TriadCity Message of the Day
2008-07-17
TriadCity's mature (like anything's ever mature in TC!)
Justice System is undergoing QA right now in our extensive
development environment (Mark's Toshiba laptop). The first
components are likely to be online real soon now, perhaps
as early as a day or two. We thought we'd take a minute to
explain the basic concepts behind "justice" in
TC, to give you a few hints of what's coming.
Not surprisingly, "justice" is a relative notion
in The City, varying in subtle or significant ways between the
Thirds. Where NorthWest may prefer to take a more nonviolent
approach, NorthEast is more likely to haul 'em off to the
gibbet at dawn. Sentencing approaches may even vary from
Judge to Judge. Here are some generalities.
The NorthWest Third administers justice via People's
Tribunals consisting of one professional legal expert
as Judge, along with two citizen jurists serving their
mandatory annual public service on the Court. There are
never any trials per se, as CrimeNet provides
a perfect record of all known criminal events. Instead,
Court proceedings are simple sentencing affairs, with
the Judge following guidelines mandated by the Third
Assembly.
NorthWest eschews the death penalty, and prefers
not to lock offenders up at all unless they're considered
truly dangerous. Those guilty of first offenses, minor
crimes, or nonviolent crimes are dealt with in a lighthearted
yet annoying way, by being sentenced to a large maze called
"PUNishment". In PUNishment, maze doors
open when a correctly punning answer to a joke question is
spoken out loud. Sentence is complete when the maze is
exited. Violent and repeat criminals are more likely to face
prison time. Murderers receive life without parole.
All convicts pay Court fines which are deducted from bank
accounts. Convicts sent to prison have their personal
property (equipment and inventory) confiscated and sold at
auction. These fines and sales offset the Third's expenses.
The NorthEastern Third has an elaborate network of police,
courts, jails and prisons, in which individual Judges have
considerable latitude re sentencing. As with the other
Thirds, evidence provided by CrimeNet is considered absolute.
Some Judges are elected, others are appointed by the Mayor
or the Senate, while others have purchased their positions
on the open market. In NorthEast, crimes against property
are often considered more serious than crimes of violence;
indeed, depending on the Judge, murderers may be let off with
a fine. Fines are often considerable, and in many cases
find their way into the pockets of the arresting officers
and the Court staffs, including the Judges. It's sometimes
said that the wealthier one is, the less likely one is to
serve prison time, while the poorer one is, the more likely
one is to face execution. Many forms of execution are
practiced, including hanging, guillotine, firing squad,
impaling, crucifixion, stoning, exposure, strangulation,
electrocution, lethal injection, gladiatorial combat in
The Arena, and many others, most of which are typically
nasty. Prison staff, police, and courtroom officials
appreciate a fat tip, and it's not necessarily the case that
sentences are actually served. It all depends.
The Southern Third has no prisons, nor indeed Courts at all
in the usual sense. Instead, South relies on medical
technology to effectively alter convicts' desires to
commit future crimes. It's said that these techniques are
largely effective, with occasional side effects. Sentences
are imposed by CrimeNet directly, without unnecessary or
distracting human involvement.
It might be worth noting that interesting people can be met
in prison, including, perhaps unsurprisingly, individuals with
advanced criminal experience and skills. Sometimes, very
advanced.
Each Third will bring its Justice system online independently.
NorthWest is nearly there. Once the Third is ready, its
police officers will no longer attack wanted criminals.
Instead, those on the wanted list will be arrested and taken
for sentencing. Announcements will be made as these changes
go online.
Questions? Use the
bulletin boards
for discussion.
Be good out there.
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