"I pledge allegiance, to the flag of the United State of America,
and to the Republic, for which is stands,
one Nation, under God, indivisible,
with liberty and justice for all."
With recent controversies (e.g. Zimmerman, Rice, Wilson) springing up so often, "justice for all" is becoming further and further from the truth. It got me thinking, why have we gotten so lenient (to say the least) with severe law offenders? Recently I started watching How To Get Away With Murder. For those who don't watch it's about a defense attorney who hires a group of law students to help her win cases for the sleaze and scumbags of Pennsylvania. The show shows the extremes the defense go to in order to win at any cost and how immoral they are. Yeah yeah I know it's fiction but still, most defense attorneys are known to be despicable people. People are getting away with murder (hence the title) in cases where it's damn near obvious they're guilty! Of course I'm not only blaming DAs for the issue of injustice but they are undoubtedly a huge part of the problem.
When you think about it, our justice system gives way too much opportunity for those indicted to get off easily or even scot-free. Sure I'm all for fair trial for all but too many criminals end up not getting what they deserve. I mean I thought we hit rock bottom when Zimmerman was found not guilty but then came the Ferguson decision. It's one thing for juries to wrongfully acquit someone but to not even indict is just asinine. Still I'm not ready to give up on humanity as so many people seem to be doing. It always gets worse before it gets better, right?
When you think about it, our justice system gives way too much opportunity for those indicted to get off easily or even scot-free. Sure I'm all for fair trial for all but too many criminals end up not getting what they deserve. I mean I thought we hit rock bottom when Zimmerman was found not guilty but then came the Ferguson decision. It's one thing for juries to wrongfully acquit someone but to not even indict is just asinine. Still I'm not ready to give up on humanity as so many people seem to be doing. It always gets worse before it gets better, right?
Hey, I wouldn't go making blanket statements about defense attorneys. I worked in the public defenders office for champaign county this summer and the people there work for very little money trying to help the people that they system has screwed over. It's not as dramatic as TV, not by a longshot, and in a lot of cases the lawyers actually want the guilty people to go to jail. So I agree, the system is broken, but not all defense attorney's are in the wrong
ReplyDeleteI agree with Jonah about the DA statement, but you do pose some good issues. As I was listening to the news the night they let Wilson off, I could tell they were going to 30 seconds in. As someone said "it doesn't take 100 days to figure out if they are guilty or innocent, it takes 100 days to find a way to say they are innocent." Maybe all the protests and die-ins will help make our judicial system realize that they can't get away with these things.
ReplyDeleteI just watched the pilot episode of How To Get Away With Murder... it was really good so thanks haha.
ReplyDeleteI agree it's really hyperbolic, but maybe it can still be viewed as a reflection of the society we live in?
In reference to your closing comment, about not being ready to give up on humanity, it is heartening to see such a widespread (and diverse) public outrage over these recent cases, and it doesn't seem to be dying down anytime soon. I've been very pleased to see members of both sections of this course getting involved in local protests. And even if the aims of these protests aren't specific--as the phenomenon they protest is diffuse and can't be addressed with a single piece of legislation--there is a large-scale sense that the status quo is intolerable, that this has to change. This is reason for optimism: for some reason, building momentum from the Trayvon Martin case, the Brown and Garner decisions have really struck a nerve. These stories have been coming up regularly in the news for years (Sean Bell, Oscar Grant, Abner Luima), and there hasn't been nationwide outrage. We might be witnessing a watershed moment.
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