h a l f b a k e r yYou gonna finish that?
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Disturbingly frequently, legal systems manage to
convict individuals of
crimes they did not, in fact, commit.
Often, these individuals are imprisoned, sometimes
for long periods; on
their release, the State pays them financial
compensation.
This money comes from the pockets of the long-
suffering
taxpayers. It
would be far more appropriate to take it from those
responsible.
In this scheme, when a wrongful conviction is
identifies, all those
employed in the criminal justice system who
worked on the case are
subject to a levy to fund the compensation. From
the arresting officer
to the judge, each pays an apportioned amount
depending on the
significance of their role. The payment would be
deducted from
salaries in the case of existing or former staff, or
from pensions for
retired staff.
The amounts would be small, and spread over
many years, but it
would be a constant niggling reminder to the
employee when viewing
thier monthly payslip, and encourage them to think
"Have we really
got the right person ?"
Jurors, being unpaid, and merely making a
judgement on the evidence presented, would of
course be unaffected, as would the defence.
[link]
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"Charles Dahmer, you are a free man!" |
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"But Your Honour, he confessed!" |
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"Order, order. One can never be too sure, and I am not condemning this man until the jury have signed for joint and several liability!" |
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Aren't you thinking of Kirby Groomkirby there ? |
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Money could also be donated from the slush funds garnered
from siezed cash and assets. I know that many cash-
strapped PDs put these 'unofficial' funds to good use, but
other agencies, the DEA in particular, are swimming in
liquid assets. |
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They should go talk to the Secret Service,
who seem to have some efficient if unoriginal
ideas about how to spend their employer's
money … |
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They certainly know how to cut a hard bargain... or
perhaps not, given the other party's reaction to their
revised offer. |
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