As it happens, a (white) Midlands cop was just convicted of the manslaughter of a (black) man having a mental health episode. The cop tasered him twice (the first didn’t incapacitate his, the second cycle was 33 seconds long), before kicking him in the head. The cop was found with his foot on top of the man’s head when reinforcements showed up.
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/jun/23/police-officer-guilty-of-manslaughter-of-ex-footballer-dalian-atkinson

20 odd years of incarceration will achieve nothing.
Rehabilitation, acknowledment of his guilt and educating others would be of far greater benefit

Punishment and deterrence are also purposes of the criminal justice system. I agree that in many (most?) cases those are futile. This might be one of the cases where the deterrent effect is felt: if you’re a cop that needlessly kills people, there is a chance you will be sent to prison.

Chauvin is accused of evading $450,000 of tax. Floyd was accused of having a counterfeit $50 bill before he was murdered.

I think it’s not declaring 450,000 income – still pretty sporting though, even in low tax US

The 3 other police officers are yet to have their day(s) in court.
Likely they will be cacking themselves and revising their defence arguments.
Chauvin’s solicitor, Eric Nelson, is retained by minneapolis police to defend; those yet to appear in court should be looking for someone better.

Sorry, scaredypants, you’re absolutely right.

I’d imagine Chauvin’s lawyer would have been paid by the PBA (union) and contributions from other racists. Hopefully the local police union (which can be relied upon to obstruct and oppose reforms to make policing less violent, opaque and racist) will be bankrupted.

People (principally of colour of course) end up spending long terms in prison for a few relatively minor offences. I don’t get it

They have the highest incarceration rate in the world – The US accounts for 4% of the world’s population but 20% of the world’s prison population. There are over 2 million people in prison there.. The proportion of people of colour in jail in the US even puts apartheid era South Africa in the shade.  In economic terms they’re a valuable resource – the 13th Amendment prohibits slavery and involuntary servitude except as a punishment of a crime. The prison population is a labour force bigger that any other US employer – working for 60 cents a day and producting $2 billion worth  of commodities. The US economy would fall over without it.

The prison population is a labour force bigger that any other US employer – working for 60 cents a day and producting $2 billion worth  of commodities. The US economy would fall over without it.

Do you have a source for that? I’m curious enough to want to read up on it.

Do you have a source for that? I’m curious enough to want to read up on it.

I’ve heard this stuff talked about on various podcasts as well. It’s a crazy part of the economy!

Many US towns also make up the “normal taxation” shortfall by issuing some stupid civil fines, up to 1/3 of their revenues can come from such sources. Cracked drives, mismatched curtains, untidy yards etc the fines themselves are not criminal, but not being able to afford to pay is. They have very effectively criminalised poverty.

Freedom land.

@piemonster it’s constitutional. The 13th amendendment. Slavery or involuntary servitude can exist as punishment where someone is convicted of a crime.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penal_labor_in_the_United_States

Interesting reading.

Had to call my dad out as racist yesterday. Think it shocked him and made him think. BLM is not just attacking people for having a different opinion, and most election fraud in the UK is not done by the Pakistani community (Well, I don’t know for sure, but he was making it a race issue)

Interesting to see how the government’s new found concerns about election fraud are gaining traction with those like your father More Cash, your father’s response confirms that the issue of election fraud is just a racist trope being trotted out by a racist government to sow more division.

You’ve expressed it better than I managed in the heat of the moment.

@malv173

@piemonster it’s constitutional. The 13th amendendment. Slavery or involuntary servitude can exist as punishment where someone is convicted of a crime.

Cheers Malv, but that I already know. I’m more looking for analysis/opinion on how it’s used and the subsequent implications. E.g. are there documented examples where generating income also incentivises to increase the prison population to further generate income.

documented examples where generating income also incentivises to increase the prison population to further generate income.

It’s been a while since I watched it, but I think this John Oliver episode talks about it. If not this episode then there’s another one that does.

John Oliver Prisons