What Happened to Innocent Until Proven Guilty?
It is shocking that we are witnessing in the United States of America someone publicly and aggressively being deemed guilty before being tried with the presentation of evidence, something that it doesn’t take a degree in Political Science to deem ‘un-American’. I feel like the society that we live in today has not learned from the history in the past and their rational is not coming from the Constitution, but from emotions and biased agendas.
Over the past several weeks the nation has been audience to a polarizing political scene, one in which the hearing of a Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh, has narrowed from being a traditional one assessing the candidate’s abilities and fitness to serve as a justice on the highest court in the land, to one that is focused on a particular accusation of sexual assault from the candidate’s high school days.
Now, let me be clear, there are several questions that have surfaced attempting to clear Kavanaugh, that I don’t think are valid. For instance, ‘Is something that happened so many years ago really relevant to this appointment to the court?’ Yes, I think it is. As Christians we have access to the gracious forgiveness and cleansing that comes from Christ’s sacrifice. However, there are temporal consequences for actions, no matter the age at which they were committed. And, I think it’s fair that not being able to hold one of the most powerful positions in the nation would be one of those consequences.
Or, I’ve heard statements like, ‘This is something that can be expected of young, teenage boys.’ Again, I disagree. If that is our expectation, it’s a sad statement about the culture we live in. If it is our expectation, it should not serve as an excuse. And, if it is our expectation, serving on the Supreme Court should still come with standards that ‘exceed our expectations’.
All of that being said, there is one thing that I do strongly believe clears Kavanaugh, and that is the evidence, or the lack thereof. This case is not being held in a traditional court of law, so the standards of evidence are not necessarily black and white (Peterson & Kendall). However, the Constitution implies the principle of ‘innocent until proven guilty’ in several amendments and court precedent has upheld the principle as well.
So, what is the evidence? Dr. Ford claims that Kavanaugh held her against her will in a room and sexually assaulted her in the presence of one of his friends, Mark Judge. This alleged witness, however, completely denies ever being witness to any such event (de Vogue & Tatum). Dr. Ford also named several other people who were not necessarily witnesses to the alleged event, but who she claims were in attendance at the party at which this event happened. All of these people deny any remembrance of such a party.
One of the reasons the news of the Supreme Court Justice hearing grabbed my attention is because I come from a country that was ruled by a heavy hand, where the laws worked only in the favor of the government, and not the people. This hearing reminded me of the former Soviet Union where Christians were falsely accused of things that they had never done. These false accusations were the government’s way to gain control over society and, as a result, many died under those circumstances, and many also went to prison to serve in hard labor camps. My grandfather was one of the many that was in prison for his faith, but he was accused of being a threat to the society. His faith was not a threat to anyone but because the government had an agenda, they were able to tarnish his name and bring up a case against him, which ultimately lead him to prison. Thank God he did not die there even though there were a few close calls, but he lived to tell the story to his family and grandkids. He was able to live to be almost eighty years of age because of the very faith that he was accused of and imprisoned for. He lived to see his family to the fourth generation and over three hundred people came from his offspring. The truth always wins and it is so important to be able to share that truth without feeling like you will be attacked and misunderstood. As human being it is important to be respected and understood as individuals.
One of the things that I admire in the United States of America is the fairness that is shown to people with regards to being considered innocent until proven guilty. We have not experienced that in the past few weeks. Uncorroborated accusations are only allegations. Until an accusation has been substantiated, it should not be treated as though it is a fact until due process has taken place.
According to a Wall Street Journal article about the special prosecutor, Rachel Mitchel was hired by the Republican Party on the Senate Judiciary Committee to question Dr. Ford on their behalf. As a result of the hearing it was concluded that such a case would not even make it to court due to the lack of evidence (Andrews). Mitchell stated in a memo to the senators on the Judiciary Committee that “there is no clear standard of proof for allegations made during the Senate’s confirmation process, a he said, she said case is incredibly difficult to prove, but this case is even weaker than that.”
Again, let me be clear about what I am not saying. I am not saying that Dr. Ford was never sexually assaulted. I am not saying that all women who bring allegations of sexual assault are lying. I realize that sexual assault is an all too prevalent problem in this society. Regardless of how terrible the account was, to slap guilt on Kavanaugh without any evidence to support the accusations is not right. If the justice system took this on as precedent in the United States courts (presuming someone guilty of an accusation without any evidencez) I believe government as we know it would be completely done away with. Bringing uncorroborated allegations against someone can ruin their life and future, and unfortunately when this is shown to be successful, I believe we may see a rise in this new tactic, especially as politics becomes more polarized. This could also become a tactic used against Christian leaders as well, just as it was in the Soviet Union. A tactic that essentially gives power to shut down voices that are unwanted or against the popular culture.
We must always stand on the foundational idea that people are innocent until proven guilty. That is not only fair but it is the right thing to do. In this great country we have the right to presumption of innocence and right to a fair trial. The Constitution applies to the rich and to the poor, to the young and to the old. If we let this stand as a precedent, we are all vulnerable to being falsely accused and suffering the consequences. For Kavanaugh, the consequences were not only potentially losing a promotion he had worked many years towards, but most likely, losing the ability to live a normal life, for example, enjoying a quiet meal out with his family at a restaurant. For a pastor the consequences could be losing the church they pastored for many years. For anyone really, the consequences of unfounded allegations of this type taint a reputation in a way that is nearly impossible to clean up, and can make it hard to ever live a normal life again.
Sources:
https://www.cnn.com/2018/09/28/politics/mark-judge-fbi-investigation-kavanaugh/index.html
