Legion World Forums LEGION COMPANION The Anywhere Machine Eric Rudolph

Well, I'll take my turn to vent a little... I can't believe that murderous SOB terrorist filth managed to cut a deal to keep from getting the death penalty. He has no remorse for killing two people and because he's headed for the Supermax federal pen I can't even take comfort in the thought of him being somebody's girlfriend (23 hrs a day in solitary and an hour in the yard leave little time for socializing.) I may be a little more sensitive on this one since three of his crimes happened in my town but this truly makes me ill. Well, I hope he enjoys the view in his 8 x 12 room for the rest of his life, I'm just sorry my taxes will be paying for his three squares and cement bed.

"The thought of him being somebody's girlfriend"? That's prison rape. Nobody deserves that, not even this scumbag.

That Rudolph escaped the death penalty doesn't outrage me -- such deals are cut all the time, and they're to be expected. What outrages me is what surrounds a name that will always be linked, indirectly, to this man: Richard Jewell.

Remember him? The Atlanta Olympics security guard who was originally "charged" with planting the bomb in Olympics Centennial Park, which he identified so that bystanders could be removed from the area before it detonated.

He was never formally charged or indicted, but he was heavily investigated. That didn't stop the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and other media from foaming at the mouth about how he was patently guilty, and biting at the authorities for not taking his "threat" more seriously.

Well, none of the evidence or suspicions held up, and several news organizations (though not the Atlanta paper) made costly settlements of Jewell's libel lawsuits -- but not before the media wolf pack had nearly destroyed an innocent man's life and livelihood. (Rudolph ultimately pleaded guilty to the Atlanta bombing.)

That miscarriage of justice -- entirely outside of government -- was an outrage. And in this era of heightened paranoia, it could happen to you (or me) tomorrow with even more impunity.

Nearly all the supposed societal safeguards for the innocent failed for Richard Jewell. Compared to that, a sociopathic scumbag getting "merely" life in prison without parole isn't worth one particle of angst.

I agree with you, Grey. I immediately thought of him when i heard of the sentencing. The only compensation i can think of is that he should never have to say "yes sir" to another employer in his life. Once the media and the law have their hooks in you, if you are innocent, you are still guilty.

I believe in the freedom of the press, but at the same time, i think the paper should have to report on sundays in one section any legal arrests, convictions, misdemeanors, or political bents of its reporters, staff, editors, and owners.

That way, everyone has ALLLLLLL the facts before they start believing everything they read. And i include democrats, repubs, so called libertarains, etc... in that.

I believe in the free press, but they shouldn't get any more of a pass on their private beliefs, bents, etc... than any private citizen or politician.

Sigh. Over at his blog a comics journalist noted that the interest amongst comic news sites is on getting the first word on an item and little interest is shown in having the last word on a story... or there's more interest in breaking a story than putting the facts together in the end.

The traditional news media is like that, jump on the shiny and new and forget about the unfinished story.

(And I think I'm past caring about "bias" in reporters and periodicals. I'm sick of "Oh that's from ___, you can't believe it." I don't care about bias, I care about truth and if someone who's bias doesn't match mine frequently turns out to be a reliable source, I'll listen.)

Sadly, I know Richard Jewel's name (thankfully as the man who the media framed for the Atlanta bombing, not as the suspect) better than Rudolph's.

I agree that prisons should protect inmates from rape but in Rudolph's case I'll make an exception. Considering one of his targets was a gay nightclub because of his attitudes toward homosexuality some might find it to be poetic justice. I'm not trying to be flip or offensive. And I'm not trying to equate homosexuality with punishment though maybe what I've said could be read that way and I'm sorry if I come across like that, I'm just pissed by the whole thing. Aside from 9/11 I can't remember ever feeling angrier about something.

And yes, what happened to Richard Jewell was a travesty, but people around these parts know what happened and I think locally at least his situation is well known and not held against him in any way.

Rape is violence, as the feminists of all stripes (not just the few who actually make sense ) continually point out. It is not sexuality. In prisons, it does not involve choice.

I know you're pissed off at Rudolph, but exceptions shouldn't be made. Again, I say, nobody deserves to have this happen to him.

That issue got under my skin when a suggestion was made by a public official about Enron CEO Ken Lay:

"I would love to personally escort Lay to an eight-by-ten cell that he could share with a tattooed dude who says, 'Hi, my name is Spike, honey.'"

This particular enthusiastic endorsement of prison rape came from Bill Lockyer, Attorney General of California. Such an authoritarian thug should have long since been barred from any office of public trust, if not locked away himself.

I agree with you, Grey. He should instead be placed in a room and the victims and their families should be allowed to have their fun with him and some bats. That seems fair to me.

No, you don't agree with me -- since I can't tell if you're joking.

At the risk of sounding "humorless" (again), I point out that Rickshaw -- absent any smilies or other disclaimers -- has endorsed violence being shown toward such prisoners, apart from their sentences, and I have not.

Once again: No thuggery or rape behind bars. Period. Tolerating anything less makes a mockery of any system of justice. Not that the ones we have try very hard to uphold such an ideal in the first place, but they have to attempt to do so, at least -- and not have an overseer such as Lockyer enthusiastically abandon it.

Yes, Grey, i was joking. However, any sense of justice in america IS a mockery. Society claims revenge and supposedly rehabilitation, and yet more and more jail is simply a "higher education" for the criminal mind.

And yet the victims are more often than not left out in the cold, not given a place in the system except to be held up as victims, and have the emotional rape of possibly getting to tell their side of the story, and what has happened to them on the stand at sentencing, if they are lucky.

Sorry, i do not believe that our current system of justice is justice at all. It is designed to give lawyers and judges more cases in the future, which means more money lining their pockets, all the while usually turning out violent and dangerous offenders to prey on yet more unsuspecting people.

Case in point...John Cooey.

I think the professional perverters, lawyers and judges that go through hyper-twisted, torturous takes on simple things have warped the courts now to where justice is not something even actively sought, but something simply paid lip service to for the nightly sound bite the souless media whores run to up their ratings and give the lawyers face time on.

but...thats just me.

Do any international courts show any interest in prosecuting him for the deaths at the Olympics? My first thought was,"Oh good, now a few other countries can take him to an international court to try him for murder." I know the damage was done on American soil but it was at an event sponsored by the world at large. Do they have no say in it?

Besides which, I always expect these superstitious religious fruitcakes to act in groups. (conspiracy theorist that I am) Can we send him to Guantanamo for "interrogation"? I'm guessing he has a whole list of contacts and drops as well as numbers and names that would make for some very interesting reading material.

This debate is nothing new.

Expediency will win out over justice time and again, if it palliates the public's desire for an illusion of security.

Me, I'm fairly happy that generally, murderers get caught.

They do? Not to be snotty or nasty, but you should look into that. It's been a while, but if i remember correctly, the fbies estimated that something like 70% go unsolved or even known about.

I could be wrong, but that seems to be what i remember.

Not to be snotty or nasty myself, but I couldn't be less interested in being a Talking Head on this thread this time around. My completely unsubstantiated and probably false statement of hope as regards the fate of murderers is really all I care to add to this one. Sorry.

This sentencing along with the 10th anniversary of Oklahoma City has reminded me that most of the terrorism visited upon this country--lump school shootings and the DC sniper in with those too--has been homegrown. Once again, Pogo's right on the money: "We have met the enemy, and he is us."