Tuesday, March 6, 2007

Under our Justice System, all citizens are treated fairly in courts of law?

Just hearing this statement and all throughout our discussion of it I was kind of disgusted. Why? Because our justice system is so biased and corrupt! One girl said that she thought we were getting closer to being fair... I would like to politely disagree. All throughout history our judicial courts have been famous for letting guilty off the hook and punishing the innocent. Examples include the Sacco and Vanzetti Case, The Michael Jackson Case, the lady who sued McDonald's for spilling coffee on herself, and the one that sticks out in my mind most the murder of Emmett Till.
Emmit was a 14 black boy who was brutally murdered by two white men, in the court case that followed the men where found completely innocent even though there was surmountable evidence against them! Later the murderers sold the story of their deed to a magazine for $4,000! Not only did the guilty get off for free, they also made a profit.

Even though this happened in 1955, it is a good example of things that still go on today. I guess I just wish that people when they are placed in a position of power like a judge or on a jury would rise to the occasion, be honest, and administer justice. Maybe that's something to work for.

4 comments:

cavalierschick said...

Wow, this is an excellent point. I completely forgot about the case of Emmett Till. I am going to guess then you might have had US History already. :] Going back to the point made in class, maybe she was trying to say that the judicial system was getting somewhat better from the times when court cases were based on who you were and how much money you had. Now don't get me wrong, it's like that a lot today but not as bad as it used to be. Our judicial system is nowhere near perfect, but what I think she was trying to say is that it's very slowly progressing. I highly doubt it will ever be 100% fair or just because we are humans and tend to like to take sides (sometimes those sides based on looks and charm). I think you made a good point here. “Even though this happened in 1955, it is a good example of things that still go on today. I guess I just wish that people when they are placed in a position of power like a judge or on a jury would rise to the occasion, be honest, and administer justice. Maybe that's something to work for.” I really agree with this statement. Besides having an honest judge and jury, I do not believe we can have an honest judicial system until we have lawyers who are not concerned with winning every case, but are more concerned with presenting honest facts and not just making up things to fill in the holes in their case. However, like I said earlier, I honestly do not think our courts will ever be completely fair until we start fixing the people that run them. Excellent post.

Anonymous said...

thanx for the support cavalierchick

Erin said...

Well, I've had History already and I totally agree with you. Especially with Emmitt Till and the all-white jury during the case. It goes to show that no matter how much intergrity we say we have, we are still extremely judgemental. By the way, I looked at your profile and it turns out we like a lot of the same stuff.

Lacy Jo said...

I was jus stoppin in to say thanks for my comment! and wow the emmet till case is so bizarre. I have to also disagree with that girl who said that the world was beginning to be fair. I think that the world will never be fair and if it does i hope it happens soon!....this was a fun blog to read!
-asu23-