Jussie Smollett charges dropped

[jberryhill]

128. Whenever the prosecution and defense are ready to sign off

Look, newspapers report things (a) that reporters observe, and (b) that people tell them. If I say, "cats can grow wings and fly", the newspaper will accurately report that I said, "cats can grow wings and fly". The fact that a newspaper accurately reports I said it, does not mean that cats will be able to grow wings and fly.

Now, if a newspaper reporter is reporting a direct observation that cats are growing wings and flying, then that's quite another situation, and one might want to look for corroborating independent reports.

In this context, a newspaper reporter is not going to have access to a sealed deal, and so is going to be completely dependent on what the parties have to say to the reporter. Often, the content of public statements is also part of the deal. Maybe it is, maybe it isn't, maybe both parties have an interest in Smollet mitigating and repairing the damage to his career due to potential ongoing obligations. Who knows? I don't, and newspaper reporters certainly don't. Anything that that Smollet's legal team - the people who are handsomely paid to make Smollet look as good as possible - is going to be as favorable as possible to Smollet, and is not going to violate the terms, if any, governing what they can say. But there is no, none, zip, nada obligation on anyone's part to tell reporters the underlying or complete truth of the situation.

You might as well ask how often or how quickly the prosecution, after extensive investigative work and filing charges, simply just walks away from a case without an explanation or a deal. The answer to that one is also "not bloody often".

At bottom, this is a non-violent offense in which the alleged offender presents zero risk to the community and zero risk of re-offending. It would be a good idea if supposed "liberals" on DU got past their fixations on punitive justice, and got back to thinking about what the purpose of the criminal justice system is supposed to be.

And, look, if someone wants to believe that the purpose of the criminal justice system should be meting out punishment or vindication in response to internet poutrage, they are entitled to that opinion. Most professionals tend to think in terms of what best serves the broader public interest in safety and security.