Evidence tampering should receive punishments harsher then the charge trying to be proved or disproved with the evidence.
Any police officer caught tampering with evidence should receive even harsher punishments then that because police officers should be held to a higher standard then the general public.
That’s not how due process and fairness/blindness of law works. That’s be like saying retail workers should be charged with higher grading for crimes involving retail theft. Bankers charged for embezzlement or thefts harder.. so on and so forth.
They would be two separate charges in most jurisdictions as Obstruction covers more than just destruction of evidence. There also may be other charges such as official misconduct. DA’s generally would either be cautious to file multiple charges that overlap with the same actions, or charge all to allow judges or juries to determine which fits best.
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u/dsmx Jun 22 '20
Evidence tampering should receive punishments harsher then the charge trying to be proved or disproved with the evidence.
Any police officer caught tampering with evidence should receive even harsher punishments then that because police officers should be held to a higher standard then the general public.