America transitions into Gilead

[Ziggurat]

I think it's clear that couple of the die hard GOPers here have no problem living in a oppressive theocracy so long as they get their damn tax cuts.

Having a police department doesn't mean you get to make the laws. Such a police department would be legally constrained to enforce the same laws as any other police department, so I'm not seeing how you get to "oppressive theocracy". I mean, I get the general objection to non-government entities having police, which applies to secular universities too, but otherwise this just seems like animosity to religion, which is neither good legal grounds nor effective politics.

 

[Puppycow]

This seems like a better story:

https://www.al.com/news/birmingham/...-child-charges-against-shooter-dismissed.html

It's still seriously messed up. Charge her with assault, not manslaughter.

“The investigation showed that the only true victim in this was the unborn baby,’’ Pleasant Grove police Lt. Danny Reid said at the time of the shooting. “It was the mother of the child who initiated and continued the fight which resulted in the death of her own unborn baby.”

Interesting choice of words.

Reid said the fight stemmed over the unborn baby’s father. The investigation showed, he said, that it was Jones who initiated and pressed the fight, which ultimately caused Jemison to defend herself and unfortunately caused the death of the baby.

"Let’s not lose sight that the unborn baby is the victim here,’’ Reid said. “She had no choice in being brought unnecessarily into a fight where she was relying on her mother for protection."

The 5-month fetus was "dependent on its mother to try to keep it from harm, and she shouldn’t seek out unnecessary physical altercations,” Reid added.

Well, if it's true, if she physically attacked the other woman, why isn't she charged with some kind of assault and battery charge?

It's also interesting that they tried to prosecute the other woman first, but a grand jury wouldn't even indict her. I thought that any prosecutor worth his salt could "indict a ham sandwich"? How weak does your case have to be if a grand jury won't even indict?

Maybe that's what happens here, too. We'll see.

 

[ponderingturtle]

Aggreed, though a lot of university police forces are really rent a cops without any real police powers,no different then the rent a cops you see at every shopping mall.

Except the ones who are legally full state troopers like in NY.

 

[Ziggurat]

It's also interesting that they tried to prosecute the other woman first, but a grand jury wouldn't even indict her. I thought that any prosecutor worth his salt could "indict a ham sandwich"? How weak does your case have to be if a grand jury won't even indict?

Grand juries only see what the prosecutor wants them to see. The whole "indict a ham sandwich" thing comes from the fact that a prosecutor can present a very skewed picture of the available evidence. Prosecutors aren't supposed to do that, but they can and sometimes do. But not always. If they're acting ethically, they will present a fairly complete picture of the available evidence. And in such cases, the grand jury may refuse to indict if the case is weak. A less ethical prosecutor with the same case might be able to secure an indictment, though.

 

[Minoosh]

When the police catch a contract killer they almost always are willing to cut a deal if the killer will testify against the person who paid for the murder.

If abortion is to be treated like murdder, and
If the opening statement is true

Then shouldn't the current round of anti-abortion laws have prison time for people who pay for abortions?

For any rational consistency, the woman as well would be charged, but she is specifically exempted for no logical reason, as far as I can see. The seek to punish the hit man but not the person who ordered the hit.

A less ethical prosecutor with the same case might be able to secure an indictment, though.

The prosecutor is probably being ethical, under a certain set of ethics.

She's not going to be prosecuted, though. The DA will hem and haw and drop the charges. They screwed up not seeking an assault charge.