Innocent Till Proven Guilty
© Surazeus
2018 03 04
Joshua sits despondent on courthouse steps
and shakes his head in shock at howling mobs
that declare every accused person guilty
before the trial that weighs all evidence.
How soon before we return to belief
that people are innocent of some crime
till they are proven guilty by real facts?
In these feverish times of search for justice,
long denied to many innocent victims,
the mob calling for justice for all crimes
finds people guilty before they are proved
innocent beyond a reasonable doubt.
One has but to accuse the powerful person,
without offering provable evidence,
of committing some crime of their privilege,
that powerful men committed for years
but escaped the harsh reckoning of justice,
for the tense crowd, simmering with just anger,
to declare them guilty and want them punished.
Though one person accuses another person
of committing some crime against their rights,
without providing evidence of facts,
then ten thousand other people join in
to greatly amplify that accusation,
this trumpeting cry for justice is not
evidence of guilt, and should be ignored
while the case is tried in the court of law.
To maintain civilized relationships
we developed our system of law courts
where the trained and impartial judge presides,
while the prosecuting attorney states
the charge of accusation, and provides
evidence that supports their clear-cut case,
then the defense attorney counter-states
proof the accused is innocent of crime,
then the jury of twelve social peers
deliberates, considering evidence
about the accuser and the defendant
till they find them guilty or innocent,
then the judge will pass sentence on their head,
justly punishing them if they are guilty,
while releasing them if they are innocent.
Ten thousand wrongs, committed by great men
who assert the power of their privilege
based on the toxic vibe of social fame,
have gone unpunished in the course of time,
which sparks outrage in our innocent hearts,
urging us to demand justice be done.
This thirst to right those past ten thousand wrongs
drives people mad with desire for revenge
so they rush to believe the accusation
and find the accused guilty of the crime
without due process of the trial in court,
where evidence is provided as proof.
So many people innocent of crime
have been accused and punished for those crimes
they never committed based on revenge,
because so many people who are guilty
of terrible crimes against other people
have escaped the due process of our courts,
often because of their race or their wealth.
Because so many women in our nation
for more than fifty years were not believed
when they accused powerful men of crimes
now everyone is too quick to believe
every accusation they throw at men,
whether that man is really guilty or not.
Yet this deplorable state of affairs
never justifies the vengeance of mobs
that condemn people to grim punishment
based on accusations that are not based
on solid evidence of provable facts.
I reserve judgment about every case
no matter how guilty the accused seems
till the accuser provides evidence
which proves beyond a reasonable doubt
that they did commit that crime.
If evidence proves they did commit the crime
then, and only then, should they be punished.
We must abide by the just rule of law
to try every case in the court of justice
so the guilty are punished for their crimes,
while the innocent may pursue their lives,
washed clean by the taint of false accusations.
So we must now all return to belief
that people are innocent of some crime
till they are proven guilty by real facts.
Standing boldly with renewed sense of purpose,
Joshua strides back into crowded courthouse
to defend every person who deserves
the chance to prove their innocence of crimes
unless the evidence proves otherwise.
© Surazeus
2018 03 04
Joshua sits despondent on courthouse steps
and shakes his head in shock at howling mobs
that declare every accused person guilty
before the trial that weighs all evidence.
How soon before we return to belief
that people are innocent of some crime
till they are proven guilty by real facts?
In these feverish times of search for justice,
long denied to many innocent victims,
the mob calling for justice for all crimes
finds people guilty before they are proved
innocent beyond a reasonable doubt.
One has but to accuse the powerful person,
without offering provable evidence,
of committing some crime of their privilege,
that powerful men committed for years
but escaped the harsh reckoning of justice,
for the tense crowd, simmering with just anger,
to declare them guilty and want them punished.
Though one person accuses another person
of committing some crime against their rights,
without providing evidence of facts,
then ten thousand other people join in
to greatly amplify that accusation,
this trumpeting cry for justice is not
evidence of guilt, and should be ignored
while the case is tried in the court of law.
To maintain civilized relationships
we developed our system of law courts
where the trained and impartial judge presides,
while the prosecuting attorney states
the charge of accusation, and provides
evidence that supports their clear-cut case,
then the defense attorney counter-states
proof the accused is innocent of crime,
then the jury of twelve social peers
deliberates, considering evidence
about the accuser and the defendant
till they find them guilty or innocent,
then the judge will pass sentence on their head,
justly punishing them if they are guilty,
while releasing them if they are innocent.
Ten thousand wrongs, committed by great men
who assert the power of their privilege
based on the toxic vibe of social fame,
have gone unpunished in the course of time,
which sparks outrage in our innocent hearts,
urging us to demand justice be done.
This thirst to right those past ten thousand wrongs
drives people mad with desire for revenge
so they rush to believe the accusation
and find the accused guilty of the crime
without due process of the trial in court,
where evidence is provided as proof.
So many people innocent of crime
have been accused and punished for those crimes
they never committed based on revenge,
because so many people who are guilty
of terrible crimes against other people
have escaped the due process of our courts,
often because of their race or their wealth.
Because so many women in our nation
for more than fifty years were not believed
when they accused powerful men of crimes
now everyone is too quick to believe
every accusation they throw at men,
whether that man is really guilty or not.
Yet this deplorable state of affairs
never justifies the vengeance of mobs
that condemn people to grim punishment
based on accusations that are not based
on solid evidence of provable facts.
I reserve judgment about every case
no matter how guilty the accused seems
till the accuser provides evidence
which proves beyond a reasonable doubt
that they did commit that crime.
If evidence proves they did commit the crime
then, and only then, should they be punished.
We must abide by the just rule of law
to try every case in the court of justice
so the guilty are punished for their crimes,
while the innocent may pursue their lives,
washed clean by the taint of false accusations.
So we must now all return to belief
that people are innocent of some crime
till they are proven guilty by real facts.
Standing boldly with renewed sense of purpose,
Joshua strides back into crowded courthouse
to defend every person who deserves
the chance to prove their innocence of crimes
unless the evidence proves otherwise.
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