The Innocence Project
When push comes to shove, what would you rather see: A guilty person
go free or an innocent one be imprisoned or executed? Clearly this a
lesser-evil framing, and the optimum scenario is that neither happen.
But both do happen, and the question as framed here can help us clarify
our thinking about the failures and successes of our judicial system.
Over the years, I have hypnotized myself with steady, prolonged exposure to "Law and Order," in all its manifestations. (You have, too. Admit it!) When I watch, I'm definitely on the side of the prosecutors and get ticked off when a guilty character gets off. But in real (non-television-viewing) life, I reserve most of my passion for the cause of seeing that fewer innocent people get or remain incarcerated. That's why I support The Innocence Project. It's crucial to understand that their purpose is not just to see that innocent men are freed (and they are overwhelmingly men), but to see that our judicial system functions as well as it possibly can. Wrongful incarcerations only serve to cast doubt on legitimate convictions.
It's not that we shouldn't feel outrage when the guilty go free, but that our outrage at the incarceration of innocents should, at the very least, be equally compelling for us. It's wishful thinking, but more depictions of the exoneration of innocents in the popular media might help us get there.
Over the years, I have hypnotized myself with steady, prolonged exposure to "Law and Order," in all its manifestations. (You have, too. Admit it!) When I watch, I'm definitely on the side of the prosecutors and get ticked off when a guilty character gets off. But in real (non-television-viewing) life, I reserve most of my passion for the cause of seeing that fewer innocent people get or remain incarcerated. That's why I support The Innocence Project. It's crucial to understand that their purpose is not just to see that innocent men are freed (and they are overwhelmingly men), but to see that our judicial system functions as well as it possibly can. Wrongful incarcerations only serve to cast doubt on legitimate convictions.
It's not that we shouldn't feel outrage when the guilty go free, but that our outrage at the incarceration of innocents should, at the very least, be equally compelling for us. It's wishful thinking, but more depictions of the exoneration of innocents in the popular media might help us get there.
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