Lawyers: Defenders of Justice, Keeper of the Truth, Protectors of the Innocent, Knights against Tyranny, Vanquishers of Corruption... Or are they?
In this three-part series (or more, if I get more ideas and hate mails), I will attempt to rationalise why lawyers do more harm than good in society. Last article, I pointed out how lawyers tend to work for bad guys rather than good guys because bad guys pay better (and good guys don't have problems).
This week, I will touch upon the famous adage of lawyers: "It's better to let 10 guilty men go free than let one innocent man suffer".
What? Let 10 criminals loose? Now, I'm all for protecting the innocent, but surely a 10:1 ratio is going too far.
Our criminal laws are built on this adage. It's extremely protective of the rights of the defendants. Everyone knows this, including - and here's the friggin' problem - criminals too.
Criminal law is also about deterrence (or so we're taught in law school - unless it's all bullshit to supply exam questions). The idea being that crime must be punished hard, so to deter others from picking up crime.
But how will criminals fear being caught and jailed, if they know that they can easily get away with doing crime due to the lopsided criminal law system? A 1-in-11 chance (9.09%) of getting caught is quite good odds, even to the most mathematically-challenged criminal with a bad gambling habit.
Worse still, if we keep letting criminals off the hook, it means that there will be plenty of them out there committing even more crimes with little fear of being put behind bars.
Now, you're going to argue for the poor innocent guy standing at the dock for a crime he never committed. Sure, being in the wrong place at the wrong time can happen to anyone. But seriously, how many of us really happen to be just, y'know, just strollin' down the ghetto when shots get fired from nowhere and the cops mistake you for another gun-totting dude? Come on, how many of us really share company with psychotic Gone Girl bitches who's just waiting to frame you up for all the times you forget to get her flowers for Valentine.
The risk of being framed for a crime in our lifetime is close to nil. People who end up in bad spots are usually there for a good reason - because they're bad. Point is, good guys don't need to be shielded with pro-defendant criminal laws. In fact, such laws hurt them more because they only serve to incentivise bad guys to do bad shit.
Is it better to let 10 guilty men go free than let one innocent man suffer? Nope, not on my watch.
In this three-part series (or more, if I get more ideas and hate mails), I will attempt to rationalise why lawyers do more harm than good in society. Last article, I pointed out how lawyers tend to work for bad guys rather than good guys because bad guys pay better (and good guys don't have problems).
This week, I will touch upon the famous adage of lawyers: "It's better to let 10 guilty men go free than let one innocent man suffer".
What? Let 10 criminals loose? Now, I'm all for protecting the innocent, but surely a 10:1 ratio is going too far.
 |
| Yep, this guy deserves bail |
Our criminal laws are built on this adage. It's extremely protective of the rights of the defendants. Everyone knows this, including - and here's the friggin' problem - criminals too.
Criminal law is also about deterrence (or so we're taught in law school - unless it's all bullshit to supply exam questions). The idea being that crime must be punished hard, so to deter others from picking up crime.
But how will criminals fear being caught and jailed, if they know that they can easily get away with doing crime due to the lopsided criminal law system? A 1-in-11 chance (9.09%) of getting caught is quite good odds, even to the most mathematically-challenged criminal with a bad gambling habit.
Worse still, if we keep letting criminals off the hook, it means that there will be plenty of them out there committing even more crimes with little fear of being put behind bars.
Now, you're going to argue for the poor innocent guy standing at the dock for a crime he never committed. Sure, being in the wrong place at the wrong time can happen to anyone. But seriously, how many of us really happen to be just, y'know, just strollin' down the ghetto when shots get fired from nowhere and the cops mistake you for another gun-totting dude? Come on, how many of us really share company with psychotic Gone Girl bitches who's just waiting to frame you up for all the times you forget to get her flowers for Valentine.
 |
| Free as a bitch |
The risk of being framed for a crime in our lifetime is close to nil. People who end up in bad spots are usually there for a good reason - because they're bad. Point is, good guys don't need to be shielded with pro-defendant criminal laws. In fact, such laws hurt them more because they only serve to incentivise bad guys to do bad shit.
Is it better to let 10 guilty men go free than let one innocent man suffer? Nope, not on my watch.
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