AND THEY CALL IT JUSTICE

                                    

 I recently read an editorial about the plight of Dru Sjodin’s family as the court case of her killer winds its way through the system. I would like to comment farther.

Alfonso Rodriguez Jr., who was convicted of brutally kidnapping, raping and killing Dru Sjodin, has been given one last shot at getting his sentence overturned or altered. It’s called a writ of Habeas Corpus and its what you do when you have run out of excuses that make any sense for your actions. A district judge just appointed a new set of expensive lawyers for him

It’s been almost seven years now since that pretty and talented young woman’s body turned up discarded in a snow bank like so much litter. It’s been seven agonizing years since her parents first begged for justice, for their child’s murder. Yes, seven years of appeal after appeal winding through the courts. But that’s how our broken system works. Losing your child is only the beginning of your heartaches. Our court systems will do the rest. The best guess now is this will take until 2012. He will linger on death row for many more years-- if his sentence is upheld-- he will be living better than a lot of our population. The price tag for his defense will be staggering, but a carefully guarded secret. They don’t want to ruffle any feathers in the public but they are too late. My feathers are already ruffled.

Our justice system seems to go to the ends of the earth to defend some people and money seems to be no object for them. It’s in the best interest of the defense lawyers to drag this case out as long as they can because after all---they get paid for every day they are involved. If they win-- and it happens way to often-- the notoriety for them becomes a windfall for their resume and they go on to more of the same. All with the help of the government we pledge allegiance to with liberty and justice for all. The sympathy for the accused that they drum up, undermines the sympathy we should be having for the real victims here.

I am not an advocate for the death penalty; I am an advocate for swift justice that does not use our courts for a stage that makes a mockery out of justice. Years ago our government spent many millions of dollars convicting and punishing Timothy Mc Veigh, a self-professed killer in the bombing of the federal building in Oklahoma. Just another example of what I am talking about. Even when you confess and the evidence is conclusive, they need to play the game for all its worth.

The winners in the end-- if there is an end to this fiasco, will not be Dru’s family; it will be all of those who lined their pockets with the money appropriated to defend her killer to the ends of the earth-- and in the name of justice.