Notebook: Crime and punishment
EDITORIAL MUG: Larry Anderson
Crime is as old as civilization and until fairly recently biblical in its punishment. Civilization should measure justice by fairness and balance. In other words, punishment should fit the crime. No one should be exempt from society’s judgment due to social, political or financial position. Law should embrace equality. Judgment should be logical, not cruel or calculating.
The determining factor in meting justice should be the crime itself, its nature, the harm caused, and by precedence. Lawyers, judges, and thoughtful women and men in juries make the arduous determination of guilt and the justice necessary to right the wrong. That’s how it should be, but no system is perfect.
Our justice system has three purposes: punishing the perpetrator for the crime of violating laws established for the good of all; bringing justice to the victim; and protecting innocent people from further threat. A criminal behind bars isn’t going to cause more harm to society as long he or she is there. Incarceration is a deterrent despite liberal insistence to the contrary.
A debt to society must be paid or those inclined toward misbehavior become emboldened. If one knows the odds of being caught and punished are significant, then one may think twice before committing. Perhaps it isn’t worth it in terms of time potentially forfeited, fines levied, or reputation damaged. We respect law and order because they govern but also because jails aren’t fun and shouldn’t be. These are logical, tested principles that most people accept.
Our justice branch is separate from the executive and legislative branches for a reason. Justice should not be influenced by politics and, for the most part, is not, but the president does have the constitutional authority to commute sentences and to issue pardons. It is a special power that is usually handled carefully and intended to bring balance to the system. For instance, new evidence may make it okay to pardon, thereby fixing a miscarriage of justice.. Forgiveness can be a good thing as long as it isn’t politicized.
Discretion and good judgment are essential in exercising the authority of one’s high office. In my opinion, President Biden failed these points when he pardoned his son Hunter for Hunter’s famously bad behavior. The message sent is Hunter’s conduct didn’t matter. All that really mattered was Hunter was Biden’s son, and the president had the power to get junior off. Oh, I get Joe’s commitment to family, but it was still wrong and more than his word was broken. It telegraphed to unsurprised citizens that some are indeed more equal than others.
Biden also commuted the sentences of 37 of the 40 worst criminals on death row within the federal system. These people committed unspeakable crimes eligible for the most extreme punishment, but liberal sensibility superseded justice rendered by judge and jury. This sent a message too. The life of a convicted criminal is more valuable than that of his victim(s). That should not be.
Biden’s decisions weren’t about compassion, folks, or setting things right. They were about politics. That’s not why the pardon/commute authority was granted, but that didn’t matter. The following partly explains why.
Conservatives such as I believe in personal accountability. We accept that sentencing is based on a preponderance of evidence and the thoughtful determination of those experienced in law and steeped in its necessity. We don’t excuse bad behavior any more than we condone unfairness, discrimination or judicial failure. We trust what has been proven beyond a doubt.
Liberals see things differently. For them, the real victim is the perpetrator whom society has failed. They are abused by a thoughtless system, caught by horrible policemen, and sentenced unfairly to prisons that perpetuate bad behavior rather than reforming it. This is where liberal sympathy lies and why Joe Biden can rescue murderers before heading to the beach and the company of his wayward son.
That’s also why we have the absurd notion of defunding the police, why we have droves of criminals released on society in liberal states like California, and why we have near anarchy in some cities’ streets. This will continue as long as this society tolerates the intolerable and forgives the wrong people for the wrong reasons.
Larry W. Anderson is a
retired educator.
