03/27/2011 - by Chuck Monan, Preaching Minister

 Justice should not only be done, but should manifestly and undoubtedly be seen to be done.

~ Lord Hewart,
British  lawyer and politician

When the foundations are being destroyed, what can the righteous do?

~ Psalm 11:3

When David angered the Lord by taking a military census he faced three possible punishments:  three years of famine in the land, three months of fleeing from his enemies, or three days of plague.  He chose the latter, saying “Let us fall into the hands of the Lord, for his mercy is great; but do not let me fall into the hands of men” (2 Sam. 24:14).  David recognized that God alone combines perfect justice with great mercy.

Fallible humans do not always get justice right.  Throughout history the powerful have oppressed the weak.  Courts everywhere have seen the rich deny justice to the poor.  In the same way, race has played a factor in arriving at a verdict, trumping guilt or innocence.  Once upon a time in many places, white juries refused to convict a white man of committing a crime against a black person.  These days, the door often swings the other way.

All Arkansans were horrified by the brutal assault that took the life of local television personality Anne Pressly.  Curtis Lavelle Vance was tried and convicted for this crime.  Vance was also charged with raping a young teacher in Marianna.  DNA evidence left no doubt of Vance’s guilt.  There was no  sensible defense exonerating him of the crime.  But    incredibly, the case ended in a hung jury, 7-to-5 for acquittal.  Seven of the jurors were black and five were white.   

Anyone with even a cursory understanding of history knows that blacks have frequently been denied justice in white-dominated courts.  To acknowledge, regret and strive to correct this should be the goal of all of us.  John Brummett comments on such sensibilities, adding...

But they can never be allowed to extend to the point that we extend to the point that we excuse an absolute breakdown in law and order.  All people ... must be able and willing to accept plain and overwhelming evidence of criminal guilt.  They must be willing in the vital interest of justice to punish appropriately the perpetrator, the menace to the community, no matter the skin color and in spite of understandably deep resentment and distrust brought on by long and sordid histories of racism as manifested most vividly by unfairness against blacks in the criminal justice system.

Whenever Lady Justice is portrayed holding her scales, she is always depicted blindfolded so the appearance or identity of the one standing before her does not influence the decision.  With all the accrued baggage each of us drags along behind us, this is a daunting proposition.  

But when we treat all people with fairness and honesty, we are imitating God (Acts 10:34, 35).