed to imply that he wasn't a convicted murderer. In this specific case his only options were to die in prison, the only thing for debate was how long he had to wait

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P2PJones t1_j27mnzz wrote

no, I was talking about the 'everyone knew', that's 'prejudicial', and can cause a mistrial. And no, He could have gotten as little as 20 years if I've read the court documents right. That's why the Prosecution went for this out of context video, to try and show a lack of regret.

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bob0979 t1_j22fniq wrote

It may be bullshit, it may not be but that's not up to hear say and gossip to decide, it's up to a clearly defined legal system to determine through a consistent process. As soon as it loses that consistency it stops being a useful process for its purpose (justice) and is now something else entirely (a tool for injustice).

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