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dijitlast Monday at 11:42 PM1 replyview on HN

You demanded I provide numbers for "vast majority" and "edge cases" in your first reply. I provided data: 375 exonerations over 35 years in a system processing 20 million cases annually. You then spent two dozen comments redefining terms and refusing to commit to any position.

Now you claim your speculation "should not be rejected for lack of citations" whilst having opened by demanding exactly that from me. That's not intellectual honesty, that's having it both ways.

On "fundamentally": you've argued the system is unjust in 100% of cases, that plea bargains are inherently coercive, and that false confessions happen routinely. Whether you used that specific word is irrelevant. Those are claims of fundamental dysfunction.

You ask which comment I mean. Here's the thread: verisimi asked "when is the law just in its application?" implying rarely or never. I said more often than not. You've argued with that for two dozen comments whilst refusing to state your own position. When pressed, you admitted you "don't have strong claims, just worries." That's fine, but it's not a basis for a dozen-comment argument.

The pattern here is clear: you make strong implications without committing to them, demand evidence from others whilst providing none yourself, redefine terms when pinned down, and retreat to semantic quibbles when substantive points fail. That's not productive discussion.

I engaged seriously when you made your cost barrier point. That was substantive. But you've chosen to return to arguing about whether you said "if" and who used which word.

I'm done. You've had multiple opportunities to state a clear position. You haven't. Readers can judge for themselves whether that's because you don't have one or because you're unwilling to defend it.


Replies

Dylan16807yesterday at 12:25 AM

The innocence project data only applies to a very specific kind of case with a very long sentence. It's a start but it's not much.

And I have never redefined a term. Don't confuse disagreement with dishonesty.

I don't know why you're so offended at me using "if" occasionally. You keep trying to force me to use specific numbers even after I say I don't have specific numbers. That's not good faith on your part.

> demand evidence from others whilst providing none yourself

Dude. I made one demand for evidence. At the very start. In a comment where I made no claims.

I have made no demands for evidence since then, just one reminder that's where we started when you bugged me about evidence.

Even if that would make my later comments hypocritical, my original comment wasn't.

I need evidence and so do you.

> Now you claim your speculation "should not be rejected for lack of citations" whilst having opened by demanding exactly that from me. That's not intellectual honesty, that's having it both ways.

What do you think is dishonest?

I never rejected your argument for lack of evidence.

I don't want either argument rejected until we get more evidence.

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And yeah I'm pretty done too. Your comments are full of false narratives about what I'm saying.

Also I stated a very clear position at the start, then you threw a big pile of half-related things at me. It's not my fault you think I don't have a "clear position", because every time I try to focus and state one, you start talking about something else.