I know I have said this elsewhere, but it bears repeating: The purpose of the legal system is to (1) punish people and (2) convince the public that the right people are being locked up. It is to be believed in, not to merit that belief (which is HARD).

It is almost impossible for police officers or prosecutors to get anything beyond modest punishment for even egregious misdeeds because they aren't really misdeeds. A crime was committed, someone was locked up, and the public got to smile with satisfaction that justice was served. It is the agitators who insists on revisiting these things that are undermining the system.

Oh so now you are going to say that the feelings of the pitchfork and torch crowd don't matter? That commie pinko concepts like due process and presumption of innocence ought to be recognized? What are you going to demand next? Justice? Fairness? Closing Guantanamo Bay?

The one thing I don't understand about conservatives is their belief that the government is not to be trusted... except when it has guns. Put a government employee behind a desk and they'll be lining up to lynch him. Give him a gun and they'll be lining up to offer sexual favors.

Part of the irony is that two of the first 10 amendments to the constitution are directly or indirectly limits on the power of the military while four limit the police/prosecutors. And yet, conservative originalists insist that prosecutors and the police are owed a fawning deference...