The criminal justice system is supposed to apply especially stringent standards of proof and rule in order to best uphold liberty. “Double jeopardy” — the legal idea that you can’t be tried for the same charge twice — doesn’t apply to most of our lives. Rather, personal history rhymes. Alcoholics usually kick the bottle several times. Divorcees often remarry. Criminals were themselves crime victims at higher rates than the general population, although most crime victims don’t go on to become criminals. People often repeat behavior they know rather than trying new things. Maybe because fear of the unknown tends to be our greatest fear, maybe because change is hard, maybe because rewards make more of an impression than punishments. We don’t know why. And we don’t know why American interrogators come home to interrogate…
[Read more from the latest in my surveillance essay series at Rebel News.]
