Friday, July 15, 2011

American Justice

I know many people can get up in arms and raise a hue and cry to get the bad guy or girl and the evidence is so overwhelming and why didn't they get hin/her...blah...blah...blah...

Nothing is ever that simple or just.
I just finished " The Innocent Man " by John Grisham and before that I read " Mississippi Mud " by Edward Humes.  Both are real life and death stories, one in Mississippi and one in Oklahoma.

To borrow a line from John Grisham, himself a former lawyer, "...bad police work, junk science, faulty eyewitness identification, bad defense lawyers, lazy prosecutors, arrogant prosecutors."

They are both stories that will captivate on one hand and fill you with despair on the other.  Oh, and if you think you would make a great eye witness, let tell you this story.

A police academy was conducting a class with about thirty recruits. The instructor was making a point when suddenly a man burst into the room pointed a gun at the teacher and fired,  killing the teacher and quickly ran away. The class sat there in stunned silence.

All of a sudden the teacher jumped to his feet yelling "You are all eyewitnesses to a killing. Write down everything you saw, down to the smallest detail."

There were thirty different versions of what happened and what the killer looked like.





You will start to wonder is there a chance for justice anywhere. You will wonder how many will  die who where innocent. You will no longer dismiss with a wave of a hand when someone will say " I am innocent." You will also wonder what if it was you that was accused, Be afraid. Be very afraid.


beer time

ray

6 comments:

Pearl said...

As a former court reporter, I can attest to the fact that there are times when an eye witness is one of the most unreliable things there is...

Pearl

raydenzel1 said...

Pearl
Ah, a lady of the magic fingers. So it was the insanity of our justice system that drove you into comedy writing. I wanted to be part of the legal system at one time. I think I am glad I didn't make the cut.

Dawn@Lighten Up! said...

Great writing on your part. Especially the last graph. Deep thoughts. But I do need a beer now ;)

raydenzel1 said...

Dawn
You are most kind. Let me check the fridge for a cold one...

linda said...

No, RJ, it is wheat grass time. Followed by a celery, beetroot and apple juice.

When I think about how people see just day to day boring things differently I can only imagine how those under pressure recall something really serious.

raydenzel1 said...

Kinda
Are you trying to get me healthy? ha ha Talk about teaching a very old dog new tricks!

My fear from reading the books is that if I am in a courtroom with my life on the line and I say I am innocent, would anyone believe me?

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