Do you think the legal system in America protects victims or perpetrators?

Question

It always seems to be a technicality that allows perpetrators to get away with murder. More and more we are clouding that line between what is right and what is wrong. Perpetrators are loving it; it gives them a great sporting chance. Getting away with their crimes re-victimizes the victim in ways we cannot possibly begin to empathize with. People lie and purjure themselves under oath all the time. Where can true justice be found?

Answer 1

I can sort of understand what you're saying, but a person is innocent until proven guilty, and the technicalities you speak of are intended to prevent the innocent from being wrongly convicted. Of course, our justice system isn't perfect, but most of the time, it works pretty well.

Answer 2

You are correct in your appraisal of our system and your frustration is justified. Our criminal justice system was developed with the intent to protect the innocent. In order to accomplish that goal, several safeguards were put in place to make it hard to convict an innocent person. Thus, we have the standard of proof of "beyond reasonable doubt". In other words if you harbor any reasonable doubts about the guilt of the accused, then you must acquit because the standard of proof must be beyond any reasonable doubt. In addition to that standard, there are all the other provisions about evidence that the prosecution has to overcome in order to get a conviction. As the years go by it does seem that we make it harder and harder to get a clean conviction. However, the law still believes that it is better to let a hundred guilty men go free than to convict one innocent person. That doesn't mean that innocents don't still get convicted from time to time. They do because the prosecution doesn't look hard enough into the evidence to ferret out bad circumstantial evidence or detect a framed crime. What I call the prosecutorial mentality permeates the police and the prosecutors office. They don't want to look at any evidence that would cast doubt on their arrest and conviction possibilities. That is why you get cases like the Duke LaCrosse Team where the D.A. was dismissed in disgrace for witholding evidence that would stop his case.
Do we make mistakes, of course we do. Do we have the best system in the world, I believe we still do.

Answer 3

It is a fact that the criminals have more rights and priviledges than victims and their families. The judicial system needs a complete overhaul. I wish I was an institutor of laws. You'd see some changes big time. I'd support the victims NOT the criminals. And the punishment would mirror the crime if possible.

Answer 4

It protects no one. It is more like a business that keeps a lot of highly paid government workers employed.

I know your point is we are too weak on crime, but at the same time many guilty are let go, a lot of innocent people are locked up for crimes they didn't commit. You also hear about that every day. And plea bargains are like a roll of the dice in Vegas. If you're lucky, you get probation. Someone else who did the same crime gets 20 years. Not fair or just.

Justice has turned into a lost concept in this day and age. For victims and accused.
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Answer 5

It seems to me that once someone commits a crime, their rights are protected more fiercely over the victims' rights.

Maybe if enough people start taking the law into their own hands, the laws will be forced to change and the pendulum will once again swing the other way.

Answer 6

The reason people get away with murder or any other crime is the inability of the prosecution to do their job or poor detective work or corruption.

Be glad that perps get some sort of legal protection because you never know when YOU might be in their shoes.

Answer 7

To be perfectly honest...you don't have any rights until you commit a crime. Then you have more rights than the victim, the judge, the jury and the cop that arrested you.