Daily Report
US Justice Department wants no prison time for ex-officer convicted in Breonna Taylor raid
Two things are going on here. One super nitpicky thing, but *technically* their recommendation wasn’t for NO prison time— they recommended a one-day sentence. I know, I know, basically nothing, but still not totally the truth. Secondly, there’s definitely something incendiary about characterizing the DOJ’s legal recommendation as “wanting” the officer to get no prison time. This is a tactic I see a lot, and it’s always coupled with an oversimplification of the situation. The DOJ is not technically supposed to “want” anything, as in try to enact their political will. They’re making legal recommendations based on arguments, evidence, and standards. Or, at least they are supposed to! The journalist provided no evidence to the contrary, so I just have to assume that this was ill-intentioned framing.
Comments
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
While the difference between one day of prison and no days of prison is extremely small, it is indeed concerning for news to misrepresent such details, since a change like this is a symptom of other …Read MoreWhile the difference between one day of prison and no days of prison is extremely small, it is indeed concerning for news to misrepresent such details, since a change like this is a symptom of other potential ‘adjustments’ of the facts for the sake of emotional appeal. The fact that they changed it makes it clear that they are well-aware that there’s a difference in how people ‘feel’ when they hear “no prison time” instead of “one day of prison time.” Read Less