A Perspective on America's
Criminal Justice System and
It’s Incarceration of
the Innocent[1]
1.
This post is based on information gathered from
the Innocence Project[2]. The Innocence Project was begun by Attorneys, Barry
Scheck[3]
and Peter Neufeld[4] in
1992, at the Benjamin Cordoza School of Law.[5] Through its efforts, approximately 314 men
and women have been released from various prison facilities. Most of those who have been released have
been as a result of exoneration by DNA.[6] There are more statistics, but those
statistics seem to fall far short in the area of pointing out that our Criminal
Justice System has a tremendous problem, and that is, that it focuses more on
incarceration and less on rehabilitation, and to that end, has become a system
of suppression, not justice. What can be
done about it?
2.
NOTHING!
3.
Nothing! Because, as long as American citizens, we
are content to believe that our Criminal Justice System, with all of its flaws,
is still the best there is.
4.
Nothing! Because the majority of those who fall
victim to the so-called justice system aren’t perceived to be of value, that if
they happen to fall victim to America’s justice system, that in the long run,
it fairs out. Why? Because maybe the
perception is that we have fewer that never made it to prison who are guilty,
who are roaming around free. Yes, it all
fairs out well.
5.
Nothing!
That is the context of our response to a system that imprisons more
people in a country that purports to be about freedom than any other country we
know, particularly in our Western- dare I say it- Civilization. Well, maybe our freedom should have an
asterisk behind it, because the few people who have managed to get free from
behind America’s jails and prisons can attest to the fact that their freedoms and
rights were violated, and that their freedoms and rights were undermined.
6.
Nothing!
That would appear to be the best alternative to revising America’s
prison system, because justice does not appear to live here anymore, if it’s
main objective is to imprison, at all costs or, regardless of the cost.
7.
ALTERNATIVES-We can suggest alternatives to
imprisoning people, but we have to at least correct the current wrongs. We have to also acknowledge the wrongs. We have people, in America, who are American
citizens, who but for the fact that they were in the wrong place at the wrong
time in their lives, find themselves in our jails and prisons. And unfortunately, DNA fingerprinting may not
clear them. Many of those who are
unquestionably innocent, lack the funds, or connections necessary for someone
to not only open their cell doors, but to even look at their cases. Why?
8.
Because, we have a Criminal Justice System that
has placed so high a price on justice, that one would appear to be guilty simply
because of one’s economic status, in America.
9.
But let us not bash the American Criminal
Justice system, we are here to make suggestions. We have to make suggestions. We have to make
it known, that our system of Criminal Justice is in a state of flux. And that despite the presumption that there maybe an insignificant number of men and
women behind bars who are presumably innocent,
that that number could only have grown in the growth of our country over
200 years. Why?
10.
Because we are not quick to point out America’s
flaws. We are slow to point out her
flaws, and quick to condemn anyone who dares to say that America is
imperfect. Almost to the point, if not
directly to the point, as to accuse anyone who dares to call America out for
any form of injustice, as treasonous. I
dare to disagree, and point to America’s own birth as a reason to look at how
she has grown. America has grown because
she wanted to be a just nation, in contrast to her ancestral beginnings, out of
Great Britain.[7]
11.
America, cannot continue to conduct herself
without regard to her citizens, even the least among them, as though justice is
only reserved for the rich, the elite, or the well –connected. America cannot expect to continue to go on
with business as usual. She has to
commit to being a just nation lest she would fall weak to indifference and elitism. America is a better country than that!
12.
America cannot continue to point the finger of
inhumanity at her counter-parts of China, [8]North
Korea,[9] Cuba,[10] or
Russia,[11]. America can only for so long, turn a blind
eye to her own short comings, while holding the world at large accountable for
their actions. And all because, America
places a price on freedom as though it were oil from the sands of Kuwait, or
Iraq, subject to increase on the verge of any disagreement, but unlikely to
decrease when tempers are at rest.
13.
WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO? Well, what would we like to do? What are our options? I am sure that we would like to free all of
the innocent people who have been locked up in our jails and prisons. But, there are those who would contend that
that would cause more problems than it would solve. Their contention would be that we would have
people who are impacted by the system acting like the criminals that the system
has made them out to be. What other
options do we have?
14.
The first thing to conclude is that we have
options. That we have options to free
innocent people on one hand, and to stop imprisoning innocent people on the
other. Can both be done
simultaneously? Of course! We are America! We can do anything, we want to. The proof is in the fact that we have locked
up innocent people for crimes that they haven’t committed. But, on the other hand, who are we, if not
Americans, if we can’t set them free?
15.
Our options begin and stop with the Criminal
Justice System. From its concept of
over 200 years ago, here in America, was it not for our Criminal Justice System
to operate under the auspices of allowing one guilty to go free rather than
imprison one thousand of those who could be innocent of a crime? Or was that
just an attempt at mapping out a system whose overall intent was to ensure
justice would not come to bear in America.
And what about justice?
16.
IS THE IDEA OF JUSTICE A MOVING TARGET? And has that target, justice, by its
elusiveness, become so hard to narrow down, that rather than improve on the
Criminal Justice System, as Americans, we are content to have in name only, a
system that falls far short of ever achieving its goals? And what about justice?
17.
Is justice only defined by race? That when a person of color is merely
accused, that justice is served? That
when a person is indicted, tried, and released, that justice failed. That when, all too often, a person of color
has been tried and convicted, served his/her time, that the conviction will
continue to serve as an extension of justice throughout his/her life, even as
they walk freely on the streets of America.
