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Charles, I argued that the while the left's critique of the crimizal justice system was justified in the past because that system was used to suppress working class movement - that critiqu is NOT justified today, because the crimnal justice system is not used in that capacity anymore. Thus, the left is fighting the battles of the past without realizing that today very few people symptahize with that cause.
In your statement you cite the examples of past usages of the criminal justice system, which seemt to support my position. My rhetorical question was, however, about CURRENT usage of the criminal justice system as a toll of political oppression - and I know that there is no such systematic usage. Again that is not to say that the criminal justice system is not politicized, used to muster support, bestow political favors etc. etc. - but that is different from political repression.
As a matter of fact, it is the public that demands stiff penalties and harsh anti-crime measures, while politicians and upper classes fail to follow such draconian recommendations (cf. Cuomo or current debates on restoring death penalty in MA). That does not surpise me at all, since it is the public, mostly the poorer strata of it, who bear the cost of crime.
Moreover, the Left's position of being soft on crime has no justification in either political principles or popular sentiments. Criminals are usually individualistic scum who prey mostly on the poor, and most socialist countries (no matter how imperfect) had harsh penalties for criminal offences. We can debate the effectiveness of various anti-crime measures (e.g. jail v. re-education camp v. death penalty), but it is foolish to absolv epeople of their responsibility for breaking the law. It is moreover foolish to belive that crime is product of a capitalist system and a socialist revolution would eliminate it. Criminals are not the purveyors of revolutionary changes - if fact they have been often hired as goons or hit men against political activists.
As I see it, the left's position on crime is the "academic elitism against the vindicitiveness of the mob" variety - high in self righteousness, low in political mobilization potential.
wojtek