Hundreds of thousands of people are hotly enraged at Michael Vick last season’s quarterback of the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons. He was charged with a host of animal cruelty changes for raising and training dogs to engage in fights to the death, as well as for drowning dogs that underperformed. He was facing up to five years in prison if convicted.
This week he plead guilty and before the press issued an apology. That evening and since commentators have debated whether he was sincere or not, whether it was from the heart, the degree to which it was rehearsed, whether he was truly sorry for the act or just sorry he got caught and that his career in the NFL may be at an end. There are some who are demanding that he get the maximum of five years and others saying that the 6 months to a year in prison is sufficient.
I will not play the roll of judge. Not only do I lack the information, but I lack the necessary wisdom even if I had all the information. The cries from the general public and the commentators reveal one great flaw with the “justice system”. The justice system is capricious and vindictive. The justice system is more like Shylock in the Merchant of Venice to satisfy my personal rage than it is about justice. I fear that in this type of situation that the elected judiciary for political reasons will be more concerned about satisfying my thirst for blood than it is about upright justice.
I fear there will be a host of our leaders that will pontificate in a prideful manner before the cameras proclaiming an example has been made out of Vick and that justice has been well served by the harsh sentence. What I fear the most is that few, including our press, will pause to ask if justice has truly been served or if we have allowed our rage and thirst for vengeance to create an injustice.
Michael Vick is a young man who has made a horrible, that should never be forgotten. How do we as a society respond in just manner is the heart of the question. How do we address the act in a judicious upright manner on one hand while applying the redemptive acts on the other. The Falcons are in the process of extracting part of their punishment by seeking millions in compensation to be returned. Then they will fire him. Once he is released the NFL will extract is punishment by suspending him with the games missed during incarceration not going toward the suspension. His neighbors and family will for decades to come extract their punishment with their whispers.
He has likely lost his professional career. Even after he has served his time, paid his debt to society, politicians and other groups will continue to extract their punishment by degrading him. If he made it back to the NFL, only two or three teams would ever consider having him on their team. Even then protest groups may well follow him for weeks confronting him and others proclaiming that he should not be on the field. Unless he goes on to have a string of major accomplishments that benefit society, even in death the penalty will be extracted by the press through his obituaries. All of it will be punitive nature.
Where in the mix is the redemptive restorative work to help a man restore himself. Sadly it will be lacking. Rather than being imprisoned I would rather the courts order him to work full-time for appropriately selected animal shelters and animal rights organizations for the same period he would be imprisoned. What better way to bring restoration and healing? What better way to correct his heart than to work without pay for a year or two with animals that are disserted and hurting? What better thing to do to have his fine go to helping such groups than costing the taxpayer tens of thousands of dollars to incarcerate him.
I fear that instead of a judiciary with the wisdom of Solomon and the courage of a Lincoln that we will have a judge and others who are more concerned about the next election than about justice.
Reflective Wanderings - Reflections on various topics that arise out of my personal, life and professional experiences. There are also are some family related news, travels and pictures.
4 comments:
What a great synopsis of the Michael Vick story. We are all revolved by the depth of cruelty towards the dogs. We all desire to see that justice is metta out. But is has to be justice that is impartial and to the letter of the law - not as you say is vindictive and politically driven. I don't know if he was sincere in his remore - God only knows. Ultimately, He will judge. I often say to people that I can't judge the measure of one's sincerity.
You are correct by pointing out how he will be carrying around with him for the rest of his life and even to his grave a legacy of judgement.
You speak about the US justice system that is designed to satisfy the electorates lust for revenge and blood. Over and over again I am amazed that a freedom loving society has a justice system that frequently bows to political agendas. We certainly have politcal bents in the justice system here in Canada but it's not based upon placating an electorate's lust for revenge. Judges are not elected - they are appointed - and once appointed they are above political influence and shifting public morals. They don't have to worry about having to placate an electorate in order to get re-elected - to retain their job. Over all, the judiciary is impartial - the law books and the constitution being the standard by which judgements are made.
Once again it demonstrates how different the histories of our two nations are. We may share a common heritage but our paths are very distinct.
Stephen, judges in the USA are also appointed, not elected. Nevertheless, those appointments frequently depend on the politicians' understanding of the judges' political leanings. That's why the issue of Supreme Court justices and other judicial appointments is always so volatile.
Even though judicial appointments are certainly to be preferred over elections to those positions, I doubt that judges are always above the political fray. I don't think they are corrupt, by and large (though some undoubtedly have been, are and will be), but I wouldn't be surprised if they are sometimes influenced to an unwholesome degree by political officeholders. And it would only be human nature for them to occasionally interpret laws and Constitutions according to their political leanings rather than upon strictly legal grounds. That doesn't make it right, it's just a realistic statement.
It is most unfortunate, however, that many district attorneys are elected. The wonder is that those offices haven't been politicized more than they have. The DAs generally seem to try to play by the rules and apply the law even-handedly. The DA in the recent Duke University lacrosse team rape case was an exception to this, and he paid dearly for his lack of professionalism.
If you've been following the goings-on in the US Dept. of Justice in recent months, you'll know how thoroughly that agency has been politicized. The Attorney General resigned just this week under clouds of suspicion and investigations into his conduct are continuing. This politicization of the justice system from the top down is grave and will take some time to correct. But I believe that balance will be restored.
Thanks Evie for correcting me! I guess I was thinking of the district attorneys on shows like Law and Order who seem to be viving for election.
I don't have much to comment on except to say that, yes, he made a horrible mistake and will be paying for it for the rest of his life. However, that kind of mistake says a lot about someone's character. Animal cruelty and child abuse are among the most horrific of acts someone can do as the victims are totally innocent. Someone who can do such acts can not be treated lightly.
...but I can't comment on the American judicial system. I just hope that justice is served.
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