An Unreal Dream: the Michael Morton Story
I saw this CNN documentary the other night and it was excellent—really moving. It includes an inspiring religious element as well. It’s going to be repeated on CNN on Thursday December 12 and Saturday December 14 at 9PM and 11 PM Eastern Time.
Here’s a trailer:
When the law becomes omnipresent, lawyers figure they can make the law be whatever they say it is. And if that means hiding things, then the illusion becomes the truth, because everyone believes in the authority of the law.
I live in Williamson County, although I did not know Mr. Morton. I can tell anyone who will listen that Williamson County deputies and Georgetown police are pretty arrogant and use intimidation tactics pretty liberally, threats to arrest anyone who asks too many questions, getting really irate at anyone who asks, “On what charge?” There is a broad occupying-troops mentality in evidence. It did not just start, either. There was a general tendency to let the cops “enforce the law,” without much question. The Morton case, plus the influx of people from many other places, have changed the attitude of acceptance/submission, so I have some hope that we shall see some improvement. Sending the prosecutor to jail, if only for a few days, and stripping him of his law license, for life, have put a bit of the fear of God into the legal community, too. They needed some fear, we needed them to have it.
Fear will only drive them to consolidate their power into unions and to ally with other Leftist alliance members, in order to ensure no such penalties will be possible in the future.
A lot of totalitarian regimes have often thought about giving up their power, but it was too suicidal to consider. And those who did, were gotten rid of first.
According to the wikipedia entry on this case:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Morton_(criminal_justice)
“Under Texas law, he [Michael Morton] became eligible to receive a lump sum based on the amount of years served in prison, plus a lifetime annuity of $80,000 per year, as well as job training and educational aid.”
That $80,000 per year is a lot; but still not enough for what they stole from him – 25 years of his life. Time that he will never get back.
And it is exactly cases like this that make me say that the death penalty is not good; what if they (and Texas, I believe still does) put him to death? How, on earth, would they have ever made ammends?
The death penalty should be abolished.
Cases like Michael Morton certainly back this up.
In any case,life in prison is w a punishment worse than death
You are a wonderful man, Mr. Morton. My heart hurts for what you endured. You are also a strong man and I am so sorry for all you went through. God keep you safe.
It’s stuff like this that turned me off of the death penalty.
My Uncle, as D.A., was constantly shocked at how often he had to intervene to stop every manner of excessive police ‘action.’
Things like running a fake fence scam w-a-a-a-a-y too long: the cops were causing burglaries to metastasize all over the crime blotter! He compelled them to wrap things up.
The boys found acting undercover so self-entertaining (every man a Sonny Crockett) that they didn’t want it to quit. Of course, by this time, entrapment became a serious legal defense. So much so that the last cohort of criminals had to be cut loose. The kids were getting in on the action!
This was a recurrent theme in his tenure. In his words, “They just get carried away.” … ” I want to put the bad guys away, not launch new careers in theft.”
If you want to know who watches the cops: it’s your local D.A.
Normally elected, he’s THE politician that should be the focus of errant LEO behavior.
I’ve only known two ex-LEO’s — who both bailed out after their first tour. (East Coast & Mid West) They both quit over the tedium and the loose morals of the job and the boys.
It’s like being a Priest: you’re exposed to dark humanity.
The fictional Bullett is not too far off the mark. As Cathy (Jacqueline Bisset) queries: “How can you live in a world filled with such brutal violence without it damaging your own psyche?” [paraphrased]
=====
We’re now routinely giving the state too much power.
The abuse of meta-data is a route to absolutism — without Death Kamps or Gulags.
The leading edge of which appears to be the self-policing of political thought and the synchronization of agitprop now found to be pervasive within the Media Cathedral.
Journolist, the gang of 400, — I’m naming you.
=====
The tree of liberty is being reduced to bonsai.
I’m in favor of the death penalty, but not in favor of the excuse called state authorized executions. That’s just outsourcing the blood and dirt unto other people. If you want a person killed, do it yourself. Don’t redistribute responsibility to your “community” or state.
Of course, that’s the exact opposite of so called legal authority in the US. Look where that has gotten people, outsourcing all their legal issues to lawyers, judges, and crooked pols. Mad Max post apocalyptic anarchy might not be better, but it’s also hard to be worse.
In any case,life in prison is w a punishment worse than death
Capital punishment is in fact life imprisonment + execution. There is no either or decision. The state doesn’t give you one. You obey the State, as the rest of the people involved in the process does.
McVeigh had what should have been the justice. If someone is to be executed, do it speedily. Otherwise, don’t put them in jail in the first place. Find them and kill them when needed, but let them live their lives free of the authority of the state.
Any argument against capital punishment, is also an argument against imprisonment, of any sort, especially life.
It is better to kill a person now, then to imprison him until you get around to killing them. The second act merely compounds the mistake of the first. A person who is responsible for the first can also be responsible for atonement. But those who redistribute their guilt unto others, will not do anything to atone, for it will always be the state’s problem.
That’s true of every criminal case in existence, not just life imprisonment or capital punishment.
The Leftist feminists state that a man falsely accused of rape will learn some valuable life lessons, which make it valuable. No matter what your authority in life is, it can and always will be corrupted by the Left.
It is really disgraceful when politicians hide the truth because they don’t want to look bad. This is a really awful thing. Look how the Govt. is hiding things about Benghazi, just a shame, this took 25 years but the truth has a way like the wind of going where it wants to and coming out.