From: Lee Corbin (lcorbin@tsoft.com)
Date: Mon Jul 29 2002 - 19:05:36 MDT
Samantha writes
> If many of the laws on the books are plain wrong then that
> someone broke them does not make them significantly different
> than you or I. Every citizen in the US breaks several laws on
> the books every single day.
and Randall says the same and then adds
> You seem to believe that those in prison are intrinsically
> evil people. But if you might be in prison if your own
> infractions came to the attention of some civil servant who
> dislikes you, then the only way in which you are different
> is that you are not unlucky enough to come to someone's
> attention.
First, we all know the facts here insofar as attempting to
interpret the sentence "people in prison are different from
you or me". We understand that statistically they are
different, and also understand that in some cases there
really isn't an important difference (maybe yes, they broke
some incredibly obscure law that I also break, but for some
reason got caught).
We are talking about the 55% of the people who are in prison
for drug related charges, and the 44% of the rest who are
there for crimes that we agree are crimes. It's not helpful
to attempt to change the discussion so that it focuses on
the remaining 1%. The 55% (at least!) almost all knowingly
broke the law and used drugs that are forbidden. I'm not
like them, otherwise I would have given cocaine a try a long
time ago. You and I certainly are not like the 44% who we
would judge have been found guilty of serious crime. I also
think that it was this 44% about whom the original comments
were directed that started the discussion.
> You cannot help but [break laws]. There was a study
> illustrating this a while back that I can't lay hands on.
Yes, like we've already agreed, there're way too many laws.
But please note that 99% the people in prison have not been
charged with those peculiar and mostly unnoticed laws. It's
not all that hard to get a fine or suspended sentence anyway
for jaywalking.
> Then how are people imprisoned on ridiculous charges not
> like you or me except in the fact that they are in prison
> and we are not?
Yes, I guess we've agreed that indeed that those in prison
on ridiculous charges are just like you and me, but I would
not call drug possession a ridiculous charge. It's a charge
made quite seriously and deliberately by governing bodies of
representatives, and deserves therefore to be taken quite
seriously. Of course, you and I think the law wrong, but
as I said in "Obedience to Law", it should be obeyed anyway.
Randall, in that study that you read, do you recall whether
the laws were bizarre, highly peculiar, or obscure? That's
what I'm betting.
Lee
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