Six former Mississippi law enforcement officers who pleaded guilty to a long list of state and federal charges for torturing two Black men will be sentenced by a federal judge starting Tuesday.
U.S. District Judge Tom Lee will sentence two defendants each day on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday after twice delaying the proceedings. Each faces the potential of decades behind bars.
I don’t believe that the state has the right to make examples out of people, unless those people took an oath to the state and used that power to abuse people. Then, the state is obligated to do it.
Example making is a confession of impotence. It’s a way of highlighting the fact that you have up until now failed to do what you are supposed to be doing and would like to draw attention to a specific incident where you actually follow through on your responsibilities.
To put it another way, I think you must make examples out of people who abuse power you give them because it’s your fault and theirs that this happened. So they have earned being made into an example and you are obligated to make one. You must confess your impotence if you are in power.
Anything less than that is cowardice and corruption.
If you have a problem with the way that police are treated in prison then you have a problem with the way that prisons let people get treated. Under no circumstances should a police officer get special treatment at any step along the way unless that’s to make it harsher and more punitive.