i really hate how people now and days just sit back and film **** like this then get money off the video.
What is one good samaritan going to do against an armed mob?? And just so you know, I would pay that "witness" a million dollars to put the murderers in jail for life after what they did. It is much better than having an innocent kid found dead and no leads or convictions. Don't chastise the wrong people. It's a case of someone saying they'd courageously attempt to stop the fight, until they are faced with the situation, no-one knows how they would react, including you. Just my opinion.
I know I wouldn't film some guy getting beat to death then sell it to the media. FYI I bet ten dollars that says the media got the video before the police. There is always something that can be done. They don't call them acts of courage because it isn't scary.
The means justifies the end. Regardless, that footage convicted 4 murderers. Also, I know it is courageous to try and stop the fight, but my point is we all say we would've done something, but who knows how we would actually react if put in the situation. One thing I do know is that you would not profit from the ordeal, and sell the footage to the media, and that is the honorable thing to do. Maybe you are in the minority, but at the end of the day, those guys were convicted one way or the other.
You both make good points, however I'm sure the police would have preferred the witness used that phone to call them, rather than film the crime. A credible witness present is just as likely to convict the perpetrator(s) than the actual video of the crime.
Agree, yes and no. A good lawyer can tear eye witness accounts to shreds - if the witness could even provide a good enough description in the first place to bring in suspects. Video doesn't lie, or mistake identities. Mind you, these chaps probably would be given public counsel, so the chance of them getting a good enough lawyer to successfully defend the case is rare anyway. A lot of innocent people went to jail because of this as well.
Video doesn't always show the identity of a perp. I've seen dozens of cases involving security cameras that were just too low res to clearly indentify someone. A good lawyer can definitely discredit an eye witness, but he/she would also have to explain the forensic evidence in the case as well. For example, if the witness says the perps used a wooden plank to beat the victim in the head, and the ME performing the autopsy concludes this to be the case, it's a serious up-hill battle for the defense. Especially If the police can tie the murder weapon to the attackers. Not saying a video of the crime isnt almost always a slam-dunk conviction, because it is (mainly because the perps almost always seek a plea), but eye-witness accounts are very difficult to dispute.
the means don't always justify the ends. They don't even have to stop the fight, dragging the guy out of there would have been another possibility. I think saying who knows what we would do in that situation is a cop out to be quite honest. I think if we should demand more from each other as a society then merely to be bystanders to tragic acts, as well as demanding more from ourselves. In this situation I would think the person filming it was probably a kid, was thinking oh Ill put this on youtube, probably didnt know the guy was going to die and just filmed it. Fine, I understand that, I do not understand the media getting the video. That is where I draw the line and I think have the right to say the person who filmed this is at the very least an *** hole.I mean really, do you think your mom would want to see your death on tv just so some guy can get a few dollars? Again demanding more from each other as a society and not just saying I might have done the same thing, is not a bad thing, nor is it hypocritical, or ranting for the sake of ranting. In fact its the only way we will improve our society.
If I were the parents, I'd be a little more upset about this: From the front page of http://www.detentionslip.org/.
