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THE WORLD HAS GONE MAD
(4/12/2007)
The Truth Emerges: Behind the Veil of Legal Power to Destroy
Today was a day of vindication for the three Duke lacrosse team members, who were wrongly accused of rape and numerous other charges. In Aaron Beard's (Associated Press Writer) article, "Prosecutors Drop Charges in Duke Case" (April 11, 2007 5:11 PM EDT), he reports, "RALEIGH, N.C. - The Duke lacrosse rape case finally collapsed Wednesday, with North Carolina's top prosecutor saying the three athletes were railroaded by a district attorney who ignored increasingly flimsy evidence in a "tragic rush to accuse." "In a blistering assessment of the case, Attorney General Roy Cooper dropped all charges against the players, all but ensuring that only one person in the whole scandal will be held to account: Durham County District Attorney Mike Nifong." "This case shows the enormous consequences of overreaching by a prosecutor," Cooper said." Enormous consequences that left three innocent men at the mercy of a system that needs some serious overhauling and serious safeguards put into place. What has happened to these young men is bad enough, but what if they had been unable to obtain quality defense attorneys? Would they be exonerated on sitting in prison for the rest of their lives? The irony is that some feel it is partisan attacks that are causing problems for the judiciary. "DALLAS--Former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor said Wednesday that she has grown weary of partisan attacks on judges, criticisms that she believes are causing citizens to lose faith in the judicial system." (O'Connor says she's concerned about attacks on judges by Jeff Carlton, AP Writer, April 4, 2007 - 7:37 p.m. CDT) In the same article, Carlton writes, "O'Connor acknowledged that some criticism of judges is warranted, particularly in states such as Texas where judges raise campaign funds and run for office. Such a system is bound to lead to charges of corruption, she said." "Texas uses partisan elections to elect state court judges. Help!" O'Connor said. "You have the raising of huge campaign contributions from the very people that appear before you. What kind of system is that? "We need to ... make sure the process for selecting judges does not end up producing people that you don't want on the bench at the end of the day." So on the one hand, O'Connor thinks it is the criticism that is making people lose faith in the system and on the other there is some criticism of judges that is warranted? Maybe it is the flaws within the system that is making people lose faith. Flaws such as a prosecutor that could so easily file charges without a thorough investigation and then proceed with the charges knowing the evidence proved the innocence of the accused. Just how many times does this happen? How many are wrongly sitting in jail, were wrongly found guilty or had to plead bargain because a prosecutor was ready to go all out after them and they didn't have the means to defend themselves? What about the judges that have no business being judges because they aren't fair and impartial by nature? And how many times have juries been duped because one attorney is a better actor than the other? How many times did the defense attorneys not have the money to investigate an aspect of the case and the prosecutors weren't interested in pursuing the matter because it might lose them the case? Isn't the whole purpose of the court (and law enforcement) system suppose to be to ensure justice and that the rules and laws are obeyed by all, including the judges, lawyers and law enforcement officers? How many times has the system failed in its purpose? Attorney General Roy Cooper did listen and followed through with an investigation and true review of the Duke lacrosse case. How many cases have other attorney general's blown off that should have been reviewed as closely as this one? How many times should an attorney general have stepped forward, but didn't? To be wrongly charged with such vile accusations will no doubt remain with Reade Seligmann, David Evans, and Collin Finnerty for the rest of their lives. However, their plight may not have been for nothing. It has brought the serious flaws of the system to the forefront. It has brought the truth from behind the veil of legal power to destroy the lives of the innocent. Perhaps their experience will be the beginning of a much needed overhaul and the establishment of true safeguards to protect the people from the possibility of tyranny in the guise of justice. The charges against three young men were dropped today. Will charges be brought against the real perp in this story -- Mike Nifong? Time will tell.
Carrie Hutchens is a former law enforcement officer and a freelance writer who is active in fighting against the death culture movement and the injustices within the judicial and law enforcement systems.
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