Re: Man gets life in prison for spitting [on a cop]

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On Thursday 03 July 2003 05:15, Timothy R. Butler wrote:
>   There was no hate involved. I just believe in laws to protect law
> enforcement.

the question is not one of deserving protection, it's about punishment that is 
commensurate to the crime. it was shown that no disease was spread, and the 
fellow was "clean" in the first place. but he did commit the vile act of 
spitting in someone's face, and not just a "someone" but a public servant. he 
does deserve to be punished for such an action.

but life in prison means decades behind bars for what amounted to an insultory 
action. is that punishment really deserved? it's like putting someone away 
for life for smashing in a window. it's so out of proportion it's ridiculous.

we have murderers and rapists who get far less time. but how dare anyone spit 
in the face of a cop!!

of course, this sets up a brutal precedent. spitting in someone's face doesn't 
exactly leave a permenant scar, nor is it something that would be heard 
throughout the neighbourhood like a gunshot. in other words, it's easy to 
fake. if this kind of sentence becomes commonplace, what a great way for the 
less upright in law enforcement (including those who think they are, but step 
over the line in the name of their own internal worldview) to put someone 
away for a good, long time for doing absolutely nothing.

> Most police I've meet are nice, dedicated people and they
> deserve protection.

while i believe that police officers hold an important duty within our society 
and work a difficult job, it seems the quality and fairness excersized within 
their profession has been on a steady downhill slide for a good while now. in 
this case the judicial system seems to be complicit in the degradation of 
fairness within law enforcement.

>   Now, I'm no doctor, but I'm fairly certain serious disceases like HIV can
> be transmitted via saliva. 

as has already been pointed out this is a falsehood.

- -- 
Aaron J. Seigo
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