As comments, accusations and retorts featuring the Ethics Alarms All-Stars were flying around on the blog in reaction to the Casey Anthony verdict and my reaction to some of those reactions (here, here, here, and here), Lianne Best came through with an especially measured take, one that was immediately cheered by other commenters.
There is nothing wrong with feeling deeply, and emotions are important; after all, Mr. Spock had limitations as a leader. When emotion rather than analysis drives public opinion, however, there is a risk of real harm: those attempting objective analysis may be vilified, marginalized or ignored, and rash, reckless decisions and consequences can result. (I could, but won’t, argue that the 2008 presidential election was a classic case in point.) Lianne cuts to the real issue deftly. Here is her Comment of the Day:
“I too often find myself embroiled in emotional opinion, with no basis in facts. It’s easy here: an adorable and completely innocent, dependent little girl was killed. Virtually every human, particularly parents, want to see that vindicated, justice found and brought. That somehow makes it better. But you know what? It doesn’t make it better to go racing off on just a blazing gut reaction, not when people’s lives are affected by our lack of thought and analysis. I was a juror in a kidnapping and murder trial. It was an immensely difficult two weeks, and the decision was agonizing. Luckily, it was also popular; it would have been awful to suffer through loud, manic public criticism of our reasoned decision on top of the process … loud, manic public criticism by people who weren’t there, who knew less (or at least differently) than we did. We have a jury system for a reason, 12 people found Casey Anthony not guilty (13 if you count the alternate juror) and we have to trust them.
“Personally, I appreciate Jack’s cooler head prevailing when my mother’s heart is shrieking.”
Ethics Alarms 
Baez and Cheney both rule, Nancy Grace remains in the toilet!
Congratulations Baez and Cheney on achieving true Justice.
Good for Casey, our hero! 🙂
Welcome back to MFM, the blogosphere’s pre-eminent black satirist!
Thank you Mr. Marshall. For the case tomorrow, I realize that many people believe that regardless of her acquittal on all but the lying charges, that Casey Anthony should serve out in full her previous conviction which result in her staying incarcerated for more than two more years. But, imo, I believe she should be immediately released because the time Casey has been there in custody, totally, has been under the auspices and the threat of facing the death penalty for years and years and the toll that takes to withstand has to be added into the time served she has already done. It is one thing to do some time for check fraud issues but a totally different time spent contemplating that the state was hoping to kill you, each and every day. I also believe the prosecution-team should be ordered to finish out the remainder of Caseys sentence to give them a taste of their own dysfunctions.
Not if she killed her, which she almost certainly did. Prosecution has “dysfunctions?” Hah!
And if you’re going to all this trouble to write back, get rid of the e-mail jargon… “imo” is shorthand, juvenile, and not worthy of the rest of what you had to say.
This post had CotD written all over it. I wholeheartedly support the sentiment.