One Over X News

If it made any sense...

I was watching the morning news a week or so ago. I usually check the news before I get up. Maybe it is just habit or perhaps it is because if the news is too bad I might consider it safer to pull the covers up over my head and just sleep in for the day. Sometimes there is a news story that riles me to the point that I awaken fully and cannot get back to sleep. There was such a report regarding the kidnapping of Dylan and Shasta Groene.

The suspect in the case, Joseph Duncan, a convicted sex offender had been arrested for yet another sex offense against another minor. A judge named Schroeder had set bail at $1500 and upon his posting the bail, the authorities let Mr. Duncan out of jail.

Well, after hearing that both eyes were open and I was awake, watching and listening. Apparently Duncan was not only free to roam the country but also there was no one keeping tabs on him at all. He was free to do most anything that he wanted even possibly kill people, allegedly kidnap two kids, and very likely kill one of the two while having sexually molesting them both.

When Duncan was finally arrested, it was a retaurant waitress that had identified the little girl as Shasta. If she had not Duncan might still be on the loose.

You might well ask where the justice was in this case. The courts and law enforcement had their priorities and perhaps Judge Schroeder had guidelines that he had to work within in setting bail. It just seemed to me that something was very wrong with our legal system.

With my ire raised, the very next story put an exclamation point on everything that had disturbed me. There was a report about how Martha Stewart had been busted for violating the conditions of her parole. Apparently Martha had walked her mother out to her car! Imagine that.

Ah, but Martha is not allowed to leave her house. She wears a wrist bracelet that alerts the authorities as to her whereabouts at all times. Authorities have spared no effort at keeping track of such an imminent threat to our society as Martha Stewart!

Well now, anyone that knows me will wonder why I am suddenly defending Martha Stewart. There is a bit of history between us back from when I lived in Connecticut and worked for a home improvement retailer. I only met her once and was not impressed. She came into my store and I treated her just as I would any other customer. She had to wait for me to finish cutting a key for an elderly gentleman. I didn't know who she was, and frankly even if I had known it would not have mattered. I treated her like any other customer. Apparently that offended her as she was in ‘a rush’. I couldn't understand why she was being snotty and sarcastic with me but in retail you tend to see a broad spectrum of human behavior.

One of the cashiers asked me if I knew who Martha was. When I said that I had not, she and most everyone else within earshot laughed.

Now Martha is being treated differently but in a way that I doubt she desires.

I guess what bothers me is not that Martha's treatment or punishment was excessive for her crime. She did something wrong and she lied about it. The government tends to hate that. That is why she served time and she is presently on probation. I have no real issue at all with the government punishing Martha for lying to them.

What I don't understand is the inconsistency in applying laws in the administration of justice. Justice not only serves to protect the rights of the individual but also the rights of everyone else in society. At least that was my understanding of the Constitution the last time I read it seemed to indicate that the government was created to serve both the individual and the society in as fair a manner as possible. That is why the statue of Justice is holding scales.

How does it make any sense to set a known sex offender free on bail and not even bother to keep any tabs on him whatsoever while the probation officer that is monitoring Martha probably knows her whereabouts every hour of the day, even when she goes potty.

I don’t think it is too much to ask that the actions of our courts be consistent. In fact it should be a requirement. At the moment the judgments of the courts seem to be consistent only with the individual decisions of judges who are not seeking the balance between the rights of the one and the rights of the many.

E

posted by Unknown @ 6:57 PM