Are Inmates Subjected to Humiliation?
 

I'm sure this will bring about alot of dialogue among our GC legaldiva's in trainig.

As I watched the Brian Nichols saga unfold this weekend, I became intrigued with the notion that inmates are not to be handcuffed in the presence of jurors. Supposedly, this could possibly influence a jurors' view of the alleged party. Maybe if Mr. Nichols would have been shackeled, those victims would still be alive. :confused:

Is it possible for alleged felons to be humilated when they have supposedly committed crimes such as rape, murder, etc? Is it okay to have them handcuffed/shackeled only when the verdict is guilty? :confused:

Does this mean that we should not see these alleged perpetrators on the news? :confused: Is that also a form of humiliation?

Re: Are Inmates Subjected to Humiliation?
 

Soror, I think that since we are all innocent until proven guilty (or supposedly anyway) it is only fair that the person not be presented as a criminal (in shackles).

My mother and father live in the ATL and my mother gave me the scoop on what the media is not telling! There is so much that the media is leaving out. For one thing, he was found to have two makeshift knives on his person the *first* time that they were about to bring him into the courtroom (this was apparently his second trial b/c the first resulted in a hung jury). Second, that should have told *somebody* that they don't need to send a single *woman* for that big man to get him from his cell. There was a single woman that they sent. She had no backup, no accompaniment and when he knocked her down, took her gun (b/c she had the wrong kind of holster - she never asked for a class 3 which would have prevented him being able to snatch the gun out of her holster), shot her and beat her up, nobody heard her screaming. Silly police department! Then, nobody stopped him when he walked (yes, walked) casually into the building and headed toward the courtroom - although court was in session. That should have been a flag to any sheriffs around. Then he was able to walk down 8 flights of stairs (they later saw the surveillance video), change his shirt and go into the parking garage across the street and carjack not one, but three people. He was aware that they would trace the car apparently so he carjacked a woman, drove hte car to another level, carjacked a man, drove the car to another level, then finally he carjacked the man that they tell us about on the news (the one who ran). Then he walks out of the parking garage and gets on Marta (the public transportation) train and take the train to the Lenox mall area which is a nice little trip from where the courthouse was. Do you know that none of hte foolish police department bothered to secure the parking garage (although they didn't know that he had left until later) and that they didn't do so even several hours later when people got off from work at 4:30? Do you know that the police department is now facing lawsuits from those folk who had to walk into the garage when nobody knew whether he was still in there or not? HC the police later (after they thought that he'd left the garage) had an all-points bulletin on the highways and offramps for as far as the eye could see for the car that they *thought* that he drove off in and that evening somebody finally bothered to check the parking garage and the car was still there? B/c he had fled on foot? HC silly Atl police, silly Atl police?

HC where he turned himself in is way more than a hop, skip and a jump from the Atl courthouse? HC how did he get all the way up there? HC Atl police are slooow?

But all that to say naw, I think that the accused should not be cuffed. Just need better security that's all.

HC there was not a sheriff deputy in the courtroom to shoot him when he started shooting? Now that's just crazy.

HC the woman hostage read the Bible and A Purpose Driven Life to him and he gave himself up? HC I have to get APDL. HC I already have the Bible. :) (but I need to read it more)

SC

I dunno, but that is some skrait lunacy... Imma gonna havta get some insider info, too...

But some courthouses have a shielded enclosed area... Don't know if the sheilded area is bulletproof, but hey, oh well...

I heard about homegirl, that was foul what he did to her... There will be some reorganization for the ATL PD...

I think that "criminals" deserve to be treated innocent until proven guilty. Now how this fool was found with two shanks and not giving more security is a question only God can answer. However for any defendant on trial being brought out in shackles would leave an impression in my mind more than likely. The system is way to biased and messed up so I think a defendant deserves to portray himself the way he sees fit until a convivtion.

Re: Are Inmates Subjected to Humiliation?
 

IMO, they are already humiliated on the face of the charge. So, cuff 'em.

That's what I say.

Re: Re: Are Inmates Subjected to Humiliation?
 

So Soror if you received a charge for some offense, would you want to be cuffed? What if you were innocent. :)

Isn't that how it usually goes? :confused:

Aren't you cuffed when you are arrested?

Interesting point Soror. Yes, I guess that generally one is cuffed when one is arrested (although I don't think that it has to be that way but that's beside the point). For safety I guess whereas I guess that one might say that safety isn't a concern when one makes a court appearance but alas, the debacle in Atl this weekend ruined that argument. Oh well,
SC

If they don't want the jury to see him handcuffed, why don't they bring him in, get him situated, then bring in the jury.


BTW I also heard the entire incident with Nichols and the female deputy was caught on the courthouse's security tape, but no one was there watching them. What a shame.