Consider the BART police ruling yesterday. Let's set aside the anarchists who are essentially professional instigators and show up at these types of things to get people riled up. Let's also set aside Oscar's family, who can be expected - I suppose - to be unhappy with any ruling other than the death penalty. I'm more concerned about the guy sitting on a park bench who hears the ruling (but none of the testimony, none of the evidence) and says, "Oh that's bad. This is a bad ruling." Really?
The rules of jury trials are that the jury must find beyond a reasonable doubt that a given set of circumstances exist before convicting. These rules are in place to protect all of us. If you were accused of a crime, you'd certainly appreciate them. But those who are joining the masses in angry protest aren't concerned with petty details like due process. They want someone's head on a platter - some probably want this literally. These are people who can't be bothered with reasonable thoughts like, "Why should I punish this shop owner who's just trying to make a living by trashing her store and taking/destroying what doesn't belong to me? It's about me dammit! My anger. My frustration. My ___________."
Well, it isn't about you, Mr. protestor. The person it's about is gone now. He had his life taken from him by someone who probably shouldn't have made the cut in officer training because he got panicked and confused under pressure. But that doesn't mean he woke up that morning thinking he wanted to kill someone. Mr. Protestor, you have a right to your opinion. You have a right to express it forcefully. Humanity hopes that you'll reason your opinion with fact. But you do not have a right to destroy or steal other people's property. That is a crime and you will be arrested. When you are sitting in court with a jury, I hope the DA presents your guilt beyond a reasonable doubt before you are convicted.
No comments:
Post a Comment