Like many, I am still waiting for the evidence used as the basis to charge the six officers in Baltimore for the death of Freddie Gray. This morning, however, I was disturbed to read that an effort to create a fundraising site for the defense of the officers was taken down on GoFundMe. It appears that the site has a very questionable standard for funding that does not afford accused parties a presumption of innocence in asking for support to fund their defense.
The Baltimore City Fraternal Order of Police created a GoFundMe page for the six officers after they were charged Friday. However, less than an hour later, it was taken down.
After 41 minutes, it has only raised $1,135 — considerably short of the $600,000 goal.
There is no confirmation on who is responsible. However, the site states the following : “‘Campaigns in defense of formal charges of heinous crimes’ are prohibited by our terms . . . GoFundMe cannot be used to benefit those who are charged with serious violations of the law.” Really? Why? I was under the impression that people were given a presumption of innocence in this country. Why shouldn’t this site be used to help guarantee a fair trial for anyone facing prosecution? Moreover, how do you define a serious violation? Clearly, this case would qualify but where is the line drawn?
This is a site that is designed to help people organize in making donations to support different causes. Giving such charity is a positive act, including giving money to guarantee a fully funded defense. Our criminal justice system is a foundational part of our society. It reflects our commitment to the rule of law. Central to that institution is the presumption of innocence. I find this policy of GoFundMe to be inexplicable and distasteful. Many people want to support the criminal justice system as much as environmental or other causes. The policy makes, in my view, an arbitrary and biased decision in barring those who are accused of serious offenses by the government. It should equally presumably bar those who are viewed as victims of government abuse like journalists or whistleblowers.
I also was a bit concerned to read Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby comments telling protesters: “I heard your calls for, ‘No Justice, No peace.’ Your peace is sincerely needed as I work to deliver justice on behalf of this young man.” I generally think it is a bad idea for prosecutors to directly respond to public protests demanding criminal charges. Such protests should not have an influence on the decision to prosecute and it is always a concern, as with Mike Nifong in the Duke case, where prosecutors are seen as too responsive to public demands for criminal charges. This is not meant to suggest that a criminal case cannot be made but these press conferences can undermine the integrity of a prosecution if the chief prosecutor is viewed as too influenced by external events or demands.
It’s too bad. I enjoy the Turley pieces in large part because of the clearheadedness of the comments. Guess those folks are taking a sick day. Feels like YouTube all up in here.
Just out of curiosity, would y’all have the same emotive reaction to crowd funding for James Holmes, suspect in Aurora shooting? He has yet to be found guilty.
Maineuh, Great comment. Yes indeed, this is all about emotion for the constitutionally challenged here. And the emotion is not love, empathy, caring, patience, you know the good emotions, it is HATE.
Two-thirds of the respondents here have completely missed the point. No matter how you feel about the case at hand, GoFundMe should not be trashing the presumption of innocence for anyone. The fact that they do so with abandon should alarm everyone. Did anyone actually read Mr. Turley’s post? The comments here demonstrate how few people are able to put emotion aside long enough to ponder the facts. My God, this nation is screwed.
An analogy, Starbucks sells coffee. They advertiseIs as such. I find their coffee highly distasteful, I demand they sell good coffee. Is it their policy to sell terrible coffee? Who am I to demand they change their policy. It is their business and they can sell whatever quality coffee they choose, or not at all.
Likewise GoFundMe. They can fund turkey farms, ant farms, but not armadillo farms if they choose.
Since this is no ones’s blog, but Professor Turley’s, no one here has the authority to tel anyone if they can or cannot comment @ RIL. That was uncivil.
Is it simply the English language that has you confused. Calm yourself, set the espresso aside and perhaps read for meaning rather than confirmation of bias.
If by lynch you mean “Bring to justice”, than yeah, lynch them.
Yes, zedalis. That is exactly what I meant about mob justice and you just proved it. Lynch ’em?. Before the trial. Why wait? Why even have a justice system if you are not going to use it. Anarchy is not really a pleasant place to live.
