The big trial I almost got impanelled on concluded yesterday and the defendant was found guilty of second degree murder. You can read about it here if you'd like. Can I say again how grateful I am that I did not spend five weeks of my life on this? Not least because there were three days of jury deliberations, which indicates to me that the facts weren't all clear and cut-and-dry, and the defendant was given the mandatory life sentence. The responsibility of sending--let's face it--a twenty year old kid away for at least 15 years, at which point if he isn't a sociopath now, he will be then, is not one I would like to have weighing on my conscience. (If you *didn't* click on my link [tsk tsk], the defendant was yelling, "I didn't fucking do it!" after being pronounced guilty, and the murder weapon wasn't ever recovered. I'm not saying I believe he's innocent based on the scant facts I know about the case; I'm just saying that if I were to send someone away for life, it'd be easier for me to swallow with nice hard DNA evidence.)
I also am deeply divided on how I feel about what and how much punishment is meted out in this kind of case. I mean, I know you can't just let people go around shooting other people scott-free, but like I said above, this kid was 18 when he (probably!) committed the murder. 18 year old males are renowned for having both too much testosterone and too few good decision-making skills. Not all of them (so don't tell me *you* were awesome, mature, and a paragon of good behavior at that age, I ain't talking about you) obviously, but many many. And depending on what environment they are in, that bad decision-making might lead to things as benign as drinking way too much their freshman year in college or acting like an asshole in their nascent romantic relationships or things as non-benign as joining a gang and shooting at their rivals. Relatively benign or relatively malevolent, I don't think that for many many people it accurately predicts how they're going to be ten, twenty, thirty years down the line. But once you put someone in state prison, the chances of them being pushed over the line to "really really bad guy" is pretty high. Prison doesn't rehabilitate--nor does our society seem to want it to--it just hardens people, strips away their humanity, and usually teaches them some new tricks about how to commit crimes.
Secondly, yeah, Lynn has a gang problem, but the thing is, it doesn't much effect anyone who isn't a gang member. Very rarely there'll be a stray bullet that hits someone who's an innocent bystander, but that's uncommon and unintentional. They just basically prey on each other and leave the rest of us citizens alone. I'm not saying one gang member killing another gang member is something society can overlook, but I'm saying, I'm sorry but it's different than killing your wife, your kid, some old lady whose purse you're trying to snatch, or a random prostitute because she reminds you of your mother. I dunno. I realize by saying that, it seems like I'm saying one person's life is worth more than another's, and I don't really mean that. I'm just saying there's something almost consensual there: you join a gang, and no matter how young and stupid you are, you gotta know that means you're putting yourself at risk for being shot. It's kinda part of the deal. Again, I know society can't countenance that, but I think it should count somehow when it comes to sentencing.
Sorry. I'll go back to talking about vapid things like my biceps. Peace!
xoxo
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