Okay. So the Duke boys didn’t do it. Lots of self-styled conservatives got really hyper and spent lots of time and keystrokes questioning what this travesty meant for justice. When it all boiled down, though, the case never made it to trial. What I’m wondering is, where are all those voices when it comes to advocating for Jerry Miller?
If it’s really all about justice, if it’s not just about picking cases that offer the chance to argue against “the other side,” then this should typify REAL injustice — or at least the potential for real injustice. Not that I expect to see any conservatives, big-name, small-name, or otherwise get out there and talk about the dangers of overzealous prosecutors when the defendant is poor and Black, but I’m sayin’. Twenty-five years?
And yeah, I know, the fact that Miller has been exonerated says that the justice system worked eventually, but how do you begin to compensate a person for 25 years? An apology from the bench? A big oops? My bad? Naw. The real question is how many thousands of dollars should the state kick in for a wrongful prosecution? I don’t see this type of case every day, but I see it far too frequently.
So again, to make it plain: if the sole interest is partisan carping, then miss me with the talk about justice and the implications of some case on the legal system. If it is about justice, then let’s stop riding to the rescue of those who really didn’t need rescuing in the first place.
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