The nastiness of the American justice system

Christopher Tappin leaves London for an uncertain future

The United States prides itself on being a free democracy. That misnomer has long been peddled on the good folk of America who, quite often, blindly follow all the stuff about God favouring them over other people. If God indeed did pick out America for special treatment, He left out the titbits. Now don't get me wrong, Americans are genuine people with tremendous hearts for the stranger. I can honestly say that I've been treated better in America by warm and welcoming people (some I never knew before I met them) than by my fellow countrymen. Britain can be a bit hard going at times. No, my beef is about the black and white approach to justice and democracy. I somehow think that it is all a Jekyll and Hyde thing. How many "true movies" have been made about injustices yet when the tales of woe have ended in unreadable credits, the viewers just repair to another room and forget all about it. Or that's the way it seems.

Right from the beginning, the Founding Fathers set up a democracy that would enable them to dictate to the system. Even today, democracy is tied up with cash and favours. Free speech is one thing, but democracy is quite another. Free speech just causes politicians to flinch if they don't like what's being said. But democracy causes them problems. A ballot box needs watching. Can anybody tell me the difference between Dubya Bush manipulating the Florida poll or Putin manipulating the Moscow poll? Maybe scale. Putin does it openly and it is more widespread.

Justice in the United States is not about innocence or guilt. It is about being in a big business. A big buck industry. Christopher Tappin is now in that industry. His presumed innocence is being shone on 23 hours a day by bright lights. He's in an orange jumpsuit and when he appears in court, as he did yesterday, he is shackled. The humiliation is complete. The terror that the plea bargainers want to instill is up and running. Innocent until proved guilty? Not any more. This is business, folks. Tappin is being told he might get 35 years. So he's expected to be into the plea bargain stuff before he's even blinked. 98% of accused get a plea bargain offer. That more or less puts paid to presumed innocence in America. Do Americans care? No is the answer. Actually, the US media cares little so the people get to hear virtually nothing. It's not a state secret or anything, but it might as well be.

Why does the system want to humiliate people? Is this edifying to the justice system. Does it enter the hearts of those praying in church on Sundays? Not only that, those in the system can be cruel as well. Prosecutor Greg McDonald, in the Tappin case, sounds a typically cruel person by his own words. Hope he treats his dog well. He said in court about Tappin being a flight risk and his wife being ill, "If she passes there is no incentive for him to return to the UK. Then it's no holds barred, he can get another passport and be gone. A mile from this court he's free in Mexico. All he needs to do is liquidate that $1.5 million home in the UK and he's off and running." What, with a walking cane and deaf in one ear. Come off it Mr.McDonald!

No, the whole Tappin case must be held in open court with decency and civility. Has Texas descended into a hateful, vengeful place where prisons are run by gangs of criminals and businessmen (sometimes intertwined) and the justice system by self-serving lawyers and dealmakers? It has in many parts and it should be changed so that presumed innocence can triumph once again over the dark forces of those who would seek to undermine that vital principle. Prosecutors should present evidence in open court for a judge and jury to hear. It is not the business of a prosecutor to decide guilt or innocence in a free and democratic country.

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