It Grabbed my Attention!

Sometimes while doing something absolutely ordinary and even routine, something suddenly stands out to you and grabs your attention. So it was the other day while I was relaxing and reading a Science Fiction book by Jack Campbell. Two of his characters were discussing the “justice system” of their failing empire, and the need for trials. On being asked if the system needed to be fixed, one replied: “Offhand, no. It delivers punishment quickly and severely. The guilty do not escape. What would I fix?”

It was the reply of the other character that stood out to me and made me think. “The purpose of a justice system isn’t to punish the guilty, ---.” “Punishment is easily administered. The reason a justice system exists is to protect the innocent.”

Although I have been bothered by the American justice system for many years, I never really thought deeply about what it’s purpose was. I guess I just assumed it was to stop those committing crimes in such a way as to deter others from following in their footsteps. That, I believe, is the way most people think. The justice system exists to deter crime, to protect property owners, to punish wrongdoers, to enforce order, to keep the government in control, etc. The idea of protecting the innocent is seldom considered, and when it is, it is considered more as an obstacle than a benefit.

I am positive many if not most of my readers will now object, saying that is why people are “considered innocent until proven guilty”, guaranteed a speedy trial, legal counsel, and usually eligible for release on bail until the trial takes place. But there are problems with all of the above.

Why do those who are dangerous but wealthy get released on bail because they are “members in good standing in the community”, while poor people languish in prison for months, even years, awaiting trial simply because they can’t raise the money for bail? Why do they get (usually) inferior and/or overworked lawyers? Why are people convicted in the public mind by the media on the basis of unproven allegations repeated over and over as if they were rock solid and beyond dispute? Why are blacks shot while being arrested far more often than whites?

Perhaps much more serious but generally ignored; why were (and probably still are) people being illegally kidnapped on the streets of foreign cities, or turned in for monetary reward in failed states, and sit confined indefinitely in Cuba or elsewhere. They not only are not being “considered innocent until proven guilty”, but not even being considered “guilty until proven innocent” (which many tin-plated dictators call “justice”). If you are never charged with a crime, you will never be brought to trial and cannot possibly defend yourself. You cannot confront your accusers, produce witnesses in your own behalf, and prove your innocence. If eventually a mistake is recognized, these folks are usually dumped back overseas and given no legal recourse for their unlawful imprisonment and no reasonable compensation or a way to sue for damages.

What bothers me even more is that so many of my fellow Christians have no problem with this. Even the Old Testament law said in Deuteronomy 19:15:  “A single witness shall not suffice against a person for any crime or for any wrong in connection with any offense that he has committed. Only on the evidence of two witnesses or of three witnesses shall a charge be established.“ Now, they did not have DNA, fingerprints, or other scientific evidence in those days, but the “evidence of witnesses” presupposes charges and a trial, where you have the ability to confront your accusers and defend yourself. Why are believers so fearful? 2Timothy 1:7  “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”

Certainly if the purpose of the judicial system is to punish wrongdoers, this approach may seem logical to some, especially if a trial might be difficult or embarrassing. But if the purpose of the judicial system is to protect the innocent, then both the law and the judicial system are total failures! They are made total failures by the government, the complicit judiciary, and the ordinary people who allow fear and panic to rule them, standing silent while bad legislation is passed, and so encouraging and allowing the total violation of the Constitution and the basic principles of Justice and American law.