A few thoughts on justice...

This was written as a response to a dude who was railroaded into prison, only to be released when it was found that the DA paid off the star witness (see link). Here is my comment:

1. eatbliss on January 14th, 2011 5:44 am
   Overhaul the justice system? Maybe to start…

   1. Everything should be appointed by the courts randomly. Judge, jury, lawyers…all should be randomly appointed, at a fixed fee, to be supported by taxes. No one should be able to ‘buy’ their way out, as money should mean very little to those that want the responsibility of upholding justice. It literally would be ‘the luck of the draw’, but every citizen that is accused, rich or poor, regardless of their color, sex, or class, would have the same equality and treatment under the law.

   2. Stop rewarding da’s for their conviction rates, public defenders for allowing the guilty to walk free, or apathetic judges that no longer wish to see justice served, as much as they enjoy the money, power, and prestige of being a judge. All those that work in the courts should be there to serve their citizens, nothing more. If they are only there to support a lifestyle that they feel that they are entitled to because of their hard work in law school, and, in the process, use and destroy lives to feed said lifestyle, they should not only, not be there, but they should be locked up for their selfish and greedy ways. In fact, I will go one further and say that those that feel a true calling to teach, heal, or carry out justice should never allow money or power to cloud their judgment, nor their profession. I wonder how many would be there if they were paid little more than minimum wage. Only the ones that were passionate about the law and dedicated, would remain. If you don’t believe me, look at artists. Some profit very little from their art, but are driven by the passion to create. So should be the passion of those that carry out justice. Money and power should be of little matter to those that have a true calling to see justice served.

   3. I don’t know if this would work, as I don’t have all the answers, but being held accountable for your actions, regardless of whether you are a criminal, police officer, judge, or citizen, should be the foundation of our judicial system. Those that attempt to corrupt it, or circumvent it, should face the same charges as one who commits treason, as that is really what it is. Everyone should be held equal under the law. If ‘Jonny’ has no money, and therefore cannot defend himself as ‘equally’ as ‘Fred’ who has a lot of money to hire folks who went to better schools, or are more affluent, to represent him, it should not be called justice. Let both ‘Jonny’ and ‘Fred’ be appointed lawyers randomly, with a random DA and randomly chosen judge. It still may not be true justice, but at least it would be more fair. Also, make judges responsible to prove that locking someone up would be the best way to treat an offender.

   4. I’m sorry to point this out, but ‘murderers’ are most often the least likely to offend again in the same way, since usually their crime was situational, and one of circumstance. They are portrayed to the public as scary monsters to keep the citizenry willing to fork over the money to keep the machine supported, not to protect them from any danger. You are more likely to be murdered by someone you know and trust than any ex con that has murdered in the past. Think about it.

   That’s all. Kinda random, I know, but just my three cents worth.