Three Seconds: The Letter of the Law [ Edited ]

[Peppermill]

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JaneM wrote:

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JoanieGranola wrote:

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Rachel-K wrote:

How are the authors playing with our notions of "good" and "bad" characters in a police thriller? How are the police and prison officials involved adhering to the "letter of the law" and how does this relate to the spirit of justice?

What  "adjustments" do characters make in order to assure the actions taken are perfectly legal?

Can you describe how individual characters wrestle with the moral (and official) choices they are making in these chapters? Which characters have difficult struggles with conscience?

How does each deciding official treat the idea of being responsible for what happens before and during this hostage crisis?

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These are some interesting questions. Quite honestly, it appears to me that no one is adhering to the letter of the law. Sure, Grens is following procedure, but his superiors are marching to the beat of their own drum.

Piet was hung out to dry, even when promised that he would be taken care of. The people who promised him safety were the same people that signed his death warrant. That's a neon sign stating "There is no justice."

I found it interesting that there were a few characters that struggled with their own morals throughout the novel - given that each had made a choice in each action they took.

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I agree with the struggle.  Obviously Grens struggled mightily with the decision to kill, which is unusual for a policeman, and Piet followed his own moral code - kill only those who are already guilty, but save the innocent bystanders.

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Except for the original Danish informant?  (Which did gnaw at Piet -- it almost became as if Piet felt the need to do something to compensate for that decision of his.)

[JaneM]

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Peppermill wrote:

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JaneM wrote:

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JoanieGranola wrote:

---

Rachel-K wrote:

How are the authors playing with our notions of "good" and "bad" characters in a police thriller? How are the police and prison officials involved adhering to the "letter of the law" and how does this relate to the spirit of justice?

What  "adjustments" do characters make in order to assure the actions taken are perfectly legal?

Can you describe how individual characters wrestle with the moral (and official) choices they are making in these chapters? Which characters have difficult struggles with conscience?

How does each deciding official treat the idea of being responsible for what happens before and during this hostage crisis?

---

These are some interesting questions. Quite honestly, it appears to me that no one is adhering to the letter of the law. Sure, Grens is following procedure, but his superiors are marching to the beat of their own drum.

Piet was hung out to dry, even when promised that he would be taken care of. The people who promised him safety were the same people that signed his death warrant. That's a neon sign stating "There is no justice."

I found it interesting that there were a few characters that struggled with their own morals throughout the novel - given that each had made a choice in each action they took.

---

I agree with the struggle.  Obviously Grens struggled mightily with the decision to kill, which is unusual for a policeman, and Piet followed his own moral code - kill only those who are already guilty, but save the innocent bystanders.

---

Except for the original Danish informant?  (Which did gnaw at Piet -- it almost became as if Piet felt the need to do something to compensate for that decision of his.)

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Except Piet did not kill the informant, right?  And he would have stopped it if he could have.

[Peppermill]

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JaneM wrote:

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Peppermill wrote:

---

JaneM wrote:

---

JoanieGranola wrote:

---

Rachel-K wrote:

How are the authors playing with our notions of "good" and "bad" characters in a police thriller? How are the police and prison officials involved adhering to the "letter of the law" and how does this relate to the spirit of justice?

What  "adjustments" do characters make in order to assure the actions taken are perfectly legal?

Can you describe how individual characters wrestle with the moral (and official) choices they are making in these chapters? Which characters have difficult struggles with conscience?

How does each deciding official treat the idea of being responsible for what happens before and during this hostage crisis?

---

These are some interesting questions. Quite honestly, it appears to me that no one is adhering to the letter of the law. Sure, Grens is following procedure, but his superiors are marching to the beat of their own drum.

Piet was hung out to dry, even when promised that he would be taken care of. The people who promised him safety were the same people that signed his death warrant. That's a neon sign stating "There is no justice."

I found it interesting that there were a few characters that struggled with their own morals throughout the novel - given that each had made a choice in each action they took.

---

I agree with the struggle.  Obviously Grens struggled mightily with the decision to kill, which is unusual for a policeman, and Piet followed his own moral code - kill only those who are already guilty, but save the innocent bystanders.

---

Except for the original Danish informant?  (Which did gnaw at Piet -- it almost became as if Piet felt the need to do something to compensate for that decision of his.)

---

Except Piet did not kill the informant, right?  And he would have stopped it if he could have.

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My sense of the text was that Piet "could have" stopped the killing, but to have done so would have blown his cover and in high probability cost him his life.  It seemed as if that was what shook him up so much, along with his self-identification with the other informant, i.e., it could have been him instead whose cover got blown.

[HannibalCat]

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thewanderingjew wrote:

Having only read to the point where Piet demands isolation and Grens leaves the prison I am inspired to simply say, Justice??? What is Justice??? It sure doesn't sound like there is any, so far.

Everyone, so far, is interpreting the law any old way they please to suit themselves.

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Rachel-K wrote:

How are the authors playing with our notions of "good" and "bad" characters in a police thriller? How are the police and prison officials involved adhering to the "letter of the law" and how does this relate to the spirit of justice?

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Exactly so. It is amazing that things can change at the whim of the so called protectors. Piet did his part exceptionally well and he is being hung out to dry because someone doesn't want him to talk. The sad part is, Piet may not have talked anyway and would have complteted his mission. He was very dedicated to this job.

How can anyone feel safe in a world like that?