A Journey to the Truth
For a class assignment this semester, I was instructed to binge watch a Netflix series, which is every college kid’s dream. The show we were instructed to watch was “Making A Murderer”. This story has received a lot of attention recently. It follows the story of Steven Avery; a young man who was accused of rape in Manitowoc County, Wisconsin back in 1985. He was found guilty, and spent 18 years in prison. On September 11th, 2003, Steven was released from prison after new DNA evidence proved his innocence. This story received national attention as an example of the failure of the United States justice system. Just two years later, Avery is arrested for murder, mutilation, and potential rape of a 25 year-old woman. All the evidence points to Avery, however, all the evidence does not properly line up. The defense suspects the Manitowoc County Police Dept. of intentionally planting evidence.
I’ve heard many friends raving about this series, and I understand why. It was done very well. What surprised the individuals the most was the failure in the justice system. Failure of the justice system is something that is rather common — especially in lower income and minority communities. The friends I have spoken to do not necessarily fall in these categories, so I understand their shock. For those that are being introduced to the failure of the justice system for the first time, I ask you to look at the story of Assata Shakur.
(WARNING! This paragraph contains spoilers about Assata’s Autobiography.) Assata Shakur, also known as Joanne Chesimard, is a black revolutionary. She is a former Black Panther and former member of the Black Liberation Army. She made her claim to infamy in the 1970s. She was accused of multiple bank robberies, kidnapping, and attempted murder. The biggest of all her accusations was the murder of New Jersey Police Officer, Werner Foerster, on the New Jersey Turnpike during a traffic stop. The evidence presented in her trial pointed to her innocence. She claims, as does Avery, that the police and justice system were attempting to twist evidence to find her guilty of this crime. She was convicted and sentenced to life in prison. Her story gives much more detail about the brutality and abuse she faced while incarcerated. Two years after her conviction, she escaped prison and fled to Cuba where she resides now. In May of 2013, Assata Shakur was placed on the FBI’s Most Wanted List. Assata’s rhetoric in her autobiography is a little too aggressive for my taste, but the story is so compelling. (Assata also speaks on the Prison Industrial Complex, but that is a different conversation.) This article is not meant to compare the struggles of Stephen Avery and Assata Shakur. There are plenty of other prime examples to compare, but these two stuck out to me initally. It is simply meant to show that Stephen Avery is not the first victim of the justice system.
A common symbol for the U.S. justice system is depicted in the statue of Lady Justice. She carries a scale in one hand to weigh the evidence of the case. The other hand wields a sword as a symbol for punishment. The first two objects are simple. The third is where the trouble comes. There are some statues that depict Lady Justice as blindfolded; however, there are other statues that allow her eyes to be shown.
That is something that must be revisited over and over again. Objectivity. (I want to refrain from addressing the specific laws of the constitution. I’m not a lawyer, and haven’t done enough research into criminal law to address those issues.) As a normal citizen with basic knowledge of the justice system, I see — and many others do as well — that objectivity is the issue. If this cannot be maintained on a consistent basis, then the justice system will continue to fail. In no way is this easy. Humans are naturally imperfect. It is rather easy to see that Stephen Avery and Assata Shakur could be guilty of these crimes simply by looking at their reputation and/or their social status — and they very well maybe. Yet from the evidence I have seen in both cases, I cannot definitively say that the evidence conclusively finds either party guilty.
Objectivity must be maintained for this system to work as it was initially designed; not just by the judge or the jury, but also by the prosecutors, police officers, and the media that covers it. It’s difficult to accept truth, especially when it is not in one’s favor. Not to mention, it damages the ego. Once people value truth over their pride, the justice system will see more consistent success. The system was intended to be a journey to the truth, not a journey to personal agendas.
Bibliography:
- www.assatashakur.org
- FBI Most Wanted: https://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2013/may/joanne-chesimard-first-woman-named-most-wanted-terrorists-list/joanne-chesimard-first-woman-named-to-most-wanted-terrorists-list
- Lady Justice: http://www.studentpulse.com/articles/896/the-visual-rhetoric-of-lady-justice-understanding-jurisprudence-through-metonymic-tokens
- Making A Murderer. Dir. Moira Demos and Laura Ricciardi. 2015. Film.
- Shakur, Assata. Assata: An Autobiography. N.p.: Lawrence Hill Books, 2001. Print.