And what about justice?
18.
IS JUSTICE ONLY DEFINED BY ECONOMICS? That when a person of meager means is forced
to become a casualty of the system, through detainment, arrests, indictments,
or trial, that the system exercises its greatest power of all, by burying the
poor below its powerful financial paw.
That the Criminal Justice System, with its seemingly endless budget, can
spare no expense in imprisoning the weakest among us, but can find not one
dollar ($1.00) to change its system of unfairness. Never mind the undue burden that crushes the
poor, or those of color, instead, we are concerned about the undue burden that
may befall the Criminal Justice system.
What are our options?
19.
Our options are few, but powerful, if we choose
to exercise them. Our options are
limited, but important. Our options,
however, if initiated today, will take beyond our life-time to have an
impact. So, if we expect to see a change
within 10 or 20 years, you can just forget about it right now. But, if you think that it is worth it, you
can start today. How?
20.
One phone call to a legislator, congressman or
senator; one email to the same; one letter to the same, one conversation with
someone whom you know can make a difference; one text message to a friend; or one blog post to those whom you know share
your passion and concern for justice.
Now, imagine if 10, 100, 1000, or 1,000,000 people did that today, and
each day for the next 20 years. Is it
possible that the wheels of justice could be reversed, or grind to a halt to
look at how our Criminal Justice System gets wrong, when innocent people are
convicted for a crime that they didn’t commit?
21.
Is it possible that one letter, text, or
conversation that one of us made, save one life from ruin because they were too
poor to fight a powerful system that has an unlimited budget to crush
them? Is it possible that one person
among us, who would lend their name to fight a cause greater than themselves,
would ask that the Criminal Justice System of the United States of America,
would re-evaluate how, on its best day, it works to imprison people because of
the color of their skin, and then, because of that imprisonment, but not
because of their guilt, consider justice to be served? Who among us, one time only, will take it
upon themselves to take on a system that has reached its peak with respect to
true justice, that has defined justice not by right or wrong, but by the
contradiction of its very name? Justice!
22.
Who among us, will be that one, who will say to
our American Criminal Justice system, that true justice is a bar too high, and
that we will settle for the statistically few innocent lives that fall between
the cracks in an effort to imprison the presumably thousands of suspected
guilty who are deserving to be imprisoned, if not killed, in the name of
justice?
23.
And better yet, who, within the Criminal Justice
System, of America, will stand up and say:
“Let us stop this madness!”? Who, as defense lawyers; prosecutors;
judges; juries; police officers; law-makers; council representatives; mayors,
sheriffs; deputies and citizens will take part in taking freedom from American
citizens, who but for the fact that they are poor, were in the wrong place at
the wrong time, are caught up in a system that implies that: getting it right is not the order of the
day”. That: “If you want justice, you
have to pay for it!” That: “If you can’t pay for justice in America, you
are guilty!”
24.
IN CONCLUSION:
The Innocence Project, a noble program that it is, with whatever monies
that it is able to pull together from whatever sources will not be the end-all
answer to freeing innocent men and women who are locked up in America’s jails
and prisons. Their purpose, as best that
I can tell is single-fold: to exonerate
those who have been convicted through the use of DNA testing. The
Innocence Project, while not necessarily a lone-wolf in the pursuit of undoing
injustice in America, is just a snapshot of the need to address untold injustices
exacted by America’s Criminal Justice System.
There are untold men and women who have been locked up in our prisons,
and the need to get it right, is not at the top of the agenda of many of our
political leaders.
25.
We know that our political leaders risk the
image of being “too soft on crime”, or “a bleeding heart liberal” if they
challenging a system determined to be set in its ways of injustice. An image many of our leaders cannot afford to
earn if they wish to remain politically viable, and continue to progress in the
world of politics. But imagine how great
it would be, if any one of or group of our political leaders would risk
standing up for a cause greater than themselves, whereby, those who would
benefit from their efforts have yet to know that their names are rising on the
list of those soon to be released from America’s jails and prisons.
26.
Imagine, if you will, a political leader, whose
greatest achievement is to take on the Criminal Justice System and all who hold
it so dear. A system who has acquiesced
to the contentment, that getting it right is a bar too high to achieve, and
that if, for whatever reason, a few thousand innocent people are the victims of
our American Criminal (In)Justice System,
then so be it. Imagine that
leader’s legacy, that he/she fought for those who could not vote, nor defend
themselves against such a system that worked to suppress rather than provide
justice as promised by the Constitution of the United States of America. That that
leader believed enough in the mission of the Criminal Justice system to work to
make it right, in America.
27.
Unfortunately, we cannot at this moment, point
to such a leader. So, the injustices in
America’s Criminal Justice System continue, for now. But I hope that each one of us will feel
compelled to write that one letter; send that one text; send that one email;
call that one law-maker; write that one blog, or call that one political leader,
knowing that we are one of the
millions who took on a cause bigger than ourselves, as opposed to, one in a million, who thought the cause was too
set in stone to change, waged too deep to uproot, or, not worth the cost to
make it right.
Disclaimer: All information is deemed to be from reliable
sources but not guaranteed. No
information should be considered as legal counseling or any other any other
relationship not so designated as of this posting. The Coveted Commandment Blog and The Coveted
Commandment are copyrighted by Wayne Dan Lewis, Sr. © 2014.
[7]
Great Britain- The War of 1812 (Great Britain and America)- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_of_1812
