criminal actions based on religious beliefs

[Bob Sheridan]

You realize that the world is an asylum where the inmates are allowed to 
run around loose, except in the most egregious cases.

Whether this is one of them or business more-or-less as usual, I leave 
for wiser heads to decide. 

Meanwhile, never stop looking over your shoulder, for they are always 
gaining on you, despite Prof. Paige's admonition to the contrary.

Sen. James Webb of VA has an article in today's Sunday (Parade) 
supplement to some newspapers noting that the U.S. has more people in 
prison, per capita, than any other so-called civilized nation and surely 
we must do more to imprison less.  This has been a subject of interest 
of his for decades, he's sponsoring legislation to set up a federal 
study commission, and more power to him.  Yes, it's very expensive 
imprisoning all those people, but the unfortunate thought that kept 
recurring as I read the article was how many more really needed to be 
put away, regardless of cost.  We seem to have fallen down on the job of 
educating and controlling people, especially imprisoned people who've 
learned that force and violence is a way toward immediate 
gratification.  Some flags locally are at half-staff, presumably in 
memory of the four Oakland police officers gunned down earlier in the 
week by one recently released prisoner wielding a military assault rifle 
in a civilian city noted for its violent crime on one hand and a 
wonderful family environment on the other.

In the meantime, according to an article in yesterday's Wall Street 
Journal, suicide in the military has been increasing to alarming 
proportions.  Part of the problem is that career military people are 
reluctant to obtain counseling for what ails them, such as PTSD 
resulting from war experience and failure to uphold high standards of 
military honor and expectation.  Why not assign a health specialist to 
every unit and require that every individual in the unit speak to this 
counselor, I thought, before realizing that you order a horse to water 
but not make him speak what's on his/her deepest mind.

I love the idea of individual freedom, but suspect that among its 
drawbacks is latitude to inflict harm on self and others.

As this is deeply constitutional, I'm sure we've all given some thought 
to the question of how we may raise youngsters from troubled backgrounds 
to become responsible, mature, trouble-free, contributing citizens, 
rather than becoming state prisoners, or local prisoners doing life on 
the installment plan, or the next Rev. Jim Jones.

rs
sfls

Steven Jamar wrote:
> The harm religious beliefs can do . . . 
>
> http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/28/AR2009032801936.html
>
> Can/must brainwashing constitutionally be a defense in a case like this?
>
> -- 
> Prof. Steven Jamar
> Howard University School of Law
> Associate Director, Institute of Intellectual Property and Social 
> Justice (IIPSJ) Inc.
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
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