Sunday, April 05, 2015

If only justice worked this way

“When you think you are high and mighty and you are above the law, you don’t have to answer to nobody. But I got news for them, everybody who played a part in sending me to death row, you will answer to God,” - Anthony Ray Hinton

After 28 years, Anthony Ray Hinton was freed from prison after spending half his life on death row. He believes God will sort things out. If only justice worked that way…

The people who stole his life will feel no pain or judgment. There is no recourse, even when we can see that people, through incompetence or malevolence, violated his rights. Nothing will happen. No one will be held accountable. Looking to God is an impotent promise that serves only to comfort the victim.

I tend to look at the systemic issues related to cases like this and try to figure out what change can be made to prevent these types of things from happening. I thing prosecuting black man for capital murder in Alabama might be something that requires oversight. Eliminating the death penalty is another option. What I would like to see most is an independent federal investigation of the case. What put this man on death row and was the case manipulated so that he could not get a fair trail?