Where's the ethical balance of America's scales of justice?

[demwing]

Thursday, February 5, 2015 | by Jim Hightower

Is it really "fair and balanced"? I don't mean the ridiculous Fox TV channel, whose right-wing ranters mock their own PR slogan – but, rather, a network that actually matters in our society: America's legal system.

To check the balance of the scales of justice, look at how the system treats the very rich… and the poor. As we've seen, Wall Street barons have grossly fattened themselves by running frauds and scams that wreaked trillions of dollars in damages to working families, homeowners, and taxpayers – yet not a single one of them has been indicted or even seriously pursued by the law. More recently, such corporate profiteers as JPMorgan Chase have paid billions of dollars in fines for serious criminal acts, but the executive criminals who pulled these capers have skated free without ever being charged.

Now, meet Gina Ray, who is neither a CEO nor a serious offender, but a hard-hit, low-income American. She's one of hundreds who're being jailed, not by the police, but by a growing network of corporate fee-chasers empowered by state legislatures to fine and imprison poor people who've committed minor infractions. Ms. Ray, an unemployed 31-year-old in Rural Alabama, got caught-up in this privatized probation system over a speeding ticket. Her problem mushroomed, and she was unable to pay, so the corporatized legal system locked her up and hit her with company fees for each of the 40 days she was behind bars. Her original $179 ticket has now surpassed $3,000. She was not told that she has a right to a court-appointed lawyer or offered any alternatives to more fines and jail. "We hear a lot of 'I can't pay the fee,'" says one of the private prosecutors, adding chillingly that, "It is not our job to figure that out."

http://jimhightower.com/node/8542#.VNTsgC7_hlM

That last sentence gave me a waking nightmare: "It is not our job to figure that out."

1. Private Prosecutors have no place in a Democracy
2. I'll tell you what else is not "your job to figure out"... innocence and guilt.

It is impossible to have a justice system that derives financial benefit from the guilt of the accused. When that happens, there is no justice - just profit.

Listen to Hightower lay it down in his own voice:
http://jimhightower.com/sites/jimhightower.civicactions.net/files/3-23_r_show.mp3

[2naSalit]

1. Thanks for posting

Hightower is a lot like Moyers... oddly both are from Texas. So was Ivans, come to think of it.

I wish Hightower had more wide-spread distribution.

[Cleita]

2. MIA I guess to answer the question. eom

[TheNutcracker]

3. The judicial system has been corrupted along with the rest. FOR CORPORATIONS

[Phlem]

4. What is this word "ethical"?

[sabrina 1]

5. Private Prosecutors??? Who do they work for, who appointed them? THAT is really scary.

Just when you think you know more than you can handle about the Corporate takeover of this country, there is MORE!

I didn't know there was a such a thing and I'm willing to bet that most Americans have no clue about it either.

Seems to me the first step to trying to unravel this horrible system they have established, is to take back the Media.

If we had a free press with real journalists, they could never get away with half the stuff they are doing.

[Enthusiast]

6. K&R! This post deserves hundreds of recommendations!

Hightower is a beacon in the darkness.

[Cosmic Kitten]

7. Private Prosecutors....here comes Libertopia

Populists need to start pushing back
against "privatizing" the commons.

"The Public" makes "the private" possible.

[fasttense]

8. It's all about the money

When capital rules, it is the same as saying those with the most money rule. When you are poor, you rule nothing in a capitalist society. Not even your own vote.

Capitalism is the cause of this kind of justice. Entire cities run on the fines and violation fees they can charge the poor. The Rich don't pay taxes, the middle class are burdened down with wheel taxes, license fees and service charges. While the poor are milked for all they are worth.

This is the bad parts of capitalism. It is the end stage where capital is gathered into fewer and fewer hands. Eventually there will be just one king who has gathered up all the capital leaving everyone to beg to him.

[whereisjustice]

9. debtors prison all over again, history repeats itself - our government farms us like livestock