Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

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Time for reflection, not retribution, against the Craigslist killer

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23 comments

Time for reflection, not retribution, against the Craigslist killer

POSTED: Tuesday, April 21, 2009, 8:31 PM

As you might have heard, this good-looking 22-year-old medical student from Boston University, Philip Markoff, was arrested today and charged as the so-called "Craigslist killer". He stands accused of murder, armed robbery and kidnapping of women selling erotic services through the popular Internet site. In the most brutal case prosecutors allege that "he sought to rob a masseuse, but bashed her in the head and shot her through the heart when she fought back."

Look, this Internet crime spree was clearly a dark and painful period in history. But the damage has already been done. Nothing will be gained by spending our time and energy laying blame for the past. Prosecuting Philip Markoff won't bring back Julissa Brisman -- and frankly it is a waste of our time and energy. We face important challenges ahead in policing predators on the Internet and preventing future violence against women. Now is the time for reflection, not retribution.

Will Bunch @ 8:31 PM Permalink | 23 comments

23 comments

Comments (23)

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 8:54 PM, 04/21/2009

Will: It sounds to me as if Obama has got your message or at least recognizes that his "no retribution" stance needs some modification. The question of whether "following orders" should be allowed or whether Nuremberg rules apply remains complex. If I was ordered to put a plastic collar around someone's neck so that it would not get broken while I repeatedly slammed that person against a wall, I would look for another line of work. Even more than waterboarding, "walling" seems clearly to be a form of torture to me and, being aware of the Geneva Conventions, I find that an order to do it should not have been followed. But questions of retribution are always complex.

— Archimedes

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0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 9:19 PM, 04/21/2009

Another day, another ART that can't figure out that clicking on "submit" more than once = a double post.

— Talking point sleuth

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 9:19 PM, 04/21/2009

Good point will. The law is the law and should apply to everybody.

— jonnyweir

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0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 9:22 PM, 04/21/2009

"Was anyone murdered in the interrogations of AQ detainees?" Yes, Swifty, there were. As award-winning journalist and author Jane Mayer said in an interview, the CIA inspector general "investigated several alleged homicides involving CIA detainees, and that Helgerson’s office forwarded several to the Justice Department for further consideration and potential prosecution." The entire interview is linked here: http://www.harpers.org/archive/2008/07/hbc-90003234

— will

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 9:30 PM, 04/21/2009

Archie's point is more relevant, Will. The Craigslist killer wasn't following orders, or interpreting the legal basis for these "extraordinary interrogation" practices. As mistaken as they might be, it is at least arguable as to whether they committed criminal offenses. Prosecuting the "Craigslist killer" won't come at the expense of important political advances. Prosecuting him will take him off the streets so he can't kill again. Bush and his torture-loving cronies are out of power. They can't hurt us anymore. Although he based his conclusion on illogical reasoning, sloboat was right in that the situations aren't analogous.

— Talking point sleuth

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0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 10:01 PM, 04/21/2009

diddy-b, do you have a link?

— Talking point sleuth

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0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 10:21 PM, 04/21/2009

Swiftie, the point is that even one example of a person killed by interrogators answers your question. And do you think only 3,000 people were interrogated using the Bush-Cheney torture rules as a basis? Think of the huge populations of prisons in Iraq and Afghanistan. It will never be known how many were tortured (although I gather that only a select few got the whole treatment).

— Archimedes

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0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 7:15 AM, 04/22/2009

I think when Obama got to office, Will and other like minded liberals were getting off on some twisted revenge fantasy that there would be a kind of Nuremburg-esque trial of the Bush Administration. Funny how these things tend not to work out.

— jmc

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Will Bunch, a senior writer at the Philadelphia Daily News, blogs about his obsessions, including national and local politics and world affairs, the media, pop music, the Philadelphia Phillies, soccer and other sports, not necessarily in that order.

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