Marshall, McCullogh, Milgaard, Morin, and Sophonow....
We all know that justice is blind, but in some cases, justice is also deaf, mute and beyond comprehension.
Karla Homolka's imminent release from prison has once again rattled the cages of Canada's bloodthirsty proponents of Capital Punishment. They scream for vengeance, they demand harsh penalties for murderers and they love the sound of their own vicious voices.
Even if there was a place for the death penalty in a civilized society, which there clearly is not, and even if justice treated persons of colour the way caucasians are treated (in Western society), which is absolutely not the case, and even if all persons, regardless of ethnicity, race, sex, religion, intellect, financial, educational and societal background were given rigorous defenses by highly qualified lawyers, which they are not, the fact remains that mistakes can be and are made. Frequently.
Donald Marshall Jr., Chris McCullogh, David Milgaard, Guy Paul Morin, Thomas Sophonow.
All of these men were falsely accused, falsely convicted, and falsely imprisoned. If Canada had the barbaric, antiquated death penalty, some of these five men would not have been alive to be released from prison when the horrendous truth that their collective Constitutional rights had been trampled by over-zealous, corner-cutting police departments hell bent on getting convictions.
Machiavelli was wrong, the ends do not justify the means. Convictions are certainly not worth the jubilation they receive when peoples' lives are destroyed through no fault of their own, and the real killers are free to walk the streets.
Yes, Karla Homolka is a vile human being, and yes, the fact that she won the lottery when it came to the infamous deal prosecuters made with her lawyers is hard to swallow, but even if there had been no deal with the devil, a death sentence for her crimes would have been morally repugnant.
There simply is no place for revenge and retribution in a court of law. Justice is supposed to be fair, impartial and civilized. Judges and juries are supposed to get it right, every time. One mistake, just one, is reason enough to eliminate any punishment that disallows correction when an error has been made.
One wrong verdict. In Canada there have been at least five, and probably many, many more.
McCullogh, Marshall, Milgaard, Morin, Sophonow.....
Karla Homolka's imminent release from prison has once again rattled the cages of Canada's bloodthirsty proponents of Capital Punishment. They scream for vengeance, they demand harsh penalties for murderers and they love the sound of their own vicious voices.
Even if there was a place for the death penalty in a civilized society, which there clearly is not, and even if justice treated persons of colour the way caucasians are treated (in Western society), which is absolutely not the case, and even if all persons, regardless of ethnicity, race, sex, religion, intellect, financial, educational and societal background were given rigorous defenses by highly qualified lawyers, which they are not, the fact remains that mistakes can be and are made. Frequently.
Donald Marshall Jr., Chris McCullogh, David Milgaard, Guy Paul Morin, Thomas Sophonow.
All of these men were falsely accused, falsely convicted, and falsely imprisoned. If Canada had the barbaric, antiquated death penalty, some of these five men would not have been alive to be released from prison when the horrendous truth that their collective Constitutional rights had been trampled by over-zealous, corner-cutting police departments hell bent on getting convictions.
Machiavelli was wrong, the ends do not justify the means. Convictions are certainly not worth the jubilation they receive when peoples' lives are destroyed through no fault of their own, and the real killers are free to walk the streets.
Yes, Karla Homolka is a vile human being, and yes, the fact that she won the lottery when it came to the infamous deal prosecuters made with her lawyers is hard to swallow, but even if there had been no deal with the devil, a death sentence for her crimes would have been morally repugnant.
There simply is no place for revenge and retribution in a court of law. Justice is supposed to be fair, impartial and civilized. Judges and juries are supposed to get it right, every time. One mistake, just one, is reason enough to eliminate any punishment that disallows correction when an error has been made.
One wrong verdict. In Canada there have been at least five, and probably many, many more.
McCullogh, Marshall, Milgaard, Morin, Sophonow.....
posted by Alphamutt at 1:22 AM
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