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| Former Congresswoman Gabby Gifforrds leaving the Tucson federal courthouse. |
Tucson, AZ—Our American founding fathers never considered
the need for what we call Victim’s Rights.
Anyone accused of a crime has real rights that must be protected. This is obviously to prevent wrongful
convictions. It’s also to prevent
government officials from targeting people for persecution for any number of nefarious
reasons.
When we become victimized by a criminal act it is expected
that we have a desire to exact revenge and show hatred against the offender. The more serious the offense the more hate
and anger is expressed by the victim and of course their family and friends.
We hold the accused to account in our criminal trials. In a criminal trial a victim was never
intended to be anything more than a witness.
Witnesses really don’t need any special rights of any kind. Their job is to simply testify truthfully.
The victim is never allowed to apply any punishment. I think is only natural that many victims
want to experience throwing the switch on the electric chair and such. There has never been justice for victims or
any person.
Victims can only attempt to gain the power to punish the
offender in a civil court. If the
offender has any assets they can be awarded to the victimized. The problem here is most criminals have
nothing and a victory in a civil court rings hollow.
Prosecutors seem to universally hate fair trials and the
protections that guarantee them, because some of those accused are
acquitted. They want total control over
the evidence and the punishment.
Prosecutors already have the ability to manipulate witness testimony
through giving witnesses who are criminals, immunity from prosecution. That lets them escape any responsibility for
their own crimes.
Prosecutors are now free to use the fragile emotional state
of the victims as tools in court sentencing proceedings. They have done this by obtaining court rule
changes such as allowing for victim impact statements.
Prosecutors love to mislead anyone and everyone that a
successful prosecution and application of punishment bring closure to
victims. There is no closure but for the
healing effects of time.
Still prosecutors want to parade frightened, crying victims
before the court to exact maximum penalties against the accused. This charade has no real effect except to
provide a garish public spectacle. Judges are not supposed to be swayed by these
actions.
Prosecutors are politicians and love this garbage to use in
their future political campaigns.
Justice is perverted and twisted to aid political propaganda.
Yesterday in a Tucson Federal courthouse, prosecutors put on
such a show. A deranged mass killer was
due to receive a maximum prison sentence that insured he’d never be
released. There was no trial because the
accused pled guilty to his crimes. That
plea saved taxpayers untold millions in legal fees and court costs had this
remained a death penalty case.
The plea and penalty was negotiated and the case closed for
all practical purposes. Still prosecutors
summoned every victim to come into court to stare down the killer and to
address him with their angry statements.
Then they watched him get sentenced
and taken away to Club Fed.
Victim impact statements are rarely delivered by
accomplished public speakers. Instead
the victims nervously read writings from scraps of paper that were prepared in
advance. There are no happy endings in
any criminal court for anyone, even an acquitted defendant.
Victims will never get justice in any court. The criminal acts that brought on the
prosecution cannot be undone. The
victims can’t be made whole by any court ruling. It that’s ever going to happen it will be in
the hereafter if there is one.
We have turned most of our courts into entertainment arenas
complete with live television and now streaming Internet video. Our trial are show trials appealing to the
lowest common denominator of humanity. Our trials are not about justice anymore but
rather showmanship and prosecutor’s political campaigns.
Adolph Hitler and his PR genius, Josef Goebbels was among
the first to put their show trials before motion picture cameras. The Nazis then brought their idea of justice
to the masses that watched those trial highlights at their local movie
theaters. I ask, have we progressed
beyond that?
Trials should be public but cameras just don’t belong in our
courtrooms. If you want to see a trial
all you need to do is visit your local courthouse.
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