Comments by "cchris874" (@cchris874) on "Travis McMichael Sentenced To Life In Prison On Federal Hate Crimes In Ahmaud Arbery Killing" video.

The miscarriage of justice continues.
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@theartistformerlyknownasth8612 I agree with the vast majority of legal scholars in the US it's not a good rule, across the board. This why more and more states are pushing to get rid of it. It's been particularly used unfairly against black defendants. We don't need felony murder if we simply adopt the much better rule: punish on the basis of criminal X's actual actions. That's far more in keeping with common sense, the Golden Rule, and the intuitive belief that punishment should be proportional to the crime. I am willing to comprise to keep it if each crime were evaluated on a case by case basis. Here, as phone records prove, there was no prior phone contact between the Ms and Bryon either the day of, or the day before. Bryon started to follow without any knowledge of anything. He did not know if this chase was legal. He had no way of knowing shots would be fired. So you can't put him in the same category as an armed bank robber who is knowingly doing something highly dangerous. Justice means we consider puting aside our extreme hatred of the moment, and go by principle. Bryon may be guilty of hitting Arbery with his car, in addition to the attempted false imprisonment. If you could create your ideal justice system, would call for a life sentence for someone who, although a racist pig, not only did not pull the trigger, but was not in on the plan, and didn't know gunshots would occur? That does not excuse his actions, and he obviously saw the Ms were armed, and maybe that dictates more years. But life? I think that should be reserved for worse came crimes, which this was not.
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@theartistformerlyknownasth8612 To me Arbery's mental illness may have some limited relevance that's to his favor. If you make the assumption the person you are chasing is normal in every respect, you are stereotyping him and assuming he will only behave the way you expect. If that fails to happen, it's your fault (The McMichaels) for assuming he didn't conform to your stereotype. This may or may not be applicable here, but it's conceivable Arbery's decision involved questionable judgement because of his illness. I put this forth in very speculative terms only.
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@theartistformerlyknownasth8612 I have serious misgivings about the length of these sentences. Especially in the case of William Bryan. To me this is one of the clearest indictments of the felony murder rule. It turns basic principles of justice on their head.
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@theartistformerlyknownasth8612 "most states are not pushing to get rid of it" I didn't say most states, I said more states, implying an ongoing trend. "The felony murder doctrine is one of the most widely criticized features of American criminal law. Legal scholars almost unanimously condemn it as irrational, concluding that it imposes punishment without fault and presumes guilt without proof. Despite this, the law persists in almost every U.S. jurisdiction." -review of the the book Felony Murder by Guyora Binder ----- The US is the only country in the world that still holds onto Felony Murder, with the exception of much watered- down versions in Canada and Australia. "Even in the United States, there are vast differences in the Felony Murder Laws. Currently in the United States, reforms and abolishment have happened or are happening. Ohio, Hawaii, Kentucky, Michigan, and Massachusetts no longer apply the felony murder rule. (Abolished) Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, and Washington limit the felony murder rule to the actual perpetrators of the homicide. There are many states currently in the process of changing their felony murder laws, including Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Colorado, and Minnesota. The most recent reform is California’s SB 1437. In September 2019, ..." - Restore Justice website
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@theartistformerlyknownasth8612 "Bryan chose to chase down and block in a guy with other guys who had guns" Yes, but you are trying your hardest to push this man as far as you can into the category of a worst case criminal. He isn't, period. Our justice system is supposed to do the opposite. When there are extenuating circumstances, we are supposed to resolve those to the benefit of the accused. I suspect that deep down hatred and disgust, not the principles of due process, are guiding your thinking. "he has gotten what he deserved." In your opinion he did, but not all sensible people agree. That said, IMO, his should be a case where we can each respect the other's opinion. There's a case for each. I hope you are not so one-sided you can't acknowledge that both views are in the realm of a reasonable discussion, as opposed to the alt-right/racist pigs who insist the Ms were some sort of heroes.
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