Lies, All Lies

Imagine you are falsely accused of a crime and you truly believe the truth will come out, but the more you plea your case, the deeper you get in trouble.  What do you do?

Hear my plea of innocence, O LORD; give heed to my cry; listen to my prayer, which does not come from lying lips. Let my vindication come forth from your presence; let your eyes be fixed on justice. Weigh my heart, summon me by night, melt me down; you will find no impurity in me. - Psalm 17:1-3

I have never been accused of a crime, so when I hear of people in prison who claim to be innocent, I have a hard time understanding how they got there, or why some may have confessed.

I was surprised to learn that many eyewitnesses to a crime swear they saw the wrong person at the scene.  DNA testing and other advances in forensic science have exonerated dozens who were falsely accused and convicted of heinous crimes.

So, is our system flawed?

I believe the accounts of individuals, once considered the one of the most reliable sources of information, may be the weakest link in the chain of evidence.

We are the ones who are hopelessly flawed.  We are the prejudice and injustice built into the system.

We have all seen or heard of examples of overzealous interrogations which lead to false confessions, and it is easy to point our fingers at the investigators as the main culprits in these false convictions, but aren't we all at fault?

When someone commits a crime and is convicted, we, the public, want to see the person show signs of remorse.  Somehow that eases our conscience, lets us know we have done the right thing and that justice has been served.

But if the person serves time without being guilty and is released, do we demand the ones who put him or her in prison do the same, stand before the cameras and apologize?

Most who are released after false convictions get nothing.

So, as we read the plea of the psalmist, let us consider all who are innocent and falsely held to blame.  And let us seek justice for all.

Isn't that what we would expect for ourselves?

More to come...