The concept of an individual, who is accused of a crime, being innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt sounds righteous and looks good on paper, but in reality that notion is actually antithetical to the way the justice system and society at large treats and views the accused.
Article 11.43 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedures states that:
PRESUMPTION OF INNOCENCE. No presumption of guilt arises from the mere fact that a criminal accusation has been made before a competent authority.
Acts 1965, 59th Leg., vol. 2, p. 317, CH. 722.
In accordance with that article; just because a person is charged with a criminal offense, arrested, or incarcerated in pretrial detention it does not mean that the person is definitively guilty of committing the alleged crime.
The presumption of innocence is one of the most fundamental precepts of the U.S. Criminal Justice System. Unfortunately, our judicial apparatus isn’t presently structured to promote that virtuous and moral tenet. Based on current procedures; anyone who is suspected of committing a crime is taken into custody and held in detention. If that person is unable to pay in order to bail out, they sit in jail until their charge(s) are resolved by either going to trial, taking a plea agreement, or the charges are dismissed. Drawing from my own experience, that could mean years of being locked up under false pretenses.
Because of that, I can’t help but feel like I am actually presumed to be guilty and must tenaciously fight to prove my innocence in order to regain my freedom. If it were the other way around, I would not have been sitting in jail for over six years now awaiting trial.
When it comes to society and the court of public opinion, it seems that an individual is automatically deemed guilty as soon as the media publishes a scandalous story pertaining to the person’s purported wrongdoing. I have to admit that in the past I too have passed immediate and hasty judgement on people without taking a second to consider the accuracy of the report or having any real knowledge or alternate information related to the situation or circumstances.
What most people aren’t aware of and what I’ve realized through this ordeal is that prosecutors effectively use the media as a platform to demonize a defendant in the public eye in order to make it difficult for the defendant to get a fair trial in front of an unbiased and impartial jury. Social media helps amplify their strategy because the general populace is attracted to sensationalism and will accept and spread false information without a second thought.
On that note and in concluding this post I would like to address the negative and vile comments made about me in response to the news reports that were published regarding this fabricated accusation.
Initially I was pissed! I was hurt and wanted to physically confront anyone who had expressed a hateful or revolting opinion of me.
However; over time, I’ve gained a much deeper understanding of human nature and the societal mechanisms at play. In doing so I have been able to forgive those who responded impulsively to the media’s manipulations. If I were guilty of the offenses in those reports, I would definitely deserve all of the ills wished upon me. Because I am not guilty and based on the factors of truth that I’ve endeavored to convey, I can only pray that we, as a society, become more mindful and alert to that type of psychological exploitation. Likewise I pray that, as individuals, we take a moment to think and analyze before rushing to judge and condemn.
