[Vision2020] 05-08-04 NY Times: Mistreatment of Prisoners Is Called Rout...

[Debbie Gray]

Ted,

This is the second time you have taken my "pity party"  comment out of
context. Here is what I meant by it: convicted criminals should be
sentenced based solely on the crime they are convicted for (and their
criminal background, eg. previous crimes, etc.). I don't think one should
take into account anything else that the defense attorney might bring in
or the media might bring in or the criminal's mother for people to feel
pity on the person and then to push for a lighter sentence. That is what I
meant. It has nothing to do with whether one feels pity, sympathy, anger,
whatever for people in prison or jail.  It has nothing to do with being
able to see them as human. It has nothing to do with their treatment
subsequent to sentencing. My comment deals with SENTENCING.

I am confused as to why this keeps coming up... and has now been applied
to cruel and savage treatment of Iraqi prisoners?

Debbie

On Sat, 8 May 2004 Tbertruss@aol.com wrote:

>
> All:
>
> Thanks for this article, Wayne.  It supports what I wrote yesterday on V2020.
>  Odd that this sort of abuse goes on in US prisons yet where is the moral
> outrage taking the headlines?  Oh, I forgot, as one V2020 participant phrased it,
> let's not have a "pity party for criminals."
> Those "criminals" in our prisons are not really human anyway.  A high
> percentage of them (compared to the general population) are uneducated and from
> minority groups.
>
> So does anyone think racism is a factor in the abuse of Iraq prisoners?
> Couldn't be!
>
> Ted Moffett
>
>
>

Debbie

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  Debbie Gray      dgray@uidaho.edu      http://www.uidaho.edu/~dgray/
  We must be willing to get rid of the life we've planned, so as to
  have the life that is waiting for us." --Joseph Campbell
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