The Juxtaposition of Justice

The Constitution of the United States of America defines a framework for the country’s law and order. The preamble to the U.S. Constitution states the main goals of the document, but who are these goals set in place for? Over 40 years ago, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said that it is not possible to be in favor of justice for some people and not be in favor of justice for all people. Just 3 years ago, Colin Kaepernick stated that freedom, liberty and justice is not happening for all right now.

Although progress has been made, structural inequality due to gender, race, ethnicity, class, religion, and even disability is still at an all time high.

According to honorsociety.org, social injustice includes the way unjust actions are done in the society. Social injustice occurs in a situation where the equals are treated unequally and the unequal are treated equally. Common examples of social injustice include ageism, homophobia, and discrimination (“Social Injustice: Discrimination” 2016).

This is important to notate because there is not only one group of people seeking justice. It’s not only a race issue, it’s a class issue, an economic issue, and a gender issue. Rich people are able to afford better counsel which often results in acquittals, while the poor do not receive the same quality of representation. This is a sad injustice in itself. This is how we get sentences like that of Amber Guyger, a white cop who shot Botham Jean to death in his own apartment.

She received 10 years for murder, but she is eligible for parole in just 5 years. Is that adequate? Is that justice for Botham’s family? Meanwhile, a black man in Texas by the name of Anwar Holmes was sentenced to 80 years on a drug possession conviction.

Over the years, slight progress has been made in terms of justice, but we still have a long way to go. The 1955 lynching of Emmitt Till is a great example. In 2017, Carolyn Bryant Donham told a historian her claims were false (Pérez-peña 2017). Where are the reparations? Why was she not reprimanded? Nothing can bring Emmitt Till back, but justice has never been served. Now, let’s look at the 1996 case against Rodney Reed where he was sentenced to death for the abduction, rape, and strangulation of a white woman he had a relationship with. The murder weapon was never tested for DNA. Forensic experts admitted to errors in their testimonies. New statements have been made which would make the victim’s ex fiancée the main suspect. Rodney is awaiting a new hearing, but based on the mishandling of the case and miscarriage of justice that is already on display, I’m not sure if the state of Texas will do the right thing. If there was justice for all, I would not think this way. Millions of people wouldn’t be saying the same thing. They would be confident in the 6th amendment and believe that Rodney Reed’s right to a speedy and public trial by an impartial jury will be honored.

It is true that the idea of justice exists although it is not always carried out. Justice (to most people) is obtained when a person who has committed a crime is punished in a manner that is neither too extreme nor too lenient with regards to the crime committed. The issue with this belief is that there are more cases that do not meet this criteria than those that do meet it. In many of these cases, factors such as skin color and economic status prevent justice from being carried out. However, this does not mean that justice doesn’t exist, only that it is not always present, and that we need to figure out how to make sure it is always present in the future.

Injustice is Fred Hampton being assassinated next to his pregnant fiancé and it being written off as a justifiable homicide. Injustice is women in Saudi Arabia not being able to drive up until June of 2018. Injustice is Donald Trump banning transsexuals from serving in the military. As long as there are things like this happening, there will never be justice for all. When a hierarchy of color, gender, and class no longer exists, there will be true justice. Until then, it looks like Lady Liberty is going to need a pair of glasses.

Works Cited

“10 Facts About Rodney Reed’s Case You Should Know.” Innocence Project, 27 Nov. 2019, https://www.innocenceproject.org/10-facts-you-need-to-know-about-rodney-reed-who-is-scheduled-for-execution-on-november-20/.

“Constitute.” Constitute, https://www.constituteproject.org/constitution/United_States_of_America_1992.

Ktrk. “Man Gets 80 Years for Drug Possession, Family Says Sentence Doesn’t Fit Crime.” ABC7 Chicago, 19 Nov. 2018, https://abc7chicago.com/man-gets-80-years-for-drug-possession-family-says-sentence-doesnt-fit-crime/4719072/.

McLaughlin, Eliott C. “Amber Guyger Gets 10-Year Murder Sentence for Fatally Shooting Botham Jean.” CNN, Cable News Network, 3 Oct. 2019, https://www.cnn.com/2019/10/02/us/amber-guyger-trial-sentencing/index.html.

Pérez-peña, Richard. “Woman Linked to 1955 Emmett Till Murder Tells Historian Her Claims Were False.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 28 Jan. 2017, https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/27/us/emmett-till-lynching-carolyn-bryant-donham.html.

“Social Injustice: Discrimination.” Honor Society, 14 Apr. 2016, https://www.honorsociety.org/articles/social-injustice-discrimination.

Specia, Megan. “Saudi Arabia Granted Women the Right to Drive. A Year on, It’s Still Complicated.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 24 June 2019, https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/24/world/middleeast/saudi-driving-ban-anniversary.html.