Corruption in my home town

Opening id like to say to all that don't know me I've been here since 2011 I usually don't create threads I just read a lot.

Anyways, I live in Marshall county Alabama terrible place I recommend not visiting.
Now I know that all of Americas government levels are money hungry but here it's awful. People get serious charges and never go to jail.
They stick u with a hefty fine and send u through some private business in town to pay them there already high considering what the average income is.
My domestic violence charge cost me $680 pluse the company u are forced to go through to pay adds an additional $40 a month

I make 4.25 an hour plus tips (pizza delivery) I'm also a college student witch means I'm very broke. So leaving me the ability to pay 20 dollars a week witch means not only am I stuck in this money loop I can't paymy way out of if I miss a payment u go to jail and they add more on.
I ran a stop sign it cost me $189 without going to court. Why so much ?

The police state is in full effect here. They are above the law. I know quite a few of our officers love to smoke crystal meth witch is exstreamly popular in my rural community. in fact it's ruined the place we had a documentary on A&E meth mountain.

Now I'm no saint by far I've been arrested a few times and never do they read me my rights I once asked about it the detective laughed and said that's only in Hollywood u don't have any rights here
Same thing happened with another officer when I was trying to talk to my mother as they drug me out of my home he told me to shut the f--- up
Of corse I got smart said I have freedom of speech. He too laughed and said you don't have any rights.

Here's the good stuff though our sheriff election was this year and the guy who's been reelected every time since I've been alive. Some of his deputys where caught tearing down the campain sighns of his opponent. Nothing ever happens it made local news for a few seconds. And yes he still won
In the county jail they beat u inside the elavators useing knight sticks and phone books so u have no marks

A man was chased across three city's by cops he didn't wanna go back to jail cause they beat him so he killed himself by jumping into the Tennessee river to escape

I actually live in fear of constant harassment there are so many of them. Armed with the best stuff AR-15s bulletproof vest and such and the military exiptment of corse armored vehicles and hummers along with the county's 5 drones that can be anywhere watching anyone.
My Cousin was brutally murderd beat till he was paralyzed stripped nude and thrown into the river. This was 11 years ago and they haven't even investigated wrote it off as a drug deal gone bad.
I could keep going with these examples all day but the point I'm trying to get to is if the rest of America is just as bad as here we really need to do something as citizens. no actual social change has come about without civil unrest and Revolution

What I'm here to ask u ats is what are some of the awful things ur seeing first hand in your communitys. And what can we the people do about it.

Thank you for reading, please excuse my grammar I know it's awful I'm working on it.

a reply to: ronnypeppers

Was it a DV charge or conviction?

Conviction I had no lawyer I pled guilty

I know you're broke, but if you can get your hands on some sort of small audio recorder and can get these guys on tape, you might be able to make a mess.

Not that it changes anything in the end- sounds like you're further ahead on the police state agenda than many places.

Most of the cops drive these brand new 2013 dodge chargers there really nice for such a small population so there making a killing they charge u $25 a night if u go to jail like its some kinda inn they hardly serve eatable food I remember they grinded up hotdogs and threw it over lettuce called it taco salad

This isn't earth shattering corruption or anything, but it did anger me.

My area is currently under a blanket of snow and ice, which only happens about once a year here. As you can imagine, the number of traffic accidents goes up exponentially during these dangerous driving conditions...

So yesterday, a friend of my Dad's skid off the road in his personal truck and got stuck in the snow. As he was sitting there waiting for assistance, an off-duty state trooper "failed to maintain a reasonable speed", skid off the road in the same spot, and rear-ended my Dad's friend. Now for the funny..... The state trooper has no liability insurance coverage, and my Dad's friend is out the repair costs. I'm not sure what is going to come of it, but I would sue. I would also contact Copblock or other similar organizations and drag this officer's name through the mud and then some.


So there is an example of the double standards of which plague this country.

originally posted by: ronnypeppers
Conviction I had no lawyer I pled guilty

"If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided to you..."

Most of the time the Public Defender is just a rubber stamp, but it never hurts, and usually helps lessen the sentence with a plea agreement that is worked out before the court date so the court has no surprises.

Even if I could get some increminating evidence. Who's gonna be on our side besides just normal everyday people. The FBI spent a day here and left. All I can do is hope for something to happen and continue to get harassed. And they will harass u for no reason just because ur in there line of site witch is a good reason why after dark you won't find a car out at least after 10:30

a reply to: Shamrock6

I'd say you're coming in on the low end of fines then. Where I'm at, running a stop sign is points on your license and $200-350. A DV conviction can be both up to a year in jail time and up to $2500 in fines. If you can't afford the fines, stop breaking the law.

You don't have to be read your rights just because you got arrested. You have to be read your rights before questioning, and only if that questioning will be used in court. It's entirely possible to be arrested, convicted, sentenced, and incarcerated without once being Mirandized. Unlikely, but possible.

Sounds like your local department is corrupt as all get out though. To me it's starting with the sheriff and going down from there. And if the sheriff is involved, it's a good bet the judges are, at least some of them and to some degree. As is the prosecutor, most likely.

If you're going to keep up the lifestyle, start recording your interactions. If you want to try and change it, contact your state bureau of investigation. I think your local cops are probably dirty, yea. But I'm hard pressed to be sympathetic about the fines issue. They're pretty low compared to what I've seen around here, and your income level doesn't effect what the legislature has set as the range for fines.

a reply to: Bobaganoosh

Uh...so the trooper hit a car disabled off of the road and has to pay the repair costs? Um, yeah...lawyers give free consultations. He shouldn't have to pay anything if someone hit a car disabled or parked off of the road.

a reply to: Bobaganoosh
I'm pretty sure u can get a lawsuit for that with the right lawyer. Of corse lawyers cost so much it makes u question if it's worth it

a reply to: Shamrock6

Great advice for everyone.
Collusion is a given in the criminal justice system. Corruption is a regular occurrence due to it. Especially when the pond is small.

a reply to: Shamrock6

It still seems steep if u loose everything u have over a traffic ticket when ur entire check is only $220

As far as my criminal record the DV was for fighting with my stepfather yes I did deserve to be arrested. And the others where marijuana involved.
I don't consider myself a evil criminal or anything

Yea, it only happened yesterday, but you can bet that I'm keeping a close eye on how things go.

I know the name of the officer involved, but I'm not keen on defaming anybody without hearing the story for myself. If need be later on, I'll create a thread on it once I know the particulars.. For now, it's just another story that doesn't surprise me.

I just hope Dad's friend pursues what is right, and doesn't cave to intimidation. I know from personal experience how aggressive police become when they are caught doing wrong.

a reply to: ronnypeppers

Greetings- May I suggest the 2008 movie "American Violet".. It is a movie about a District Attorney in Texas and I don't want to ruin the plot but in the story the Victim received help from the ACLU™.. Has anybody contacted Your local ACLU™? Couple of questions to get the ball rolling.

#1) Is Your local jail run by the local Sheriff or a private business? A way to tell this is to read Your local paper's "Arrest Log" and see how many were arrested after "a canine was called in and alerted to the possible ...blah, blah, blah or whatever the boiler plate reads.. If You reside in a lower income area then chances are You won't have the fund$ to fight Your case. "They" rarely pull this type behavior in a middle/upper class region. Prison industries in America is a $3B/yr. business.

In the aforementioned movie, it was revealed that 90%+ of those incarcerated are there under a "plea agreement" So if they don't get Your body they want Your $$$$..

I'd contact the local ACLU™ and let them handle it.. If You don't get a chance to watch that movie then at least read about it..

www.imdb.com...

a reply to: ronnypeppers

I understand that it seems steep, given what you make. But your paycheck isn't taken into account when the fine is levied. The state legislature sets the fine levels and the court imposes the fine somewhere in between the minimum and maximum levels. I'm not telling you that to make you feel better or worse about it, simply to explain it.

I didn't mean to imply that you're an "evil criminal" and if that's how you took it, then I apologize. That's not what I meant at all. I simply mean that you are painfully aware of how expensive fines can be, so it would be wise to be a little more careful about your driving habits and so on. You know that a certain type of behavior is going to have a huge financial impact on you. It would be wise to curb that behavior.

With your job, you'll be out and around town all the time.

I imagine you've been marked as a money, er, a trouble maker, so maybe a change of career is in order, like a work at home job.

Just keep your eyes down, mouth shut, and stay out of sight. Don't even look at a cop, don't even sneeze in public. Welcome to Amerika.

Perhaps you'd should try for slave, er, community service, to pay your debt to our over lords, er, I mean to society.

a reply to: ronnypeppers

Maybe you should spend your time doing something that's going to help you make money instead of wasting time on the internet if you're broke.

Just a thought.

a reply to: Shamrock6

^Truth^

a reply to: Jamie1

Yeah, great idea! Make more money, then hire a dream team of expensive lawyers to get you out of trouble. It wouldn't hurt to spread that money around to some powerful politicians too. It isn't hard to make money with the skill set you described, it grows on trees don't you know.

Yeah, money, the be all and end all of life in America. Earn yourself some money kid, it's just so easy to do these days.

Worship money, it will give you everything you ever desired and so much more!

Man that was easy.

Maybe you should spend your time doing something that's going to help you make money instead of wasting time on the internet if you're broke.

Seems like you have plenty of time and money to be on every new post on ATS, why don't you give this poor guy some tips and actually help him rather than being so condescending and belittling him for his lack of resources?