US Authoritarianism

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Multiple Life Sentences for Minor in Police Shooting He did not Participate in. (lemmy.world)

submitted 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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LINK TO THE PETITION

https://www.change.org/p/district-attorney-cj-robinson-free-lakeith-smith

Source: https://www.tumblr.com/iguanodonwildman/661968148678017024/please-sign-the-petition-so-i-checked-up-on~~___~~

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[–] [email protected] -2 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Ok but again that's two separate issues (people of different color being treated differently during trial vs certain crimes where the perpetrator should be tried as an adult if they're close enough to being one) and your point about demonstrating adult competencies opens the door to adults being tried as children because they can't demonstrate adult competencies.

People of all colors should be treated the same by the justice system, I totally agree, that means that if a black 16 y.o. was to be treated as an adult in a murder case then so should a white or asian or first nation, it doesn't mean they shouldn't be trialled as adults.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 months ago

people of different color being treated differently during trial vs certain crimes where the perpetrator should be tried as an adult if they’re close enough to being one

The issue that unites them is the perception among prosecutors and judges of black people as exceptionally competent and mature.

People of all colors should be treated the same

The question that courts use to determine adulthood is not skin color but psychological maturity. The bias to that answer is caused by maturity being tied back to a perception of skin color.

Simply announcing "All people of the same age should be treated the same" precludes us of the ability to test for psychological maturity. Ignoring senility, mental illness, heavy metal poisoning, and a host of other physiological and sociological factors when determining culpability does little more than to transform a suspect into a scapegoat.

But then the whole engine of prosecution appears to be a means of displaying a muscular state apparatus rather than actually reducing incidences of harm. The purpose of legally "trying someone as an adult" is simply to remove tools from the defense and grant more power to the prosecution. It is designed to give the DA more leverage in extorting a plea bargain from the defendant.