Windypundit

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Crime and Punishment

The Drunk Under the Street Lamp Meets Saddam Hussein

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Ferguson is breaking my heart. I'm not talking about the grand jury's decision not to indict Darren Wilson for the murder of Michael Brown. I pretty much expected that.What's breaking my heart is the magnitude of the destruction going on during the protests. I paid pretty close attention to the earlier batch of protests, right after Brown was shot, and there was sporadic … [Read more...] about The Drunk Under the Street Lamp Meets Saddam Hussein

Awaiting the Grand Jury…

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We keep hearing about police plans to respond to protests in Ferguson, Missouri if the grand jury investigating Officer Darren Wilson's shooting of Michael Brown decides not to return an indictment.On the other hand, if the grand jury decides to indict Wilson, there would be a warrant for his arrest, and that would mean there's officially an accused murderer on the loose. … [Read more...] about Awaiting the Grand Jury…

Thinking About Lethal Force – Part 1

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We've heard a lot of argument about whether or not George Zimmerman's shooting of Trayvon Martin was murder or self defense, and more recent controversial shootings such as that of Michael Brown by Darren Wilson in Ferguson, Missouri have raised many of the same issues. Some of the disagreements represent a genuine clash of values, but there's a lot of noise caused by … [Read more...] about Thinking About Lethal Force – Part 1

What If We Eliminated Plea Bargaining?

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Scott Greenfield is complaining about people who propose simplistic solutions to the ills that infest the criminal justice system. This time it's the Economist, and their solution is the ever-popular one of eliminating the problems of plea bargaining by eliminating plea bargaining. Scott's not happy with that for the usual reason criminal defense lawyers aren't happy with … [Read more...] about What If We Eliminated Plea Bargaining?