jimrandomh comments on Soulless morality - Less Wrong

20 Post author: PhilGoetz 14 March 2009 09:48PM

You are viewing a comment permalink. View the original post to see all comments and the full post content.

Comments (36)

You are viewing a single comment's thread. Show more comments above.

Comment author: PhilGoetz 14 March 2009 11:43:43PM 2 points [-]

You can release a locked-up convict and compensate him somehow, but you can't resurrect a dead convict.

In Virginia, if you're convicted of murdering someone and sentenced to life in prison, and that person shows up alive and healthy more than 21 days after your conviction, that is not grounds for an appeal of your sentence. So there's little interest in releasing innocent people. In many states, you can be sentenced to life in prison if you are convected of any 3 felonies. So there just isn't this concern over prison sentences being too harsh, as long as they don't kill.

And you can't compensate someone for 15 years in prison.

One can't win a war without killing enemy soldiers, but one can win a war without killing enemy civilians.

Torturing enemy soldiers doesn't help you win a war and may motivate enemy soldiers to fight to the death, or to torture your own soldiers in return (let alone PR disasters that may arise out of this).

You're not thinking any of these things through; but I'm not going to think them through for you here, because I would have to say things more socially unacceptable than I'm willing to say.

Losing a pilot is not acceptable; losing a $360,000,000 plane is.

Not sure what plane are you talking about.

The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F-22_Raptor">F22 Raptor</a>.

In general, you are seizing on individual examples and using them as a justification to ignore my point.

Comment author: jimrandomh 15 March 2009 05:00:40AM *  2 points [-]

In Virginia, if you're convicted of murdering someone and sentenced to life in prison, and that person shows up alive and healthy more than 21 days after your conviction, that is not grounds for an appeal of your sentence.

I don't believe you. Or rather, I believe that you have been confused by legal terminology. If a lower court reviews new evidence and decides to reverse a conviction, then that is not an appeal, because appeals can only be granted by a higher court, but it leads to the person being released anyways. You have confused a statement about legal procedure for a statement about outcomes, leading you to an obviously absurd conclusion about the value of innocent peoples' freedom.

Comment author: Douglas_Knight 15 March 2009 06:35:40AM 5 points [-]

Phil is stuck in the 20th century. In 2001 "biological" evidence became admissible later. This is supposed to mean DNA, but might cover a living "victim." In 2004, more evidence became admissible. But those who plead guilty are stuck. http://truthinjustice.org/VAevidence.htm

Comment author: infinite_asshole 15 March 2009 06:31:23PM 3 points [-]

In Virginia, until 2001, neither a lower court, nor any other court, could review new evidence after 21 days. In 2001, an exception was made for DNA evidence. In 2004, an exception was made for evidence that could not possibly have been discovered within 21 days, that would have led any "reasonable" person to a verdict of innocent, for people who pled innocent. See http://www.vadp.org/21day.htm, http://truthinjustice.org/VAevidence.htm .