Don't Let the Innocent Get Treated Like Jesus

Christianity is a faith descended from a man falsely accused and falsely executed, so it’s natural that fairness in our criminal justice system should be a top priority for a predominately Christian nation. Among all the areas in which God’s values and God’s politics have been distorted by our culture, justice for the falsely accused finally appears to be moving in the right direction.
A New York Times article of Oct. 1 notes that all but eight states now have laws on the books allowing convicted criminals to access DNA evidence for testing that wasn’t possible at the time of their trials. And because the tide has begun to recede from a pervasive bias against the accused--often because their race or class made them look guilty to the majority--other evidence like eyewitness testimony and jailhouse snitches also is becoming suspect.
A 2005 study by Law School professor Samuel R. Gross of the University of Michigan uncovered 340 prisoners sentenced from 1989 to 2003 who now are exonerated. The majority were convicted of murder or rape. Almost half were cleared by DNA evidence and more than half the cases involved faulty eyewitness testimony. Another study this year by Professor Gross identified 86 death row inmates sentenced between 1973 to 1989 who were exonerated through 2004. While Gross concentrated on the most egregious felonies like rape and murder, he concluded it was certain many more innocents accused of lesser crimes occupy our jails.
The Times article, which can be reached at the link below, contains a great deal more about how states are pursuing clarity in the criminal justice system. So many of the concerns in our culture that run contrary to God’s values--like poverty and the failure of compassion--defy short-term solutions. Fairness in our justice system is one area in which action can yield results. Because Christ spoke out against just such a system and paid the price for it, we who follow Jesus should be energized by this fairness movement.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/01/us/01exonerate.html?ex=1348977600&en=36c60fe4165c0c00&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink