Justice For All?

Is there justice equality in America? Many seem to believe not! Over the past few years in the United States, there have been protests about those who have been arrested or charged and who might have been treated unfairly because of their race, gender, political party, or an immigrant.

As a female who has never had been treated this way, I can only state about an incident that happened to me years ago.

While working I had been robbed and had to pick him out from mugshots. Because his face stayed with me I had no problem identifying him. The prosecutor asked questions and I had to point the guy out again. But the defense refused to. I can only assume that because I was not lying he believed he could not get me to be unsure of my accusation. 

The U.S. legal system is in part inherited from English common law and depends on an adversarial system of justice. In an adversarial system, litigants present their cases before a neutral party. The arguments expressed by each litigant (usually represented by lawyers) are supposed to allow the judge or jury to determine the truth about the conflict. Besides presenting written or oral arguments, evidence and testimony are collected by litigants and their lawyers and presented to the court.

Many federal and state rules exist regarding how evidence and testimony are presented, trial procedure, courtroom behavior, etiquette and how evidence and testimony are presented. These rules are designed to promote fairness and allow each side an opportunity to adequately present its case. Of course, sometimes evidence could be tainted or some witnesses might lie under oath.  Could this be why there are people in prison because somebody lied or the evidence was fabricated?

Yes, I am white, and the suspect mentioned above was a young black guy. But that should never be the reason for him being treated justly or unjustly. We must be judged on our attitudes, honesty, how we treat others, and never on our ethnicity. I only mention ethnicities because it seems today that many suspected lawbreakers want to use bigotry or gender as an excuse why they were charged.

My tolerance over the past few years has become non-existent because of some not taking responsibility for our actions and blaming others. To be respected we must respect others. Adults

Should follow this rule because the children are watching and many will follow in our footsteps. I remember as a kid when Mom asked me not to be rude or disrespectful, my response was, “How come others can do it but I can’t. Her response was, “Because you are better than that and being nasty is not becoming of you.

This does not mean I am perfect, by no means. But I treat others the same way they treat me and live by “What goes around comes around!”Do you believe that if all of us followed the above rule, that the world might be a more peaceful, better place that God had in mind for the human race?

Look for my most recent book "A Citizens Outrage (Whatever was Wrong is Now right!)

Ida M Temple - Activist Writer