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9Z7EErh9Et0y0Yjt98A4 t1_iuhkckh wrote

Reply to comment by gallagdy in They caught the Brighton Peeping Tom by capnlumps

In a way, its actually a very informed view of how the criminal justice system works. One of the key features of our system is how it disproportionately disciplines the poor.

Efforts to make the system more equitable in regards to wealth are contrary to the implied purpose of the criminal justice system, no matter how much the system itself insists otherwise. Blind lady justice makes for a nice statue, but only a child believes in such fairy tales.

Still, it's somewhat notable how mask-off calls for protecting this inequity have become. This country is having quite the reactionary moment.

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Cersad t1_iuhpsj0 wrote

As long as our justice system claims to be designed for everyone to be equal under the law, as long as our legislators write laws designed to apply equally to all parties who break said laws, and as long as the courts rule to uphold equal protection under the law as principle...

...as long as that continues, people have every right to insist on equal protection under the law. No matter how cynical you may feel about it.

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9Z7EErh9Et0y0Yjt98A4 t1_iuhq8oo wrote

The laws are clearly written to disadvantage the poor and there's nothing cynical about admitting that.

You really have to twist your brain into pretzels to see a system like cash bail any other way. Poor people rot in lockup while prosecutors dangle freedom as leverage in plea deals while richer people negotiate from the comfort of their homes. That's a fact, not cynicism.

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Cersad t1_iuhr5u6 wrote

The laws disadvantaging the poor is true. It's also not relevant to my comment.

People advocating for an equitable justice system are advocating for the spirit of the justice system that was founded for this nation, and are supported by plenty of legal, cultural, and philosophical precedents. It's far more than simply "a reactionary moment."

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