Quote of the Day: Let the Guilty Go Free
It is more dangerous that even a guilty person should be punished without the forms of law than that he should escape. --Thomas Jefferson~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Have you ever heard the saying, "Well they got off on a technicality?" Then the person might add on something to the extent of "well put them in jail anyway," because the evidence exists that they are guilty. Other similar instances include the crime being so heinous that people say forget the trial and just lock them away. Thomas Jefferson and the founders realized this problem from their own experiences in imperial England where people were arrested and convicted without due process.
The founders found this problem to be of such importance that half of the Bill of Rights (5 of the first 10 Amendments) dealt with this problem. Here is a list of the 1st 10 Amendments and links to their reading.
- Amendment 1 - Freedom of Religion, Press, Expression
- Amendment 2 - Right to Bear Arms
- Amendment 3 - Quartering of Soldiers
- Amendment 4 - Search and Seizure
- Amendment 5 - Trial and Punishment, Compensation for Takings
- Amendment 6 - Right to Speedy Trial, Confrontation of Witnesses
- Amendment 7 - Trial by Jury in Civil Cases
- Amendment 8 - Cruel and Unusual Punishment
- Amendment 9 - Construction of Constitution
- Amendment 10 - Powers of the States and People
This concept is not hard to understand. A government that is not limited in the pursuit of justice is a government that can take life, Liberty, and the pursuit of happiness away without question and without mode for recourse.
If we cannot ensure the the rights of the innocent than let the guilty go free for the opposite is most vile!
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It is more dangerous that even a guilty person should be punished without the forms of law than that he should escape. --Thomas Jefferson
