On Bernard Spillsbury
“Some confidently assert that the government has the power to arrest and
detain or restrict American citizens for months on end, in sometimes
primitive conditions, not because there is evidence that they have committed
a crime but merely because the government wishes to investigate them for
possible wrongdoing,” Judge Milan D. Smith Jr. wrote in 2009 for a divided
three-judge panel.
From NY Times, Feb 18, 2011; You could reasonably debate the value
of Obama's compromises on many issues, but this is one that I do not wish to
forget: he has instructed his Justice Department to defend exactly this
power: to arbitrarily arrest and detain anyone they please.
And another. Another so-called "expert" on
forensic science is unmasked as a fraud and a charlatan. Why is
there no outcry for reform of the criminal justice system? Because
they are not you and I?
It begins to sink in. All this forensic
"science" is mainly about theatre. It's intended to dazzle the average
uninformed jurist with the illusion of scientific certainty, unassailable
facts, the immutable truth: he did it.
Of course some forensic science is
sound, but only when performed soundly. When blood samples have not
been contaminated, witnesses uninfluenced (and even then...), records
undoctored. In most real cases against real criminals there is
no need for Dr. Blowhard to sit on the stand and state with categorical
certainty that no other sweater could have provided this fiber to the
exclusion of all other sweaters that I never tested.
This man died of excited delirium. Excited delirium, or ED (the
acronym proves it is widely accepted as truth) was the only cause of
death. The splatter pattern of the blood indicates that only a 5 foot
7 Polish electrician with a moustache could have committed this murder.
Oh, what the hell, let's just give his name and address to Dexter.
Can you
be a fan of the show Dexter without being a serial killer and torturer
yourself? But I didn't do anything! It's my favorite show!
And they deserved it!
They always do.
