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September 24, 2007
Lies, damn lies and FBI crime statistics
This Washington Post article is headlined "FBI Report: Violent Crime on the Rise." This TalkLeft post reacting to the Post story is headlined "Overall Crime Rate Lowest in 30 Years." Rather than provide my own take on this new FBI report, I would simply propose that nobody (including no politician) opine on crime and sentencing policy until having the chance to read the report.
Perhaps the more intriguing related tidbit comes from this coverage of a pledge by Rudy Giuliani in a speech to the NRA of "No plea bargains, no exceptions, you go to jail" for violent offenders. For an academic, it is fun to imagine a world without plea bargains for violent offenders; but, practically speaking, such a world is almost as likely as Rudy finding time to read the new 500-page Ohio Death Penalty report.
September 24, 2007 at 03:54 PM | Permalink
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Comments
Some district attorneys, even in urban areas, have a "plead to the lead" policy.
Posted by: | Sep 24, 2007 4:02:57 PM
Is that similar to the "if it bleeds, it leads" policy?
Posted by: George | Sep 24, 2007 4:29:43 PM
I'm absolutely sick of the "tuff on crime" silliness that only surfaces during election season. His comment on pleas, coming form an ex-prosecutor, should disqualify Giuliani from holding high office in and of itself. Indeed, I find it difficult to determine what is his idea's most striking feature: its practical stupidity or its raw political cynicism. I wrote recently about a Texas pol making similarly absurdist campaign touts:
http://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2007/09/silly-season-causes-pols-to-embrace.html
We all need to do more to hold pols accountable during elections for dumbed down "tuff" rhetoric on criminal justice - it harms both the integrity of the political debate and of the justice system.
Posted by: Gritsforbreakfast | Sep 24, 2007 6:37:58 PM
