How a ’50s-Era New York Knife Law Has Landed Thousands in Jail

Re:How a ’50s-Era New York Knife Law Has Landed Thousands in... by everybodyknows on Saturday September 30, 2017 @02:41PM (#15374347)

DAs are rewarded for convictions, the heavier the charge the better. Police are rewarded for arrests.

Only one of those two drops the blight of a criminal record onto someone's future.

What we as citizens can do is demand that elected officials hold DAs accountable for their wrongful convictions.

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Re:How a ’50s-Era New York Knife Law Has Landed Thousands in... by curun1r on Saturday September 30, 2017 @07:46PM (#15375595)

> What we as citizens can do is demand that elected officials hold DAs accountable for their wrongful convictions

Way to pass the buck. In 47 states, district attorney is an elected office, not an appointment. If we want better behavior from district attorneys, we need citizens to be better at monitoring that behavior and holding them accountable.

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Re:How a ’50s-Era New York Knife Law Has Landed Thousands in... by emn13 on Saturday September 30, 2017 @05:17PM (#15375032)

Given the injustice of justice, "wrongful" won't do much. "Unreasonable" would be a better standard.

E.g.: have a retrospective sample of cases analyzed and ranked by independent reviewers; punish those deemed unreasonable; reward those deemed reasonable (explicitly regardless of the law at hand).

Better yet, fine lawmakers that voted for laws involved in the convictions. Doesn't have to be a lot.

Good luck with that ;-).

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