HOW BLIND IS JUSTICE?
An imperfect system and capital punishment
Image by Storye book, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons [1]
Before a prisoner is sentenced for murder, the prisoner must be found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
If the prosecution fails to present the full facts of a case, are we not already in reasonable doubt territory?
In the case of Robert Roberson, was his culpability predetermined by not providing all the facts?
Robert is an autistic/Asperger spectrum human being with a 10th grade education and an imperfect criminal record. He was accused of murdering his seriously ill 2-year-old daughter, Nikki. At the time of her death she was suffering from misdiagnoses and incorrect treatment with life-threatening drugs by the physicians who had examined her. [2] [3]
The injuries that Nikki presented were consistent with falling from bed. The arresting authorities and the prosecution jumped to Shaken Baby Syndrome (SBS) as the cause of death. The validity of the SBS theory is widely disputed within medical ranks— is that not already “reasonable doubt”?
The insistence by the prosecution on executing Robert has submitted him to cruel and unusual punishment. What mental anguish did this prisoner suffer during the last days and hours leading to the moment when his execution was halted? Robert was scheduled for execution for a crime that did not occur. He had pleaded “not guilty”.
Human beings within the autistic/Asperger spectrum often appear cold and aloof. Robert’s lack of emotion during trial reflected that and was not evidence of guilt. Does that plunge the case further into reasonable doubt territory?
The lead investigator in this case has now stated that he believes that he contributed to Robert, an innocent person, being sent to Death Row. How deep into reasonable doubt territory are we now?
Robert has been caught in the gears of the Justice System for the last 22 years. For the last 21 years he has been on Death Row. Did a crime actually occur beyond a reasonable doubt? What can we say about his suffering for over two decades?
Why is the Texas Attorney General pushing for execution rather for finding the truth? Is he a credible force for justice based on his public record that includes impeachment on 20 charges of corruption in his official duties? [4]
He has told you, mortal one, what is good;
And what does the Lord require of you
But to do justice, to love kindness,
And to walk humbly with your God?—MICAH 6:8 NASB
Are we mature enough to inflict capital punishment?
Justice blindness appears to be inversely proportional to the amount of money one has for defense.
I submit one Donald J Trump with all of his myriad of prosecutions and impeachments as evidence, and as my final argument.
The Texas Taliban is blind to all facts, but loves money. Clearly the travesty of blind justice failing this fellow and the resulting potential forfeiture of his life is irrelevant to the Texas Taliban because the amount of money he had for his defense was insufficient to meet their standards. I’ve not heard them say it yet, but their action say that to them life is cheap and brutally short. Let’s hope actual sanity prevails and he is released from their definition of hell, with compensation, although no amount of money can return the time he spent in hell or for the damage to his psyche.
I have not followed the case in the news but as soon as I heard it was Texas, I chuckled in disgust. The reason is the Republican Attorney General is a vengeful ass, who does not take responsibility for his own behavior but expects others to be held to the highest standards of guilt or innocence.