The article listed above is in the New Haven Independent and was posted there on March 18. It would be helpful to read that post to better understand this BLOG.
There is a COST to all of us as a society when justice is subverted. “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” Martin Luther King
“If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.” Bishop Desmond Tutu
“There may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice, but there must never be a time when we fail to protest.” Elie Wiesel
Some of us just cannot help ourselves when it comes to issues of injustice. Yes, there are far too many of our citizens who engage in criminal behavior. As a society we are better off without them, but the reality is—they are a part of us, and too often some of their behavior is a consequence of their societal imposed or facilitated circumstance.
Unfortunately, there are those who benefit greatly from an expanding prison industrial complex and who have a vested interest in growing the criminal population. There is also ample evidence that certain groups have been targeted to feed the prison industrial complex, and that serves the financial and political ambitions of many; sadly it might also serve some even more twisted interests.
Additionally, in far too many aspects of our society we are very short-sighted. Too many politicians, and some who have taken on the mantle of community leadership do not see or appreciate the benefits of early investments in education, positive image and skill building, and self-improvement strategies for our young, and in particular those who are born into deprived circumstances. We need to look at the BIG picture from day one. As a society we are only as strong as our weakest links.
It is a great investment to educate all, and to create circumstances that encourage and make it possible for all capable citizens to be the best that they can be. If they cannot realize their potential, at least make it possible for them to acquire skills that make them fully functional. It is possible and it might cost us less than prison costs us now.
On the issue of criminal justice, the question is: when the police and prosecutors maliciously put someone away for 16 years, and then refuse to correct their mistake just because they are too arrogant to do so, what are the benefits to society? Isn’t crime and punishment supposed to benefit the larger society? Or is it? How does society benefit when we wrongly imprison people?
When the behaviors of law enforcement only serve to further the animosity which already exists in our society, who exactly benefits? What is gained? How often do we see white men, or those with adequate financial resources locked away for decades for crimes they did not commit, but also for being sentenced without any real evidence? How long after the “error/s?” have been discovered does it usually take to remedy those errors? And yes, we know that sincere errors do occur without anyone deliberately creating them. Given the reported evidence in this case, and what the “convicting witness said, can anyone say what happened here was an error?
Like most law-abiding citizens, I detest criminal behavior. However, my greatest scorn is reserved for those in our judiciary system who are supposed to uphold the law, and who seem to consciously and deliberately subvert justice either out of shear malice and bigotry, or only to further their careers. The American system of justice is not served, and as a society we are all damaged by it. How can we teach our children to be respectful of the law when those who are charged with upholding it and setting positive examples are so flagrant in their disregard for justice?
Every day that these men remain in prison the law is being further subverted.
