Reply #196: It does help when the person who is accused is imaginary [View All]

[Alcibiades]

Like with Susan Smith, or in this case. Of course, back in the day, they would simply find someone and charge him, usually a tramp or a black person, depending on who was falsely accused. I call this the "nearest negro" theory of policing, and it still goes on: absent any leads, the cops look for the nearest black person and threaten or beat him into confessing.

There are still folks in the south who think the cops are a viable means of settling scores, and treat them like private agents acting on their behalf. Thankfully, we've had some professionalization of law enforcement. We've also had some bad examples of cops and prosecutors falling for this sort of thing recently, though, the most notable being right here in Durham, which I bought into myself.

Sorry you found it so inhospitable down here. It is--I think--a little better these days....