Observations from an Unknown Writer
“Errors in the American Legal System”
(Something to celebrate or cause for concern?)
When we look back at human history, there are numerous civilizations that have arisen, prospered, and then, by slow or rapid degree, entered a period of decline and dissolution. When Americans reflect on this centuries-long world history, they typically adopt a very upbeat tone. America will join the list of Great Civilizations and, for all we know, may be the first society that won’t enter a period of decline and dissolution; it will grow and thrive forever. That optimistic prediction is by no means certain, of course, and, truth to tell, if the past patterns of history be an accurate predictor, it is far more likely that America’s civilization will undergo a similar, if not identical, process; our society will experience the same rise and-fall of previous civilizations. [Granted, this is a casual observation best understood by historians, but the concept is not beyond the ken of ordinary Americans.]
There are many positive national achievements one can list as well as numerous “dark chapters”. Perhaps the nation’s future will be determined by ensuing generations’ moral opinion of our past, from founding until the day of reckoning: arrived. There are so many dark stories to tell [from the point of view of the oppressed] yet each new generation wishes to believe America’s accomplishments outweigh the violence, the horrors of slavery and the genocidal brutality aimed at Native American tribes and nations. There is the constant mistreatment of groups that have suffered debilitating poverty, aggressive discrimination, and threatening racism. The positive achievements of the nation may seem blindingly splendiferous to some yet the tales of countless murders and endless bloody carnage are never far behind.
Be that as it may, one of the keenest ways to assess the quality of a civilization is by examining its legal system, both values and practices. Every judicial system worthy of the name develops fair unbiased rules as well as a degree of flexibility, especially as a factor in the exercise of sound judgment. What peaks a citizen’s curiosity is not all the ways in which the legal system can be observed working fairly and efficiently; no, what intrigues him more is how a so-called civilized society can convict innocent men and send them to prison for years, or for life, or sentence them to death.
Even more remarkably, there remain hostile prosecutors who continue to insist on a man’s guilt even after proof of innocence has been established well beyond a reasonable doubt! Disproving guilt after a conviction is no laughing matter, and the august courts do little to make the process easier whereby an innocent man can demonstrate his innocence. It is an uphill struggle all the time and yet a sizable number have managed to do so successfully. It must really give us pause when we stop to ask: why are there so many innocent men in jail? Do we have a justice system “occasionally in error” or do we have a legal system set up to arrest, prosecute, and convict targeted individuals of serious crimes, even when they had nothing to do with them?
That is not a civilized legal system; that is a fossilized and archaic system of justice that belongs in the Middle Ages. A system that has lost its flexibility to admit it made a mistake is neither progressive nor trustworthy. Such a system must be deeply flawed if an innocent person can be convicted with the judge and prosecutor no wiser for it. Think! Put yourself in the shoes of the innocent man or woman falsely held captive behind bars. How does it feel to be locked up year after year with the “justice system” doing everything in its power, more foe than friend, to prevent you from proving your innocence? The courts may work well enough in other situations but these egregious miscarriages of justice cannot be tolerated.
Thus, in answer to my own question, I think the large number of wrongfully convicted individuals leads us to a rather clear answer: American civilization is not entering a period of glorious celebration of immortality but rather is moving farther along the path of steady decline and dissolution. The United States shall undoubtedly go the way of other civilizations. It will become just one more society that allowed its arrogance and hubris to gather unchecked, only to find in the end that a society whose history is so full of lies, injustices, and violence invariably proves itself incapable of providing a peaceful and just future for itself and all its heirs.
As America cannot succeed herself, then another nation surely will.
