Innocent until proven guilty
Last post for the night. I'm moved to write this because of the previous post about Mr. Saadiq Long who was arrested in Turkey.
While I'd have preferred to say he's a terrorist and gloat over the mistake of the liberals who originally supported him, the reality is he's just been arrested, the charges are not clear (two media sources gave different reasons for his arrest), and he has not been convicted.
Whenever I see someone charged with a crime or bad behavior - whether it be charged in the Court of Public Opinion like Bill Cosby, or charged in an actual Court of Law - I just remind myself of two things:
1. Duke Men's Lacrosse Team
2. Richard Jewell
3. Phi Kappa Psi Fraternity
The Duke Men's Lacrosse Team was charged with raping a black woman. They were accused, they were investigated by the local District Attorney and they were indicted by a Grand Jury. And they were completely innocent. The whole thing was a fraud.
Richard Jewell was a hero. He was a security guard at the Atlanta Olympics when he spotted a suspicious package. Richard evacuated the area around the package and was injured when the package blew up. There was no loss of life and few injuries because of him. The FBI investigated and they felt Mr. Jewell was the bomber but they couldn't prove it, so they leaked it to the media. Richard Jewell was hounded by the press, he was inundated with hate mail. And he was completely innocent. The FBI was unable to prove he planted the bomb because Richard Jewell did not plant the bomb.
Phi Kappa Psi Fraternity was accused in a Rolling Stone Magazine article of gang-raping a female student. The Frat was shut down. The Frat Brothers were subject to intense media scrutiny, hate mail, and mistreatment. The Frat was completely innocent - the story was a fraud.
Three examples - local law enforcement, Federal law enforcement, and a national news media outlet made accusations. The facts seemed to be stacked heavily against the people charged. But in all three cases, the people charged were completely, totally innocent.
So when you see something in the press about a person or organization being charged with criminal or bad behavior, remember those three cases and hold your condemnation until the person either admits guilt or is convicted by a jury of their peers.
While I'd have preferred to say he's a terrorist and gloat over the mistake of the liberals who originally supported him, the reality is he's just been arrested, the charges are not clear (two media sources gave different reasons for his arrest), and he has not been convicted.
Whenever I see someone charged with a crime or bad behavior - whether it be charged in the Court of Public Opinion like Bill Cosby, or charged in an actual Court of Law - I just remind myself of two things:
1. Duke Men's Lacrosse Team
2. Richard Jewell
3. Phi Kappa Psi Fraternity
The Duke Men's Lacrosse Team was charged with raping a black woman. They were accused, they were investigated by the local District Attorney and they were indicted by a Grand Jury. And they were completely innocent. The whole thing was a fraud.
Richard Jewell was a hero. He was a security guard at the Atlanta Olympics when he spotted a suspicious package. Richard evacuated the area around the package and was injured when the package blew up. There was no loss of life and few injuries because of him. The FBI investigated and they felt Mr. Jewell was the bomber but they couldn't prove it, so they leaked it to the media. Richard Jewell was hounded by the press, he was inundated with hate mail. And he was completely innocent. The FBI was unable to prove he planted the bomb because Richard Jewell did not plant the bomb.
Phi Kappa Psi Fraternity was accused in a Rolling Stone Magazine article of gang-raping a female student. The Frat was shut down. The Frat Brothers were subject to intense media scrutiny, hate mail, and mistreatment. The Frat was completely innocent - the story was a fraud.
Three examples - local law enforcement, Federal law enforcement, and a national news media outlet made accusations. The facts seemed to be stacked heavily against the people charged. But in all three cases, the people charged were completely, totally innocent.
So when you see something in the press about a person or organization being charged with criminal or bad behavior, remember those three cases and hold your condemnation until the person either admits guilt or is convicted by a jury of their peers.
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