Comment by lucb1e
6 years ago
Wait, who elects prosecutors? The public or some other group? I've never heard of going to the voting ballots for anything other than a referendum or electing various levels of legislators (typically municipal, state/province/departement/district/whatever, federal/national, and perhaps transnational like European; in NL we also vote on water boards but they don't really matter as far as I can tell).
Americans love elections! They elect sheriffs [1], prosecutors [2], and often judges [3]. Imagine, you could be arrested, charged, and sentenced by whoever the general public thought had the best hair!
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheriffs_in_the_United_States#...
[2] https://digitalcommons.law.yale.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?arti...
[3] https://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/25/world/americas/25iht-judg...
Well, you know - everyone thought that everyone should decide - the unwashed masses as it were.
Would you prefer that voting went back to just the white educated land owners? Does that sound any more "just"?
I would prefer that law enforcement officers, prosecutors, and judges are appointed by administrative processes which minimise political influence, as they are in civilised countries.
> Wait, who elects prosecutors?
Among others, the fine people of Dallas County, Iowa, where this drama is taking place.