# "our criminal justice system is largely fair and just"

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/our-criminal-justice-system-is-largely-fair-and-just/705577>\
**Category:** Great Debates\
**Created:** [November 25, 2014, 7:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/our-criminal-justice-system-is-largely-fair-and-just/705577 "2014-11-25T07:57:40Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Showing post:** 36

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**Author:** ![DrCube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a3d4f5/32.png) [@DrCube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrCube)\
**Post date:** [November 26, 2014, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/our-criminal-justice-system-is-largely-fair-and-just/705577/36 "2014-11-26T14:49:39Z")

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> [@InfiniteJest](#):
>
> On trial for acting within the law? The boy put the toy pistol in his waistband and the officers saw. He proceeded to pull it out when the officers confronted him. Did you even read the headline of he article? The gun looked real. There was every indication to the officer that it was real. What was the officer supposed to do? Wait for the kid to fire a test round?
> 
> Officers aren’t telepathic. The pistol was modified to look real. It was taken out in a confrontation. The shooting was absolutely justified. Too bad about the kid. Should have learned:
> 
> 1. to not possess a toy that was modified to look like a real weapon
> 
> 2. to not play with said toy around others in a playground where there are obviously lots of parents who are concerned about their children’s welfare
> 
> 3. to listen and to do what a cop asks within reason
> 
> 4. to not put a hand into your waistband when speaking to an officer
> 
> The kid made a bunch of stupid decisions and basically forced the officer’s hand. No sympathy for the dead kid. Sympathy for the officer who is now being attacked.

A. This is not an isolated incident. B. If the officer was in the right, he’ll have no problem convincing a jury of the fact.

EVERY TIME a cop shoots somebody, there should be a trial. Period. It should be a matter of public record: his reasoning, his options, the evidence for and against the necessity of firing his weapon.

Do you think if _you_ shot a 12 year old on the playground you’d get to go home that day, no questions asked? Cops should be held to a _higher_ standard than the general public.

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