Arrested not for shoplifting, but for shopping

Post Reply New Topic

Apparently, this commonly happens to black people. They are often profiled and wrongfully arrested for shoplifting or credit card fraud and forced to sign confessions:

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/man ... -1.2502760

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/bla ... -1.1496735

How many black people have been falsely convicted of felonies for this, and thus had their civil rights impaired?

Meanwhile, in Louisiana the ability of poor black defendants to defend themselves in court is nonexistent:

http://www.lsunow.com/daily/death-penal ... 81549.html

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2 ... cases.html

It is very likely that a lot of innocent black men in Louisiana have been falsely convicted of felonies, and thus can't get a job, find decent housing, or vote. Yet, we've been aware of this problem for years. Why hasn't society done anything?

Meanwhile, Trump is wanting to step up the practice of private prisons which "save" money by cutting corners with prisoners' rights:

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/201 ... tion-bauer

I say that if these practices lead to civil disturbance, then we as a society would have deserved it.

As the LSU article states, not providing an attorney quickly can lead to evidence disappearing with time. Security videos may be routinely overwritten, leading to that piece of evidence being lost forever, for example. If they don't jump on it quick--and how can they if they're sitting in a jail cell with no lawyer?--then they may not be able to prove their innocence.

This is evil.

Louisiana sounds like a terrible place to live.

Surely supplying a lawyer is a constitutional right due to anyone who is accused of a crime.