InnerSelf.com

Can This Be Right?

by bobby jennings

The Judicial system in the US has been often criticized for providing "justice" according to what one can afford.

For anyone who has been victimized by Local, State, or the Federal Governments, they know that the cost of defense is sometimes worse than the penalty for minor infractions. But when the penalty is steep the cost of defense can be insurmountable.

For those innocent and unable to pay the price for defense, they must rely on the police departments and prosecutors not to accuse without substantial evidence

Consider that it has been estimated that around 75% of the black male population in the US has been or is under some sort of Judicial supervision. Or even more stunning a statistic reported recently in Time Magazine regarding the fate of "death row" inmates.

One would think that folks that have been sent to death row would have had some reasonable protection under the laws of this country. We should expect that the police departments and the prosecutors would take extra care with someone's life. But that doesn't seem to be the case.

In Illinois alone 11 people on death row have been exonerated of all charges and released in the last 21 years In that period of time the same number (11) were executed. A statistical fluke? Then consider this. Of the 139 people executed in Florida, Illinois, Georgia, Arizona, Okalahoma, New Mexico, Louisiana, California, and Ohio another 62 were exonerated, nearly 50% of the total. I chose to disregard Texas in this calculation as they have really been busy putting to death nearly 1 1/2 times as many people as the other states combined.

Using the "war on drugs" as an excuse, the governments of the US are assaulting the population. Once revered in our society, property rights are eroding rapidly. Many governments have passed or are considering legislation allowing the confiscation of property not only without out conviction but without even charging the owner with a crime.

I shudder to think how many innocent, or only marginally guilty people, there are serving time in prison, having had their property confiscated, or been harassed by their governments. If one just takes the 50% of innocent people on death row these past 21 years as reported by Time, the numbers could be staggering.

The people of the US have surrendered their hard earned liberties for a little feeling of safety. I dare say that the drug problem in the US could be solved very quickly if there was a comprehensive plan with all working in concert. It doesn't take putting such a large portion of the "poor" population in jail.

It used to be said that " better that ten guilty men go free than convict one innocent man". Are these figures being reversed? Perhaps it's time to take another look before it's too late.

RECOMMENDED BOOK:

"Lost Rights: The Destruction of American Liberty"
by James Bovard.

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