bgigas
4th July 2003, 07:00
From Yahoo! news:
A convicted rapist has been sentenced to life in prison for spitting on a police officer.
Creek County Associate District Judge April Sellers White followed the recommendation of a jury for the maximum sentence against John C. Marquez under a law that makes it a felony to place bodily fluids on law enforcement officers.
This brings up interesting discussion.
1) The first sentence I quoted was somewhat sensationalized, as the fact that this man was a convicted rapist had NOTHING to do with this incident.
2) I fully understand why it could be a felony for spitting on people... but why does the law ONLY pertain to police? It would seem police are less likely to be spit on considering who they are, while if you were to [hypothetically, of course ;) ] spit on someone not of the law inforcement profession, they would have a much harder time exacting revenge (from a legal standpoint). I think this law, if it is to exist at all, should include non-police people as well.
My fiancee was offered a job by the chief of police at her university. When she told him that we plan on moving to Phoenix soon, he told her that her relationship with me would certainly not last, as cops are simply "better people" than everyone else.
Well, with this logic, I guess we can easily see why only cops should not be spat upon under punishment of law, while everyone else can go spit. :D For, as the article says, this law was enacted to prevent the spread of AIDS (which is not contagious from saliva) and other diseases, and the prospect of us "normals" contracting a disease is of little or no importance. :rolleyes:
Gadd (officer) told the jury that Marquez (arrestee) spit on him despite being warned and then bit him when Gadd was trying to prevent Marquez from spitting again.
Although the article did not delve further into this, I some how feel there is a lot unsaid in this sentence. In particular the words "...Gadd was trying to prevent Marquez.... I'd love to know what the word prevent means in this context. :)
Seriously though, I'd love to hear people's opinions on this matter.
:beer:
A convicted rapist has been sentenced to life in prison for spitting on a police officer.
Creek County Associate District Judge April Sellers White followed the recommendation of a jury for the maximum sentence against John C. Marquez under a law that makes it a felony to place bodily fluids on law enforcement officers.
This brings up interesting discussion.
1) The first sentence I quoted was somewhat sensationalized, as the fact that this man was a convicted rapist had NOTHING to do with this incident.
2) I fully understand why it could be a felony for spitting on people... but why does the law ONLY pertain to police? It would seem police are less likely to be spit on considering who they are, while if you were to [hypothetically, of course ;) ] spit on someone not of the law inforcement profession, they would have a much harder time exacting revenge (from a legal standpoint). I think this law, if it is to exist at all, should include non-police people as well.
My fiancee was offered a job by the chief of police at her university. When she told him that we plan on moving to Phoenix soon, he told her that her relationship with me would certainly not last, as cops are simply "better people" than everyone else.
Well, with this logic, I guess we can easily see why only cops should not be spat upon under punishment of law, while everyone else can go spit. :D For, as the article says, this law was enacted to prevent the spread of AIDS (which is not contagious from saliva) and other diseases, and the prospect of us "normals" contracting a disease is of little or no importance. :rolleyes:
Gadd (officer) told the jury that Marquez (arrestee) spit on him despite being warned and then bit him when Gadd was trying to prevent Marquez from spitting again.
Although the article did not delve further into this, I some how feel there is a lot unsaid in this sentence. In particular the words "...Gadd was trying to prevent Marquez.... I'd love to know what the word prevent means in this context. :)
Seriously though, I'd love to hear people's opinions on this matter.
:beer: