Monday, October 26, 2009

Innocent Until Proven Guilty...Well That Depends




The justice scales are supposed to be balanced but that is not always true in some cases. Sometimes Lady Justice gets a little topsy-turvy and justice is not served and instead injustice is the main menu on the plate.

Yeah, I know they all say that they didn't do it. Nonetheless, what about those who really didn't do it? Those are the ones I'm speaking about. They are the ones who have suffered many missing years of freedom out of their lives. Years that cannot be replaced because no human being on this earth has ever been able to turn back the hands of times. Father times keeps on ticking and ticking away until years later when their youthful days are long gone, then it is discovered they were innocent all the time.

Although, some are paid large sums of money as restitution for the time they spent behind bars, money can never really repay them for all of the mental anguish, or years of their life taken away from them, or time missed spent away from their loved ones. You live today and could be gone tomorrow, life is not promised to you. How can you give someone back their life?

CNN did a special on a man who was wrongfully convicted. When the crime was committed, Dean Cage was at home in the bed with his fiance. Do we really all look alike? Cage and his fiance Jewel Mitchell had been planning a life together and the wedding was set for May 13, on her mother's birthday. Those plans were crushed and Cage wind up doing thirteen years in prison before he was exonerated.

There are many more cases in the past similar to what Cage went through trying to prove his innocence. Through it all Mitchell stood by Cage but there are others whose relationships ended and the other person in their life moved on. What about those whose children grew up without their support and presence?

Most of the men who have been exonerated have one common complaint. "After years in prison, they are given only an ID with 'offender' in bold letters."
~~ TheGrio~~
What I don't get is why are they issued IDs with OFFENDER in bold letters, if they are exonerated. Are they still being subtly labeled criminals even after they've been proven innocent? Innocent until proven guilty...well that depends, and even then they still label you guilty.

5 comments:

GrannyStandingforTruth said...

Verite:

"The lengths at which the "justice" system will go to not admit error, including giving that stupid card to people who've been exonerated, leaves me speechless."

You and me both. Why give label them an offender if they are innocent and not really an offender, especially, since they've taken a big part of their lives away.

Btw, glad you could stop by, don't make this your last visit. Come back and see me again.

matw said...

I won't even address messing with innocent people (so wrong, so many examples). I will address the insanity of labeling an innocent person an 'offender'. Absolutely frigging wrong. Innocent is innocent. I can't imagine myself labeling that way and continuing the harm to someone so wronged.

Since I don't have contacts with anyone in that position, I'm not sure how to find out if that is being done here around Seattle. Hints appreciated.

GrannyStandingforTruth said...

Matw:

I don't know, maybe, someone else on here that reads this blog might be able to answer that question for you better than me. Or you could check around and see if Seattle has an organization with a group of lawyers that work on those type of cases. I forgot what they call that project. We just had two men out this way, also, that were released for being wrongfully convicted of a murder they didn't do. My god-daughter was telling me about it today.

This is happening all over the USA in different states.

I believe in if you do a crime that you need to suffer the consequence and that often means prison. I don't dislike the police either as some people might think.

What I am against is innocent people being convicted and sent to prison for something they didn't do, corrupt cops or cops who have an anger management or psycho problem. That is what I am fighting against.

matw said...

Yeah Granny, maybe I didn't write so clearly, but my position is the same as yours regarding innocent people being convicted. With a friend today, I discussed where to go to find out about the "offender" labeling practice, but neither of us had any idea.

GrannyStandingforTruth said...

matw:

You were clear and I understood what you were saying. I was just adding some more of my thoughts to what you said.