On the "Bad Character" Argument

[Secret Alias]

Sabar's new article on Morton Smith (the Mar Saba document is a mere footnote) follows an old prosecutorial tactic - demonstrate that someone is evil or has "bad character" and that individual will be easier to convict. Hence the appeal to lines of reasoning which would be generally inadmissible in an academic article = the whole appeal to the "moral unfitness" of Smith's teachers, his suicide at the end of a long and bitter fight with cancer (Sabar doesn't at all mention the cancer or at least it's buried; people are always "against" suicide), his alleged homosexuality etc. But is there such a thing as "bad character"? I was watching the new Anthony Hopkins movie One Life. His character is the obvious "good guy." Fine. But the other "good guys" in the film that appear as Anthony Hopkins "knights in shining armor" are Robert Maxell and his wife Elisabeth. They are the only ones who help Anthony Hopkins and bring a happy ending to his life. Most of the people in the cinema were undoubtedly like "hey that Robert and Elisabeth are good people." Ok. But they were also the ones who brought their daughter Ghislaine into the world. So what are they? Are they "bad people" or "good people"? That's why these sorts of terms are meaningless. Even criminals do good things and saints do bad ones.

What you need to convict someone is (1) evidence of a crime, (2) an "enraged" jury and then (3) demonstrations of the "bad character" of the accused. So in this case you tell Christians "hey there is this forgery which says Jesus is gay, how do you feel about that Christians?" You've got (1) and (2) wrapped up. That's why (3) is always an appeal to any and everything bad that ever happened within 20 miles of Morton Smith. But this is a cheap trick. I am not at all sure how far that Morton Smith's "character" can determine whether or not he was a forger. I am not saying he had "bad character" or "good character." These sorts of things are between God and the individual. We don't know what is in the heart of anyone. But surely if the document is a forgery it should be a lot harder to determine WHY it was forged as opposed to whether or not it is a forgery. But in this case it's the opposite. EVERYONE is convinced Morton Smith is a bad guy (he insulted apparently a lot of people). But determining the text to be a forgery is more problematic. But it is an effective prosecutorial tactic. Red meat for the mob.

[billd89]

What you need to convict someone is (1) evidence of a crime, (2) an "enraged" jury and then (3) demonstrations of the "bad character" of the accused.

You don't know what you're talking about, again. I sat on a murder trial as a juror; I took an active role in the discussions of what we -- as a group -- would accept from the DA. There was indisputable evidence of a murder, but no one was "enraged." (The whole thing was simply sad, tragic: I had regrets that the child at the center of the tragedy was left w/o TWO fathers AND the Commonwealth taxpayers would be paying for everything as a result.) But I was surprised the DA produced NO EVIDENCE of the perp's gang-background, the probability he was in a drug mafia, or his "Bad Character" (i.e. racism). In the court-room, his affect -- and especially that of his mother, a key Defense witness -- absolutely screamed LYING PSYCHOPATH to me, but we as a Jury never discussed that. Everything we debated exclusively revolved around a Murder 1 or Murder 2 sentence for the perp: "What does 'Pre-meditated' mean, in MA Law?" No, the DA didn't get Murder 1. (More recently, the Parole Board rejected his petition for release at 15 Years, the Minimum Life Sentence.) I don't believe a Murderous Psychopath like that will ever be 'good', either. The Parole Board documentation tells the rest of story too, I believe. Bad Seed!

Re: Bad People
Case in Point? Psychopaths. They're not just Puerto Rican monsters from tragically bad environments, obv.

In a myriad of ways, they -- as a 'kind' -- seem to have a strong proclivity to do Evil. Ergo, Bad People. But obviously: not 'All Bad' nor 'Bad, in the Same Way.' And much Evil is hidden, successfully: judging what we know is still terribly incomplete regarding the truth of the Psychopath's existence.

There are strong indications that True Psychopathy is genetic. But that research is still developing: it's somewhat shocking how little is known about these aholes, in scientific fact. But more studies have appeared in recent years ...

And frustratingly, just like other PDs, there's a spectrum. Most Psychopaths don't even get 'caught'; most are largely invisible as such to friends & family, I'd guess.

"Even criminals do good things" is an absurdist rationalization: that familiar 'Even Hitler Loved Puppies' bollock. And to set the record straight, Robert Maxwell (like Bernie Madoff) was considered a Psychopath. Ghislaine is just an apple off the same tree, right? Bad Seed.




fwiw, she's appealing her conviction and some reckon she may be out soon. Rich, pretty and connected does the trick.