# In my humble opinion, this is the biggest crock of shit I've ever heard of **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [December 19, 2006, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-my-humble-opinion-this-is-the-biggest-crock-of-shit-ive-ever-heard-of/384827 "2006-12-19T20:31:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 14
**Author:** ![if6was9](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e47c2d/32.png) [@if6was9](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/if6was9)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2007, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-my-humble-opinion-this-is-the-biggest-crock-of-shit-ive-ever-heard-of/384827/261 "2007-06-11T21:45:24Z")
[QUOTE=Li’l Pluck] HALLELUJAH! And as for the prosecutors who’ll appeal the order:…Where’s that damn middle finger smilie when you need it? Oh, well, we’ll have to settle for this: :eek: :rolleyes: ☹ :mad: [/QUOTE] Really. No offense to any prosecutors here, but so many seem to be more worried about their conviction percentage than justice. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2007, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-my-humble-opinion-this-is-the-biggest-crock-of-shit-ive-ever-heard-of/384827/262 "2007-06-11T22:42:18Z")
I don’t understand why the DA would be able to override the judge’s release order and keep him in jail. How long is the appeal likely to take? ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2007, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-my-humble-opinion-this-is-the-biggest-crock-of-shit-ive-ever-heard-of/384827/263 "2007-06-12T03:16:51Z")
I heard this live on CNN and my cynical fucking mind went, " Well, now we’ll see just how long it takes the State to throw out the Judge’s ruling and appeal. " It took \*\* only two goddamned hours\*\* for me to find out. That kid is going to be made to pay and pay and pay and pay and pay becaues it’s Georgia and by god we sure know who really runs the shit behind the scenes down there. How long will the appeal take? Oh, if the Attorney General is at all clever about it, it will take about 7 1/2 years. :mad: Cartooniverse ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2007, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-my-humble-opinion-this-is-the-biggest-crock-of-shit-ive-ever-heard-of/384827/264 "2007-06-12T03:21:49Z")
From the web site of the [State of Georgia Attorney General](http://www.state.ga.us/ago/open_govt.html) > [@](#): > > “Government operates best when it operates openly.” I fucking kid you not. Okay, you spineless fuck hypocrite, operate openly and tell America who jerked your chain to make you shove that kid back into his cell when he had a foot out the door today.’ Operates openly indeed. You make real Americans puke, you heartless sub-human. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2007, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-my-humble-opinion-this-is-the-biggest-crock-of-shit-ive-ever-heard-of/384827/265 "2007-06-13T13:21:31Z")
[QUOTE=Cartooniverse] That kid is going to be made to pay and pay and pay and pay and pay becaues it’s Georgia and by god we sure know who really runs the shit behind the scenes down there. [/QUOTE] We do? Who is that, do you think? Seriously, what are you implying? I’m pissed off about [Thurbert Baker](http://www.thurbertbaker.com/images/tbstory.jpg) appealing this order, but I suspect his motive is nothing more sinister than a slavish devotion (even a thick-headed devotion) to enforcing Georgia law _as written_. (A trait he has shown before.) ---
**Author:** ![lisacurl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/41988e/32.png) [@lisacurl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisacurl)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2007, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-my-humble-opinion-this-is-the-biggest-crock-of-shit-ive-ever-heard-of/384827/266 "2007-06-13T13:45:21Z")
[QUOTE=Cartooniverse] That kid is going to be made to pay and pay and pay and pay and pay becaues it’s Georgia and by god we sure know who really runs the shit behind the scenes down there. [/QUOTE] As **spoke-** pointed out, the Georgia State Attorney General, Thurbert Baker, who threw out the judge’s ruling and appeal is himself African American. This is going beyond racial discrimination stupidity and into some level of mulishness I can’t even fathom. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2007, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-my-humble-opinion-this-is-the-biggest-crock-of-shit-ive-ever-heard-of/384827/267 "2007-06-13T13:52:13Z")
[QUOTE=lisacurl] As **spoke-** pointed out, the Georgia State Attorney General, Thurbert Baker, who threw out the judge’s ruling and appeal is himself African American. This is going beyond racial discrimination stupidity and into some level of mulishness I can’t even fathom. [/QUOTE] Uncle Tom is alive and well and holding down a high post in Georgia state government. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2007, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-my-humble-opinion-this-is-the-biggest-crock-of-shit-ive-ever-heard-of/384827/268 "2007-06-13T14:24:02Z")
[QUOTE=Evil Captor] Uncle Tom is alive and well and holding down a high post in Georgia state government. [/QUOTE] Libelous bullshit. There are fair criticisms you can make of Thurbert Baker, but he is nobody’s “Uncle Tom.” A more accurate characterization/criticism is that he is hidebound when it comes to enforcing the letter of the law. Always has been. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2007, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-my-humble-opinion-this-is-the-biggest-crock-of-shit-ive-ever-heard-of/384827/269 "2007-06-13T14:32:45Z")
And actually, it has always been the mindset at the Georgia AGs office to vigorously defend the letter of the law (even when it seems like a silly law). ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2007, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-my-humble-opinion-this-is-the-biggest-crock-of-shit-ive-ever-heard-of/384827/270 "2007-06-13T15:17:54Z")
Wasn’t the law that the kid was convicted of changed because of this case? ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2007, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-my-humble-opinion-this-is-the-biggest-crock-of-shit-ive-ever-heard-of/384827/271 "2007-06-13T15:28:16Z")
[QUOTE=adam yax] Wasn’t the law that the kid was convicted of changed because of this case? [/QUOTE] Yes, but the new law doesn’t apply retroactively. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2007, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-my-humble-opinion-this-is-the-biggest-crock-of-shit-ive-ever-heard-of/384827/272 "2007-06-13T15:47:41Z")
[QUOTE=spoke-] Yes, but the new law doesn’t apply retroactively. [/QUOTE] I understand that. However, a judge voided the sentence (under the original law) so the kid should be released. Yes, the prosecutor in in his rights to appeal, but the fact that the law was changed based on this case and the fact the verdict is voided, appealing is a jerkish thing to do. Making the kid stay in jail is flat out wrong. I thought that going against the ruling of a judge was something that was supposed to be fraught with problems. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2007, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-my-humble-opinion-this-is-the-biggest-crock-of-shit-ive-ever-heard-of/384827/273 "2007-06-13T16:06:15Z")
Point of clarification: We’re talking about the state attorney general (not the prosecutor). (You may be confusing “attorney general” with “district attorney”.)The attorney general is stepping in to “uphold” the Georgia law. Presumably, Baker is arguing that the judge doesn’t have the authority to void the earlier sentence. And I couldn’t agree more that the kid should be released, and that the attorney general should have exercised some discretion and butted out. Ah. [Here is Baker’s own justification for stepping in:](http://www.ajc.com/search/content/opinion/stories/2007/06/12/edbaker0612.html) > [@](#): > > Monroe County Superior Court Judge Thomas Wilson’s order struck Genarlow Wilson’s original sentence, and then purportedly went on to sentence Wilson to a misdemeanor. The law in Georgia is clear that while a habeas court may grant habeas relief, there is absolutely no authority for a habeas court to reduce or modify the judgment of the trial court, in this case, the Superior Court of Douglas County. As I suspected, he is motivated by a stubborn devotion to the letter of the law. And I’m sure he is technically correct – that a judge in one circuit can’t modify the sentence of a judge in a different circuit. The fact that Baker feels compelled to write an editorial to the Atlanta Journal to justify his actions should tell you that he did not step into this case to pander to Georgia voters. Quite the opposite. Voters (like me, for instance) are upset that the kid is still in jail. Baker is feeling the heat. Hence the editorial. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2007, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-my-humble-opinion-this-is-the-biggest-crock-of-shit-ive-ever-heard-of/384827/274 "2007-06-13T16:16:19Z")
Upon reflection, I can sort of see Baker’s point. This may be a good example of the maxim that “hard cases make bad law.” It would not be a good precedent to let a judge ruling on a habeas petition in one circuit void the sentence of a (coequal) trial judge in another circuit. ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Nader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Darth\_Nader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Nader)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2007, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-my-humble-opinion-this-is-the-biggest-crock-of-shit-ive-ever-heard-of/384827/275 "2007-06-17T13:04:31Z")
CNN has been airing this story all morning-- the “victim”'s mother has accused prosecutors of threatening her with charges of neglect if she didn’t testify against Wilson. [http://www.macon.com/198/story/67125.html](http://www.macon.com/198/story/67125.html) ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2007, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-my-humble-opinion-this-is-the-biggest-crock-of-shit-ive-ever-heard-of/384827/276 "2007-06-17T14:46:36Z")
