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Politics : Sharks in the Septic Tank
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To: one_less who wrote (73595)8/28/2003 5:19:00 PM
From: Lane3  Read Replies (1) of 82486
 
They swing their gavel with the one who seems most credible... and that is a "good" thing.

Yes, the system is designed for judge and jury to make a determination of whether or not witness are credible. That presupposes that some will lie and others will be mistaken. It is a given. It's a shame when people lie because they don't respect the solemnity of the scenario. But when defendants lie to avoid conviction, well, what else are they going to do? You can't really expect an embezzler or rapist or whatever to flinch over the telling of a lie whether under oath or not. I mean, c'mon. They're going to hell already. The marginal cost to them of a lie on top of that is marginal and the potential benefit is great. I suppose some defendants might be overcome by guilt at the realization of what they've done, swear to reform and to get back into God's graces, and thus not compound the situation with a lie, but--and I hate to be the one to tell you this--criminals are not nice people and are not likely to do that.

Seems to me that one should not agonize too much over whether bad guys lie under oath. And the one's who find it contemptible to lie aren't going to do so regardless so it doesn't matter. The ones who warrant the energy of this discussion are the OK folks in the middle who may need to be re-motivated to do the right thing.
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