Our founding fathers provided the foundation for a more enlightened society, fair and just for the greater good. Some simple concepts of justice though are still often overlooked.
Is our 21st century society too distracted to see the obvious? There is no doubt that modern technology has brought new techniques for identifying truth and has broadened our abilities to detect, preserve, and analyze physical evidence from a crime scene. Nevertheless, are we mindful enough of the injustice that still exists at many levels of our American Criminal Justice System?
It is time we examine the obvious reality of today's justice system and do our part to protect the innocent.
The Media's Influence
Print and television media have a definite impact on high profile cases, but it seems especially obvious that some TV commentators have been less objective as of late. Individual bias, emotion, and personal history seem to prejudice their opinions. Over time, opinions can become beliefs, and beliefs can sometimes become dangerous; especially in the case of passionate pundits, proclaiming the media's latest celebrity guilty before trial.
We have seen former prosecutors and others publicly lynching high profile defendants like accused murderer Scott Peterson, Congressman Gary Condit, actor Robert Blake, and even still, O.J. Simpson. These witchhunts look like they came right out of the 17th century.
High profile defense teams like Peterson's are often assailed by pundits for "attempting to taint the jury pool." Most prosecutorial "experts" are unwilling to admit that their speculative comments, and the numerous prosecutorial leaks and press conferences are doing just that. Now that the focus is on whether Peterson received a fair trial, these issues and their impact will come clearly into view.
A Developing System
Great strides have been made since the U.S. Supreme Court case of Gideon v. Wainwright fortified the right to counsel in 1963. It is hard to imagine that just 40 years ago an attorney might not have been provided for an indigent defendant charged with a felony. The 1972 Supreme Court opinion in Argersinger v. Hamlin requires the representation for anyone facing potential imprisonment to be adequate. Adequate representation requires investigation of course, and incomplete investigation can lead to travesties of justice.
The National Legal Aid Defenders Association standards mandate an investigation in every case, but many attorneys are not completing investigations due to inexperience or time constraints. In addition, scientific issues can complicate already difficult cases that we see today. If a trial is a search for truth, why doesn't everyone have an equal right to discover it?
According to statistics from the Innocence Project, there could be thousands of wrongly convicted individuals behind bars. This should be an outrage to all of us. Let us examine a few recent examples where proper investigation might have had an impact:
Tulia, Texas
A sting operation conducted by a rogue cop was used to convict 46 people on drug charges. It was found that one lady sentenced to 99 years was in another state cashing a check at the time this policeman claimed to have been purchasing cocaine from her. One described as 6 months pregnant was not carrying a child at all, while another described as being tall with bushy hair was short and bald. Another had time sheets proving he was at work while a drug deal was supposedly taking place.
The Illinois Death Row Inmates
Illinois Governor George Ryan stirred up heated debate when he commuted the sentences of 167 death row inmates in January of 2003. The initial response from most was to get caught up in the political side of this action. Perhaps political interests motivated it but we all learned of horrific injustices. Over the past 26 years in Illinois, numerous death row convicts were found to have been wrongly convicted.
"Our capital system is haunted by the demon of error," Ryan said in an address at Northwestern University. "Error in determining guilt, and error in determining who among the guilty deserves to die."
Missourian Barry Roberson
Barry Roberson's case is a little known example of how the system can be nightmarish at times. Roberson was convicted of rape despite the fact that the victim could not recall the day or even the month of the recent assault and there was no physical evidence. Roberson's defense investigator died, leaving the defense without the competent investigation needed to establish the facts at the time of trial.
Barry, a man with no prior offenses, was sentenced to thirty years in prison. One would assume that there could be grounds for a new trial, but Roberson's attorney filed his request one day late. Due to this untimely filing, his request for a new trial was denied. As a Private Investigator, I have seen numerous cases like these where incomplete investigation has contributed significantly to inadequate representation.
Developing Ideas
The challenge of overcoming injustice is increasingly difficult, as new paradigms require time to affect society.
Currently, prisoners across the country are found innocent through DNA testing and yet face stiff resistance in some cases; with angry prosecutors arguing against their release for they were "convicted by a jury of their peers." Breaking people free of these old mindsets could allow the justice system to work more like the founding fathers intended.
Karl Llewellyn may have said it best "…the better and best law is to be built on and out of what the past can offer; the quest consists in a constant re-examination and reworking of a heritage, that the heritage may yield not only solidarity but comfort for the new day and for the morrow".
The Challenge of Objectivity
In courtrooms and the media an unfortunate trend has developed where objectivity is replaced by an aggressive prosecutorial posture that is damaging the integrity of our justice system. Innocent until proven guilty is a simple idea that requires more responsibility, more open-mindedness.
The right to an attorney is guaranteed. Steps taken now to improve the likelihood of competent investigation in every case could set our society on a path toward overcoming injustice.
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Copyright 2007
The Direct PI Network, LLC
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Branson West, MO 65737
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Copyright 2007
The Direct PI Network, LLC
Claybough Plaza Suite 22
Branson West, MO 65737
All Rights Reserved
Serving Missouri Since 1999
