Justice

Scales of justice (internet image)

I served on a jury in Eau Claire County, Wisconsin.  

It was a sexual assault case that was alleged to have occurred at a house hosting an under-age drinking party.

The evidence against the accused was the testimony of teen-age guests at the party and the victim.  The defense focused on the credibility of the witnesses.

The passing of time dims my memory of any details, but I recall our twelve-person jury struggled with the evidence before reaching a guilty verdict.  

After the verdict was read, the case ended, and the courtroom cleared the judge told us more about the defendant than we heard during the trail, none of it painting a good picture of the accused.  While I had a difficult time wading through the testimony, I was convinced of his guilt.  The additional information validated it.

My case was nothing like the recent Rittenhouse trial in Kenosha.  I paid attention to news coverage, but unless you were in the courtroom every minute of the trial it's impossible to know everything the jury heard.

The media experts criticized the prosecution, saying they were out of their depth.  The situation, a protest turned violent in the wake of a man shot by police, is a sign of our divided times.

Opinions about the too frequent police shootings are formed by placing the good or bad opinions of police and the person shot into the same bucket every time with little to no attention paid to the details.

Much of that is because the number of unarmed African American men (mostly men) by policemen (mostly white men) is too high.  Years of bad cops getting off the hook mean, understandably, that African Americans don't believe there is a path to justice.

Mainly for political gain, conservative Republicans seem to blindly back the police force (except in the Capitol siege January 6, 2021) while liberal Democrats assume the police are always guilty (except in the same siege).  The news media associated with each side fan the flames.  Social media stokes fear and hate to the point civilians feeling compelled to take up arms in defense of the patch of the USA they hold most dear.

That seems to be why Mr. Rittenhouse drove from Illinois to Kenosha to act as a civilian "cop."  He was armed and probably afraid for his life while looking to show his loyalty to the cause he adopted.  It's why there are laws against vigilante justice.  

I don't know if Mr. Rittenhouse is guilty or innocent.  It is hard to believe he shouldn't be held responsible for his actions.

Now that he's been found not guilty, he will be lionized and used by the fearmongers.  Those on the left are going to add his picture to a long list of found guilty by those not in the jury box.

Neither side is helping, only advancing their side of the issue with no regard for the collateral damage.

Kenosha (and Wisconsin) has a lot to repair in our racial divide, that collateral damage doesn't help.

Individually, the best we can do is look at the details every time and leave the broad brush on the shelf.