And if you have an Al Qaeda member in custody, and you know he knows where the dirty bomb is going to be set off, what do you do then?
CB already answered that question, with this:
The law can be bent or ignored when it's absolutely necessary for the good of the community as a whole, but otherwise, you go by the rules
The critical point, of course, is "when absolutely necessary". If you find yourself stretching that definition, or straining for evidence to rationalize your moves as "absolutely necessary", that's a good sign that you've gone too far.
It's similar to the definitional problem surrounding the justification of the use of force by invoking the right to self defense. We all agree that individuals and nations have the right to defend themselves. There remains the question of what degree of threat is required before this principle can be invoked. If you blow someone away because he had a bulge under his jacket and gave you a dirty look, questions are going to be asked, especially if the bulge turns out to be a wallet.
I'm starting to wonder about the prison thing. My first reaction was that it had to be independent action by a few sickos, abetted by weak supervision. I'm not so sure now. The sheer volume of the photographic evidence argues against that. If we had a few snapshots, that would be consistent with a sick prank. Thousands of photos suggests that somebody was photographing this stuff for a reason, and, by extension, that somebody was organizing these sessions for a reason. That suggests intent.
I do not want to see the 7 jackasses take the fall for somebody higher up. |
