We can probably start the blame with OJ - a charismatic former sports star and Hall of Famer who allegedly killed his ex-wife and her "friend" one evening in Los Angeles. We all think we know what happened, but truth be told, we don't have a clue. We have some facts. They have some other facts. And there are a whole lot of facts missing. The case, interestingly, divided the populace in half largely on racial lines. White people tended to overwhelmingly believe the man guilty, black people believed him innocent. What we can say with a certain amount of conviction (pun intended) is that a jury of his peers after sitting through the trial of the century, found him Not Guilty of all charges. Whether through courtroom dramatics or lack of evidence or a sincere disbelief in the prosecution's case, OJ walked free. And has been relatively vilified ever since.
So in the case of the People vs. OJ, we have to say OJ 1, the People 2. People win. OJ loses.
About five years later, we started hearing rumors of steroid use in baseball. The funny thing is that these rumors were just rumors until the federal government decided to arrest the owners and operators of the BALCO lab that was allegedly supplying athletes with the performance enhancing drugs. This led to a Grand Jury and to testimony and to leaked testimony and to all sorts of accusations flying everywhere. But as to actual justice? So far, the only people tried and convicted were those first arrested - the BALCO Lab people.
Of course, you know, this is where I go off on Barry Bonds. I have defended Barry Bonds again and again not because of my belief in whether he used steroids or not, but in my belief that he has not been afforded an opportunity to actually defend himself. He has never been on trial. He has never been accused of anything. And after more than five years of accusations and recriminations, nobody has ever actually filed any charges against him. Nevertheless, Barry Bonds has been accused and found guilty by the general public without ever letting the slugger explain his side of the story. Clearly a text book case of mob justice.
In this case, Barry 0, Mob 1. The Mob wins. Barry loses.
In Duke, the same Mob was ready to tar and feather the members of the Duke LaCrosse team after an overzealous prosecutor used the case against them to get reelected despite the fact that there was little evidence to support the charges. The Duke LaCrosse team had to forfeit the rest of the season, the coach lost his job, and four players were arrested and spent years in jail and under suspicion before being cleared of all charges.
In this case, LaCrosse Team 0, Mob 1. The Mob won. Justice lost.
But this post is actually not about OJ, Barry, or the Duke LaCrosse team. It's about Michael Vick. Here is a man who has been accused of creating, and operating, a dog fighting ring. Being a dog owner, I found the charges to be the sort of thing that made me sick and I was incredibly upset about the whole concept. However, I held out hope that the entire thing had been some sort of misunderstanding. I hoped for the man's innocence. Not because I like Michael Vick - I don't, and I think he's a lousy football QB as well - but because its what we're supposed to do as Americans, believe in each other's innocence, until we can prove guilt.
In Vick's case, the NFL acted as they needed to, taking the position of innocent until proven guilty. They did not allow mob justice to ruin a man on the basis of incredible accusations. And they let the system play out the way it was supposed to. That Vick justified everyone's hatred by agreeing to plead guilty yesterday does not mean that the NFL didn't act swiftly enough to punish Vick. What it means is that the NFL has respect not only for the letter of the law, but for its intent as well.
I am glad Vick is going to jail. And I hope they lock him away for a very long time. And if it should ever be proven that OJ killed his ex-wife, I will be happy to see him behind bars. And if Barry should ever be convicted of using steroids, he should go there as well. And the same thing with the members of the Duke LaCrosse Team. But we have a system of laws in the country that are founded on a basic principle of innocent until proven guilty. It is a system of law that we need to protect and preserve especially in light of situations like these. I don't care if you are the biggest scumbag on the planet, you ought to be proven guilty every time. I know that its something I'd want people to take seriously if I were ever accused of doing something that I'd not done, and I bet you'd want the same if it were to ever happen to you. If you are guilty, then you should do jail time... but only after we prove it.
2 comments:
So, when are you applying to law school? Ironically, this was the exact topic of my personal statement when I applied to law school. I said that even the most vile amongst us must have their rights protected because if the system doesn't work for them, it doesn't work for me. It starts at the bottom.
I do have to correct a few misstatements. Again, with you on the whole picture. However, I think you have put a little bit of opinion in the Duke section and made it sound like fact. First, there was a viable complaining witness that the DA had - which made the case originally come to his attention.
True, the DA acted improperly in not immediately dropping charges when the DNA evidence exonnerated the Duke players.
Up until that point, he was acting ethically.
Additionally, I don't believe that they were in jail for years. I think it was just a short while. Still wrong, but.... ;)
Great post, though.
Well, I won't entirely agree with you, but I admit that I don't have the exact information in front of me. The facts, as I recall them, indicate that even before the DNA evidence "exonerated" the Duke players, there was some severely questionable evidence being touted as compelling. I think that that was one of the major reasons the DA was able to continue prosecuting even after the DNA evidence came back. The second thing is that at least one of the kids was in jail for allegedly breaking his parole and the other three kids were locked up for a while. But you may be right. All things considered, they probably got out on bail right away and probably spent the couple of years between the accusations (prior to the 2006 election if you'll recall) and now, living at home.
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