"We The People"
United, we still have the power to change the system. If we don't stand together to insure that the rights given to us in the constitution are upheld for each individual - we will lose them and our children will suffer. We must hold the people placed to uphold the law accountable for protecting these rights. If we continue to let the law govern itself then we our allowing our own tax dollars to be what finances a corruptible system, because the law is only as good as the people who enforce it. We must protect our rights before they're gone.
The value of life, liberty and freedom we hold dear for ourselves and our family is worthless unless that same value is ensured equally for every individual among us, from the most powerful to the least, no matter the color of their skin or the nature of their beliefs. Before we an separate the rights given to "law-abiding" citizens from those who don't abide - we must ensure those laws are truly just and upheld in the fairest manner possible. We have a responsibility to see that every person among us who is accused of breaking these laws has a voice that is listened to fairly and that whatever punishment we allow as a result be fair and humane.
No Justice in America
It's one thing to look at statistics and shake your head at the fact that the United States has the highest percentage of incarcerated people in the world (be leaps and bounds) - but to really start to understand WHY is even more unsettling. There is a solid reason why there are very few from wealthy families in prison - because you have to have the resources to outplay the prosecutor - and a lawyer who knows how to do it. The provision of public defenders is pretty much a joke - they are underpaid and overworked. This is no excuse to not provide someone with every chance available - but it happens every day. And in the case of a sex crime you must prove your innocence - because the prosecution doesn't even have to prove there was a crime.
There are a few organizations that have sprung up that are trying to help innocent incarcerated people Their case load is enormous - there are literally so many people reaching out to them that at that time that most estimate that it will be 5 or more years before they could even review submitted cases. Since then, many have narrowed their case load to only taking cases where there is enough DNA evidence involved to exonerate. The estimated number of innocent people in prison right now is staggering, and without DNA evidence to prove someone else did the crime - the chances are slim
The sad thing is, that most people who've never had an encounter with the criminal justice system tend to believe that if someone has gone through all their appeals - that they must be guilty. I guess we all assume that those people with all that education that get paid by our tax dollars are fair and honest and are busy dedicating their lives to seeing that no ones constitutional rights are violated.
The real truth is that the legal system has become so corrupt with rules, regulations, precedents, procedures, etc that the truth could run over everything with a bulldozer and they still wouldn't see it, nor would they care. Because the system works like this: You get one chance in court, one trial - if you are convicted, then that's what you are for the rest of your life. There are no do-overs, that's not what appealing your case is about. So if anything goes wrong, say your attorney is just lazy, or maybe really stupid - or the judge/jury are bias, not paying attention - well, sorry, Charlie, that's life. It's over. You are allowed one "fair" trial, but only one - and the only reason the appellate system is there is to ensure that trial is fair. And that's what they do, come hell or high water they find a way to justify that you did. So if your attorney didn't lift a finger during your day in court - well, then that was a "strategy" move on his part that just didn't work. So in the eyes of the law, your trial was fair. If evidence to prove your innocence was not made part of the court record, that's too bad. But maybe it was used, but not made clear as to just how it proved your innocence - well it's too late. Now it's old evidence. Our tax dollars go mostly to the prosecutors "to keep our streets safe" - and they pride themselves with their conviction rates. I'm sorry - but getting those rates at all costs is why we have SO many innocent people in prison and even more who don't deserve to be serving the sentences they are given. Don't forget your tax dollar pays for that too - and you have NO say so in what happens to those people. When you have to be wealthy to defend yourself, you are now guilty and there is no proving yourself innocent. The prosecution doesn't even have to prove an actual crime took place - they have the money, the resources and they know which judge will do what they want. They have ALL the power and you do not. So you take someone who is down and out through the process of being accused they find that no will left a finger while their rights get trampled all over - well many become bitter. But still they try, they do the time and get out to find that it doesn't stop there. Every application they fill out for work wants to know if they've been convicted of a crime - so they don't get work, and many times they go back to prison.
WE the people have created the system that we are ashamed of - our crime rates are high and our prisons are full. There are many trying to bring reform to the system without much luck - there are many good ideas, but now we're fighting an unmovable power. Judges who sit on their bench til they die, unmovable - judges so full of justifying the system that very few no longer see the wrongness or what they are helping to create. It's time to stop them from reinterpreting our rights provided by the constitution and join with others to reform the criminal justice system from the bottom up. Those in prison need more access to assistance to continue to prove their innocence if they are - and plea bargains need to stop. Prosecutors need to be stripped of the glory of getting people to plead to harsher crime just to serve less time- they need be made accountable for proving their case - period. And those that end up losing their livelihood in wrongful conditions deserve compensation that at least meets the federal standard of $50,000 for every year they've lost - and even this is paltry considering the price they've paid - because you can't replace time. As of 2020 in Iowa, only 2 people have received any restitution, because even after they've been exonerated, the state makes them prove their "actual innocence". There's throwing common sense right out the door. We've now replaced marshal law with our justice system and the new vigilantes are our prosecutors.
