JUSTICE??

So many times I hear people speak on equal justice, and this overused saying of "justice for all."

But here in America, the reality is justice is often flawed with one-sided representation, where the prosecutor comes in with an unlimited budget and resources that are beyond believable, that the defendant just doesn't have. And the state usually appoints either the public defender's office (who has a limited budget) to represent the accused or a court appointed attorney who has little to no experience handling a capital death penalty case, as well as a smaller budget than that of the public defender.

When you start off like this, then it's impossible to say that there's true equity in the trial.

An average American who's accused and arrested for first degree murder is not going to see the same representation that O.J. Simpson, Robert Blake, Christian Brando (Marlon Brando's son), Michael Skakel (the Kennedy's cousin), and other wealthy Americans receive.

So to say that there's equal justice in this country is to lie to us all. Because true equity, well, that's a farfetched notion from the actual truth of it all.

One of my poems:

The Death Penalty

A rich man will walk
and a poor man will die
and America will scream
an eye for an eye,
but only a poor mother will cry
for a rich woman's son will never die.

I wrote that back in 2000, some 23 years ago. And there's no truer words that have been spoken.

I had heard my mom and dad used the term growing up, "Money talks, and bullshit walks." And that's the way it is in the United States judicial system. Money is power, and those who say the truth will set you free, well, that's a load of bull.

The mighty American dollar is where you find freedom, or at least the avoidance of the death penalty. Justice is a pipe dream, a façade that this country perpetuates. Let us not lie to ourselves and deceive the American people or the nations that look upon us for guidance. No, let us fix this broken system.

And I understand that it doesn't matter to most of you, until it does. Yes, when your child is sitting here about to die in America's death chamber, then and only then will it matter to most of you. At that point it's going to be too little, too late.

The time for change is here and now. You need to be the voice of reason. God bless you.

Shalom v'Ahava
Peace and love

Ronald W. Clark Jr.
Wednesday
February 22, 2023