Chapter 9
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2 pm
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Ricky was arraigned. His lawyer advised him to plead guilty. Jerry promised the judge he would require his son to work off his debt. Because Ricky's only other arrest was as a minor, the judge was required by law to ignore it. The judge sentenced Ricky to three months probation, and 200 hours of community service. The number seemed to rattle Ricky, but his lawyer kept him calm.
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2:15
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Bill and I left the courthouse. On our way out a young man named John tried to get us to sign a petition.
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John: You two cops?
Joe: Yes.
John: How would you like to sign my petition, urging president-elect Duric not to abolish the death penalty?
Bill: I don't feel right about signing a petition like that, particularly on Christmas Eve.
John: He'll be sworn in in less than one month, we have to move now. If we don't, plenty of the scum on Death Row just need to wait it out and Duric will let them out.
Bill: Duric says he will commute their sentences to life with no chance of parole. He has no intention of letting convicted murderers and child molesters out.
John: He's sacrificing justice for mercy. Those ACLU liberals are already pressing to re-open some of their cases, they might get out. They've already made certain that they all get mandatory DNA testing.
Joe: Why shouldn't they? DNA testing helps ensure that the guilty are convicted and the innocent are set free. The cases you're talking about are where DNA is inconclusive, and the ACLU are making sure no innocent person gets executed.
John: They're opposed to all executions. Can you honestly say you haven't seen people who don't deserve to die?
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I thought about this, I had seen a few who fit that description. One in particular, a mr Jones. Jones was an illegal arms dealer, responsible for at least three felony murders. Jones also drugged his wife, causing a mis-carriage, he later abandoned his wife, stole her furniture, stole her grandmother's cane. An 87 year old blind woman, he left her standing alone in a corner without so much as a cane to lean on. Jones even stole the money for his own mother's funeral, if anyone deserved to be executed he did. Because of Duric's campaign pledge of abolishing the death penalty, some governors were rushing to get those on Death Row executed, special commissions had been set up. These commissions were sometimes called "Death Panels." They reviewed whether it was unconstitutional to execute them early. Ironically, in some cases, the condemned individual wanted to be executed rather than live the rest of their life in prison. Jones was one such individual. He was a manipulative sociopath, and his charms didn't seem to work in prison. Jones would likely be amongst the last people executed before Duric was sworn in. I was tempted to sign the petition, until I began reading it. Bill was still giving his arguments.
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Bill: Studies have shown that capitol punishment does not deter murder, in fact encourages it.
John: How do you figure that?
Bill: It basically says that the whole concept of "Eye for an eye" is valid. The fact that the state would be the sole administrator of justice is lost on people. They think it's morally acceptable to kill those who have wronged them.
John: "Eye for an eye" is one of the few things the Bible got right.
Bill: Maybe the old prophets like Moses and Mohammed were wise enough to properly decide who should live and who should die. But I doubt anyone alive today is that wise.
Joe: This petition of yours, it says that we police officers will go on strike of the death penalty is abolished.
Bill: I've given my argument for why capitol punishment does not deter crime. You disagree, but do you think violent crime will go down if police officers go on strike?
John: There might be a little chaos, but necessary. Strikes work. Remember 10 years ago, all those athletes went on strike to abolish nuclear weapons, and they won.
Bill: That strike was part of a popular movement to abolish nuclear weapons. Maybe it did help, but they lost a lot of income as a result. A few years before that, a number of professionals, engineers, doctors, and banker, went on strike to protest what they claimed were socialist policies of the government. That strike failed miserably because they didn't have popular support. And unlike the athletes, they weren't willing to give up their large salaries for very long.
John: You're saying you're not willing to give up your salary?
Joe: Not for a cause I don't believe in. Maybe there's some merit to keeping the death penalty in place, but I'm not going to abandon my duties.
Bill: Me either. You on the other hand, you are encouraging police officers to abandon their duty and let crime run rampant. That's illegal.
John: I'm protected by the first amendment.
Joe: The first amendment does not allow you to yell "Fire" in a crowded theatre. You're allowed to sign a petition advocating the death penalty, but you can't encourage police officers to abandon their duties at a moment's notice.
John: I did not realize that.
Bill: Have any police officers signed this petition yet?
John: No, I just started.
Joe: Than we suggest you tear up this part of the petition, and go home. If you so desire you can come back on Monday, with a petition merely advocating your platform.
John: So you're not going to arrest me?
Joe: Not unless we catch you knowingly breaking the law.
John: I won't, I swear.
Bill: Good. And Merry Christmas.
John: Yeah, Merry Christmas officers. And a happy new year.