At the following link you can read about how a drink driver can get off because of a technicality:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10670028
The short of it is that the officer did not follow procedure correctly and the judge ruled that the drunk driver did not have his rights respected.
What I want to ask is, where is the justice in the Justice System when justice is clearly not done in situations like this? It appears that the law is more important than the people it is meant to be serving. The attitude that says, “stick with the rules because they are the rules” is foolish. If the rules are made for a purpose, and a situation arises when that purpose is not served by the law, then we must deal with that situation according to the intended purpose of the rule, and not stick with the rules in bloody minded, freight train with no brakes, manner.
I acknowledge that it is a complex issue involving the rights of the individual and the duty and procedures of the officer (which are designed to protect the rights of the victims and criminals), but at the heart of it is someone getting away with attempted murder. It needs to be put in perspective and it is unacceptable that justice is not done. Unfortunately, with no clear purpose or foundational principles upon which to judge the justice of the situation, justice will never be done. That is not even taking into account the eternal implications of true and ultimate justice.
So what would you do? How is justice done in this case? The guy was clearly at fault and deserves punishment. So was the officer who didn’t follow procedures. Rather than letting the drunk driver get away with his crime, which was clearly a crime, the judge should have the power to break the law for the sake of justice, which is more important in any case. It is better for our society.
I also can’t help but wonder what the wise King Solomon would do if he was judging this situation. His understanding of justice would be much better, and produce a fairer outcome for everybody, I think. You can read about a famous judgment of his here:
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1Kings%203:16-28&version=ESV
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10670028
The short of it is that the officer did not follow procedure correctly and the judge ruled that the drunk driver did not have his rights respected.
What I want to ask is, where is the justice in the Justice System when justice is clearly not done in situations like this? It appears that the law is more important than the people it is meant to be serving. The attitude that says, “stick with the rules because they are the rules” is foolish. If the rules are made for a purpose, and a situation arises when that purpose is not served by the law, then we must deal with that situation according to the intended purpose of the rule, and not stick with the rules in bloody minded, freight train with no brakes, manner.
I acknowledge that it is a complex issue involving the rights of the individual and the duty and procedures of the officer (which are designed to protect the rights of the victims and criminals), but at the heart of it is someone getting away with attempted murder. It needs to be put in perspective and it is unacceptable that justice is not done. Unfortunately, with no clear purpose or foundational principles upon which to judge the justice of the situation, justice will never be done. That is not even taking into account the eternal implications of true and ultimate justice.
So what would you do? How is justice done in this case? The guy was clearly at fault and deserves punishment. So was the officer who didn’t follow procedures. Rather than letting the drunk driver get away with his crime, which was clearly a crime, the judge should have the power to break the law for the sake of justice, which is more important in any case. It is better for our society.
I also can’t help but wonder what the wise King Solomon would do if he was judging this situation. His understanding of justice would be much better, and produce a fairer outcome for everybody, I think. You can read about a famous judgment of his here:
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1Kings%203:16-28&version=ESV