I am generally a fairly affable guy, not much to argue, would rather tell a joke. I'm neither democrat or republican, religious or non religious. I was never part of the debate team in school and I don't have a law degree. However, there comes a time in every persons life when they feel the need to present a different point of view to a situation. For me, that time has come.
Anybody that has been anywhere near a TV or radio in the past few weeks has probably been overloaded with information about the Casey Anthony trial. Once the verdict was read, there was an emotional outcry across the nation. To say the least, people were livid with a capital L! A young mother took her own daughters life and the whole world just watched a corrupt justice system allow her to walk free.
My sentiments on the situation..... Well, lets just say this is where I stick my hand in the hornets nest!
I know that we live in a country that is not immune to corruption. In any situation where you have a group of people with a common agenda, you are going to have corruption. On the flip side of that, I also feel that a verdict handed down by 12 of your peers is the purest and safest form of justice that you could possibly have. 12 people, picked at random from a pool of candidates that encompasses your entire community. Yes, jurors can be dismissed and replaced, but this option is given to both the prosecution and the defense and it is not an unlimited power of veto. When those 12 people are presented with the evidence, arguments and testimony, they are tasked with the responsibility to make a decision from a neutral starting point. That starting point, they bear no affiliations with either the prosecution or the defense, nor do they bear any bias's.
There are many countries around the world that hand down justice from a single person that is appointed to do so. All too often, these people are tainted and swayed by either political or religious agenda's. the authority to convict and condemn trusted with one person or a board of provincial leaders will always lead to wrong convictions for the wrong reasons. Those people have careers to protect and a constituency to please. This is why having 12 people chosen at random from the community in which you live is the safest, purest and most unadulterated decision you could have. If you are ever in unfortunate position of having to sit in the defendants chair, you'll be most thankful that your fate does not rest in the hands of someone trying to win votes or defend their religious beliefs.
I support our jury system 100%. In doing so, I support the decision they make. whether I agree or not is irrelevant, I was not sitting on that jury and the decision did not rest in my hands. I will say that I am horrified that a young girl lost her life and I do wish we could hold somebody accountable for it. At the same time, I am also thankful that I did not have to sit on the jury.
I would like to encourage people to set down your gavel and slowly back away from it. It's all too easy to become enraged and jump on the bandwagon with all the other enraged people. When people get enraged they feel like they're crying out for change and making a difference. There is a different bandwagon rolling by and it's population is pretty sparse, this is the bandwagon of compassion, grace & mercy. The ride is much smoother if you give up your gavel before hoping on board.
Gavel free and loving it!!!
-Red-