[QUOTE=spoke-] Libelous bullshit. There are fair criticisms you can make of Thurbert Baker, but he is nobody’s “Uncle Tom.” A more accurate characterization/criticism is that he is hidebound when it comes to enforcing the letter of the law. Always has been. [/QUOTE] Bah. The law always seems to offer plenty of opportunity to be an asshole, and so very few opportunities to be humane. I find the notion that Baker made this extremely controversial decision out of simple “hideboundness” extremely suspect. It would have been so easy to not file in this case and let the kid go. But Baker didn’t do that, did he? He’s sucking up to the conservatives who run the state, who want to see the kid kept in his place, as a naked demonstration of the right’s power to opress. He’s a freakin’ Uncle Tom, all right. ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2007, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-my-humble-opinion-this-is-the-biggest-crock-of-shit-ive-ever-heard-of/384827/277 "2007-06-17T15:49:40Z")
[QUOTE=Evil Captor] It would have been so easy to not file in this case and let the kid go. But Baker didn’t do that, did he? He’s sucking up to the conservatives who run the state, who want to see the kid kept in his place, as a naked demonstration of the right’s power to opress. He’s a freakin’ Uncle Tom, all right. [/QUOTE] Well said. **THIS** is what I meant by my post. Yes. Thanks. I provided the goddamned link to his web page, so yes, I know he is African American. The fact that he is African American miraculously excludes him from being a human who can be corrupted by power and is happy to oppress the wrong person for the wrong reasons \* just because he can\* ? Wow. Who’da thunk. :dubious: I didn’t give a flying fuck is the A.G. is African American. Apparently I made the mistake of seeing him as human before I saw him as black. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2007, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-my-humble-opinion-this-is-the-biggest-crock-of-shit-ive-ever-heard-of/384827/278 "2007-06-18T01:48:41Z")
**Evil Captor** , **Cartooniverse** , it’s obvious that neither of you has a fucking clue about Thurbert Baker, or about the law, or about the political situation in Georgia. Baker stepped into this case at great political risk, since overwhelming voter sentiment in Georgia is that the law was draconian and that the kid should go free. (This is why the law was changed after the verdict _by democratically-elected legislators_. Most of whom are _conservative Republicans_, by the way.) Baker is catching all kinds of heat from Georgia voters for his decision. _Which is why he felt compelled to write an editorial defending himself._ Who, exactly, do you think Baker is kissing up to? Because it sure as hell isn’t the voters. Please, do give us a flow chart of the dark conspiracy you have imagined. Baker’s logic is this: you cannot have a judge who did not preside at trial modifying the sentence set by a _coequal_ trial judge. Otherwise, the superior court judge sitting in the county where a convict is imprisoned sits as a _de facto_ appellate judge with authority over every other superior court judge in the state. That precedent would invite chaos, abuse, and political gamesmanship between judges with opposing criminal philosohies. “Hmmm. The sentence imposed by Judge Jones over in Barrow County seems lenient to me. I believe I’ll enter an order re-writing it to add a couple of years.” I don’t like the result of Baker’s position _as it applies to this particular case_, but I certainly understand the problem that has him worried. Hard cases make bad law And **Cartooniverse** , I don’t believe for a minute that you knew Baker was black when you made your post. You have to poke around the AG’s website before finding his picture, and it doesn’t appear on the page you linked. You were predisposed to assume racism, as your post so clearly suggests. You said nothing about Baker being an Uncle Tom in your original post. Nice attempt at revisionism, though. And besides being black, Baker is a Democrat, while most other elected officials (including the governor and a majority of both houses of the legislature) are Republican. Please explain how your presumed conspiracy manages to cross both party and racial lines. Or were you just talking out of your ass? Because I thought I smelled something. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2007, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-my-humble-opinion-this-is-the-biggest-crock-of-shit-ive-ever-heard-of/384827/279 "2007-06-18T02:56:43Z")
There is a bond hearing set for July 5. Stay tuned. ---
**Author:** ![Apos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/838e76/32.png) [@Apos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apos)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2007, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-my-humble-opinion-this-is-the-biggest-crock-of-shit-ive-ever-heard-of/384827/280 "2007-06-18T14:32:55Z")
Is it true that Georgia state Governors cannot pardon people? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-my-humble-opinion-this-is-the-biggest-crock-of-shit-ive-ever-heard-of/384827.md?page=13) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-my-humble-opinion-this-is-the-biggest-crock-of-shit-ive-ever-heard-of/384827.md?page=15)