Despite my deep conviction that I am meant to dedicate my life to be a warrior in the minefield that is our criminal justice system, there are many times in which I have began to lose hope that such a thing could ever truly exist. However, while our system is indeed a quagmire of injustices, political corruption and racial and socioeconomic imbalances, I am sometimes reminded that while this is all true, the United States of America does have one of the most functional justice systems in the world.
Nothing illustrates this more clearly than the case of Amanda Knox. I do not know every facet of the case, nor do I possess the wherewithal with which to research, but the fact is that the Italian justice system makes our corruption look like a trip to Disneyland. Amanda Knox, her boyfriend of two weeks, and another man were convicted of murdering her roommate in a crime described by the prosecution, and I am paraphrasing here, as a night of exhibitionist and tawdry sex practices gone horribly awry. Knox was also accused of the rape of the roommate. This was a very brutal and bloody crime. There were some traces of evidence, but very little. The Italian's case against Knox and her boyfriend came down to trace DNA evidence on the clasp of the roommate's bra and on a handle of a knife found in the room.
At least that is what it would seem to a reasonable person. Never mind that the "evidence" was collected weeks after the murder and completely tainted (which became the basis of the appeal). What was really at issue was the fact that Amanda Knox is pretty and American. Religion was heavily used in the trial- Knox was on several occasions called a "she-devil" and dirty on the inside, persecuted for her female-ness; which the Italian criminologists blamed for the crime, stating as evidence that the killer must be female because the body was covered by a sheet.She was told by a so-called prison doctor that she had HIV, and therefore needed to list her every sexual partner.(She does not have HIV) Her diaries were read and used as evidence that she was a lewd and overly sexual female with serious mental problems.
Would any of this have occurred in an American court? Well, I admit some of it would have been tried. The media crucifying definitely would have. However, let's take these facts and move them to our court. First, the DNA evidence would never have seen the light of day due to our stringent policies on chain of evidence. Religion would never have been a factor, and surely the concept of inherent female vileness never would have been posited. We have rules about sexual histories being used as evidence, although there have been many times it has been circumvented. The reality is that Amanda Knox would never have even gone to trial here.
I know nothing of the Italian court system. I do know that there are countries where theft is still punishable by the loss of one's hands. Some countries they will shoot you on the side of the road if you are caught driving while drunk. New Zealand apparently is attempting to abolish their version of the Miranda rule. There are several Asian countries in which you could be sentenced to 80 years in jail for an ounce of marijuana.
Can you imagine living in a place where you do not have these inalienable rights? We have the right to a fair trial, if not the right to be set free if proven innocent later. We have the right to not incriminate ourselves, if not the right to be incriminated against. We have the right to an attorney, if not necessarily a good one. We have the right to be assured that, acknowledging the exception of our own politics, the evidence against us will have been collected legally or else not used at all. We have the right against cruel and unusual punishment, if not the ability to decide what exactly that constitutes. We have the right to appeal decisions made against us, if not the ability to have them actually be heard.
These are our rights, as Americans, as citizens in a country with more flaws than a Christian's justifications for Creationism. Or Chris Christie's diet plan. However, as such we ignore the blessings these rights inherently bestow upon us. We forget that these rights given to us by the Constitution also bestow upon us the ability to fight; not just amongst ourselves, but for ourselves and for each other. We have become accustomed to our justice system failing; in fact we expect it, and desire it. This was made clear by the debacle that was the Casey Anthony case. The system worked, the jury did what it was called upon to do- and we vilified the people involved. Members of the jury had to quit their jobs and disappear because there were people threatening to kill them. And for what? Proving the system works, even if it doesn't always dispense the justice the individuals deserve. We should have been proud. Instead we did what Americans do best- the country bitched and bemoaned the state of the judicial system because as a country we have long since forgotten what that system was ever designed to do.
Amanda Knox was freed today. A tiny bit of our justice was able to touch her so far away, and set her free. As always, however, Americans have missed the point, forgotten the lesson. It can always be worse, it can always be made worse. Today the world, and of course, Amanda Knox, saw justice done. It doesn't happen very often.
