I was making a distinction between ‘the people’ in general, and ‘the jury’. The people can, and should, consider the ethics of the law, and act appropriately. In less extreme cases that might involve encouraging your local legislator to push for changes in the law. We’ve seen the results in more extreme cases. Juries on the other hand should judge the case in front of them on its facts, rather than their feelings about the defendant and their actions. We’ve seen the results of juries not doing so, with lynch mobs getting away without consequence, and other defendants being found guilty for the color of their skin.
As to your point regarding the problem of those in power simply ignoring the law, you’re right, that is a problem, and one which I doubt will be solved without extreme action. It is, of course, possible that in four years this gang will peacefully hand over to a less criminal administration, but I’m not confident of that. Even if they do, rebuilding trust in the concept of the law being applied equally and fairly will be a massive, and long term, challenge.
This is supposed to be uplifting news though, so let us hope that his defence can find a compelling argument and the jury can find him not guilty without recourse to tactics that might make the overall situation worse.
I was making a distinction between ‘the people’ in general, and ‘the jury’. The people can, and should, consider the ethics of the law, and act appropriately. In less extreme cases that might involve encouraging your local legislator to push for changes in the law. We’ve seen the results in more extreme cases. Juries on the other hand should judge the case in front of them on its facts, rather than their feelings about the defendant and their actions. We’ve seen the results of juries not doing so, with lynch mobs getting away without consequence, and other defendants being found guilty for the color of their skin.
As to your point regarding the problem of those in power simply ignoring the law, you’re right, that is a problem, and one which I doubt will be solved without extreme action. It is, of course, possible that in four years this gang will peacefully hand over to a less criminal administration, but I’m not confident of that. Even if they do, rebuilding trust in the concept of the law being applied equally and fairly will be a massive, and long term, challenge.
This is supposed to be uplifting news though, so let us hope that his defence can find a compelling argument and the jury can find him not guilty without recourse to tactics that might make the overall situation worse.