• UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
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      5 hours ago

      There is no objective measure of criminal conduct. It’s all malleable. Prosecutors and judges and juries ultimately make these decisions case-by-case. And the results can be heavily weighted by wealthy, socially influential private interests who want to see an example made of a particularly offensive or terrifying individual.

      • Justin@lemmy.jlh.name
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        2 hours ago

        There is no objective measure of criminal conduct

        I mean that’s what the law is supposed to do, maybe it doesn’t work like that in the US.

        • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
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          1 hour ago

          “The Law” is a complex often contradictory abstract rubric that has to be applied to individual circumstances based on incomplete information by imperfect people. That’s the whole reason we have both a prosecutor and defense, plus an (ostensibly) impartial judge to adjudicate procedure and a jury to determine guilt/innocence and sentence.

          If you could just put data into a computer and have it spit out perfect verdicts, the entire judicial system would be unnecessary.