By Deborah Newell Tornello
a.k.a. litbrit
It is time for Congress to break ground on what will certainly be anextraordinarily difficult but necessary undertaking. They must beginright away; they must ignore the partisan cries of those who woulddownplay the very serious crimes about which a significant portion ofthe American people are, and have long been, justly outraged.
Wedon't put accused criminals on trial for the purpose of emotionalsatisfaction--we do it because it's part of due process under the law:their due process, and the state'sdue process. If during the course of the trial, evidence is presentedthat exonerates the accused, or if, at the conclusion of said trial, ajury finds the accused to be innocent, the defendant goes free, withoutpunishment. And if the verdict is guilty, he or she receives punishmentas prescribed by the law.
We do this for embezzlers and drugpeddlers; bank robbers and con-men; child molesters and rapists andmurderers. We do not stop in our tracks and say, "This will cost toomuch--let's not even ask the questions." No. We may enter intoplea-bargains that lower the charges and thus reduce the punishment,but we don't pooh-pooh the alleged crime before even exploring itsseverity and the quality and quantity of the evidence available toprove that the accused is, indeed, guilty, saying it would be too expensive, too time-consuming, and too deleterious to the state's morale to even try.
