Re: Hard Science

OK, so the social effects of racism are a social fact. So 
what's new? The lawyer was of course, 
despite his self-qualification, implicitly misrepresenting 
the social effect as an inherent attribute 
of individuals of a particular social category. In terms of 
his own frame of reference, he was correct, but that frame 
of reference misrepresents the social as the individual. 
Are you really 
under some illusion that the US judicial system is 
administered on trancendent principles of justice? Or that 
scientistic discourse adopts as its subject the subject of 
the regime or ideology in which it operates?
Mick Drake

On Wed, 7 Jun 2000 03:00:49 -0400 (EDT) Andrew Wayne Austin 
<aaustin@utkux.utcc.utk.edu> wrote:
> WSN
> 
> This morning on one of those news magazines a psychologist in Texas came
> in for some criticism for the character of his expert testimony in capital
> cases. The Supreme Court overturned a death penalty sentence (and will
> likely overturn more) because the jury was allowed to hear testimony that
> ethnicity was one of the risk factors in predicting dangerousness. Since
> blacks and Hispanics are statistically more likely to be involved in
> street crime, they are potential threats, and incapacitation is the proper
> response. The psychologist figures his testimony has sent 10 people to
> their deaths.
> 
> What was interesting about the program was how the psychologist justified
> his racist argument: on the science. He was not, he said, using racism to
> obtain a conviction. The facts clearly showed that a black or Hispanic was
> much more likely to perpetrate a violent street crime (the statistics do
> in fact show this). He could not apologize for the facts. He then stated
> that it would be improper for the jury not to have access to these
> important facts - the court would be withholding information from the jury
> and this would be dishonest, not to mention raise the possibility that
> dangerous felons would walk the streets.
> 
> Another Joe Friday.
> 
> Andrew Austin
> Knoxville, TN
>