Publisher, Fran Zankowski Editor, Matt Cortina Circulation Manager, Cal Winn EDITORIAL Senior Editor, Angela K. Evans Arts and Culture Editor, Caitlin Rockett Special Editions Editor, Michael J. Casey Adventure Editor, Emma Athena Contributing Writers, Peter Alexander, Dave Anderson, Will Brendza, Rob Brezsny, Paul Danish, Sarah Haas, Jim Hightower, Dave Kirby, John Lehndorff, Rico Moore, Amanda Moutinho, Leland Rucker, Dan Savage, Alan Sculley, Ryan Syrek, Christi Turner, Betsy Welch, Tom Winter, Gary Zeidner SALES AND MARKETING Market Development Manager, Kellie Robinson Account Executives, Matthew Fischer, Sami Wainscott Advertising Coordinator, Corey Basciano Mrs. Boulder Weekly, Mari Nevar PRODUCTION Art Director, Susan France Senior Graphic Designer, Mark Goodman Graphic Designer, Daisy Bauer CIRCULATION TEAM Dave Hastie, Dan Hill, George LaRoe, Jeffrey Lohrius, Elizabeth Ouslie, Rick Slama BUSINESS OFFICE Bookkeeper, Regina Campanella Founder/CEO, Stewart Sallo Editor-at-Large, Joel Dyer
June 11, 2020 Volume XXVII, Number 43 As Boulder County's only independently owned newspaper, Boulder Weekly is dedicated to illuminating truth, advancing justice and protecting the First Amendment through ethical, no-holds-barred journalism and thought-provoking opinion writing. Free every Thursday since 1993, the Weekly also offers the county's most comprehensive arts and entertainment coverage. Read the print version, or visit boulderweekly.com. Boulder Weekly does not accept unsolicited editorial submissions. If you're interested in writing for the paper, please send queries to: editorial@ boulderweekly.com. Any materials sent to Boulder Weekly become the property of the newspaper. 690 South Lashley Lane, Boulder, CO, 80305 p 303.494.5511 f 303.494.2585 editorial@boulderweekly.com www.boulderweekly.com Boulder Weekly is published every Thursday. No portion may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher. © 2020 Boulder Weekly, Inc., all rights reserved.
Boulder Weekly
welcomes your correspondence via email (letters@ boulderweekly.com) or the comments section of our website at www.boulderweekly.com. Preference will be given to short letters (under 300 words) that deal with recent stories or local issues, and letters may be edited for style, length and libel. Letters should include your name, address and telephone number for verification. We do not publish anonymous letters or those signed with pseudonyms. Letters become the property of Boulder Weekly and will be published on our website.
BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE
So you want to get rid of the cops? Here are some alternatives. By Paul Danish
S
o you want to get rid of the police, huh? So then what? Who are you going to call — what are you going to do — when the bad boys come for you? Well, here are seven alternative, time-tested, 100% police-free law enforcement options: Option 1: Raise the Hue and Cry. Dating back to the late 13th century in English law, raising the Hue and Cry means that anyone who witnesses a crime is required to yell, in so many words, “After the Rogue” and start pursuing the perp. Anyone who hears the witness is also required to raise the Hue and Cry and join the chase. Both the cry and the pursuit must be kept up from town to town and county to I
county until the criminal is caught and either delivered to the sheriff (if he surrenders) or killed on the spot (if he resists). Raising the cry and joining the pursuit was mandatory. Failure to do so made you accessory to the crime. It’s obviously a great way to deal with street crime in neighborhoods that don’t want cops around. And what could possibly go wrong? Option 2: Bring back outlawry. Today the term “outlaw” usually refers to any fugitive from justice. However the term originally referred to someone who had been stripped of the protection of the laws by a court and consigned to the status of being “outside of the law.” A person who was declared an outlaw could legally be beaten, robbed, tortured, killed, etc. by JUNE 11, 2020
anyone in the community. Outlawry is a great way to deal with known bad actors who commit crimes when there aren’t any witnesses around to raise the Hue and Cry in cop-free cities. An outlaw who attempted to commit a further crime (no matter how small) could be killed on the spot by the intended victim, or subsequently hunted down by the victim’s agents or independent bounty hunters. That should cut down on recidivism. It should also reduce the need for prisons. A lot of outlaws, maybe most, would either go into hiding, in effect incarcerating themselves, or assume new identities and attempt to lead law-abiding lives, in effect see DANISH PLAN Page 6
I
5