In your mind set then it would be ok for us to go into the inner cities and start popping of some of those potential rioters? They haven’t been convicted of crimes YET, but surely they are going to be doing some crimes at some time. So we might as well just skip that tedious law, justice, trial, evidence thingy. Right?
Of course that would be wrong. It is just as wrong to convict and call for lynching of the police if we don’t know the facts and there has not been a trial. If they are guilty, then they need to be punished. Until then, they are subject to the same rights as everyone else SHOULD be. You can’t b*tch that the police are denying the rights of the inner city blacks if you want to do the same to the police.
Hang ’em high seems to be the motto of the left and those who want to appease the criminals who are rioting. Not protesting….rioting.
the L.A.P.D. is the “rolls-royce” of big city police forces…I used to have lunch at the academy my buddy is a former detective, who drove a black and white for years in san pedro
JT mentioned the infamous Mike Nifong Duke lacrosse player travesty. Ya’ll remember that. I’m willing to bet some here ready to lynch these cops were preparing nooses for those lacrosse players as well. Yes indeed, this case has that same political stench!
If by lynch you mean “Bring to justice”, than yeah, lynch them.
Dust Bunny Queen – “mob justice prevails”.
Laughable on it’s face. Did the mob alog with the MD Attorney Generals office, the Baltimore PD and the Baltimore ADA constitute a mob? Your problem is with the legal system apparently.
The two-tiered justice system and it’s uninformed proponents lives on.
Baltimore cops and Philly cops have a nasty rep
I was robbed by a couple of black thugs shortly after the L.A. riots in South Los Angeles, oddly…they were kinda polite, even handed my wallet back in a polite manner…the two black males ran off with only a few bucks, they would have probably shot me if I had been broke…one of the perps had a gun to the back of my head…these were “black” thugs…white thugs scare me as well…
MichaelB, I thought the same thing. The police union should be paying for their defense, what are dues for otherwise? Almost sounds like the union is worried they’ll go broke defending these cops.
“The cop haters here and elsewhere got them a noose, and they’re just lookin’ for some good trees”
Is this your attitude to all indictments for murder or does the victim’s race leave you so unhinged?
Mob justice prevails. Caving into the wildlings in the street and throwing the red meat to the crowd. A rush to judgement BEFORE there is a trial. She might as well just turn them over to the mob to be lynched.
This will not end well.
1 i’ve said it before, and i’ll say it again: “nobody lies like a cop!”
2 the folded knife found in gray’s pocket (and later planted by cops on the sidewalk) was not a switchblade. possession of such a knife is completely legal in that state.
3 gray did not commit any crime. his arrest was without probable cause and therefore illegal.
4 because the arrest was illegal, every single moment in the rest of gray’s life was false imprisonment.
5 gray was riding a bike, running, and was 100% healthy at the time of the arrest. by the time the cops finally got around to calling for medical attention – after they had tossed him headfirst into the van and pulled him out several different times – he was unresponsive and in cardiac arrest. this surely does sound like depraved indifference to human life, although i do not know the specific language of the maryland statute.
6 yeah, the cops are entitled to the presumption of innocence (which constitutional right was never extended to gray!). what bothers me is that, whether or not these cops are suspended in one form or another (e.g., desk duty, administrative leave, etc.), every single one of them will continue to draw a paycheck for the next year or two until the cases are resolved. let them put up their own website if they want more money.
If you wanted any more evidence that these cops are expected to pay for the sins of all cops, this GoFundMe horseshit is it. The cop haters here and elsewhere got them a noose, and they’re just lookin’ for some good trees. The adjudication is over, and they have proceeded to the sentencing phase, DEATH BY HANGING. JT just wrote one of his most forceful and informed posts I’ve read over the years I’ve been here. It is about the presumed innocence of ANYONE in this country charged w/ a crime. The cop haters are oblivious. Disgusting.
I was under the impression that the police union collects dues to handle the defense of accused officers. It seems “if you have done nothing wrong, you have nothing to worry about” is the pablum just for us cannon fodder..not the police
Max-1
“Inner city black people scare me. Where can I send a check to help those accused of murdering them?”