Loading ...An Open Letter to a Few Friends
This week’s controversy surrounding the Congressional Race in Indiana’s 7th District has been rather interesting to say the least. There have been posts on a number of blogs and mainstream media outlets about the case, so there’s no need to rehash any of that. What I will say though is that this entire incident made me think about domestic violence.
Knowing what I do about the subject and the fact that some people very close to me have been the victims of it at one point in time, I find it reprehensible that a man (and in some cases, women) would beat their spouse or significant other. For every domestic battery that goes reported, there are many that don’t. In same-sex relationships the numbers are even more staggering.
We have changed laws to make it easier to prosecute domestic violence cases because of the nature of the crime and the unwillingness in many instances of the victim to come forward. However, there is one thing that has not changed in the way we treat domestic violence cases, the defendant is always innocent until proven guilty. But somehow in the debate this week, that seems to have been lost.
As an attorney, I took an oath a few years back to uphold the law. And a fundamental principal of the law is that we use judges and juries to declare guilt or innocence and not public opinion or the blogosphere. A number of anonymous and not-so-anonymous individuals have accused the Republican candidate in the 7th Congressional District of being a wife beater and just no damn good. Is it true, only he and wife truly know what happened that day in August 15 years ago. And despite the police report, case file and innuendo, one thing we know for sure is that Eric Dickerson was never found guilty of a crime.
Might it have been because his wife and daughter chose not to testify? Maybe. We don’t know. Might it have been because the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office back in 1991 dropped the ball? We don’t know. What we do know is that there was never a trial and never a finder of fact. There was never a verdict of guilty. I know some people may find this hard to believe, but in America, people are still innocent of crimes until proven guilty. If we are going to declare people guilty of crimes simply because of police reports, but no trial or pleas, then we have gone down a road that is far away from what I was taught in law school.
I find it very disappointing that quite a few people whom I call friends, although I may disagree with their politics, have decided to declare someone guilty without the benefit of due process. By taking this tactic they are now no better than the system they want to change and make fair for the poor and disenfranchised. On any given day they will point to the innocence of someone wrongly convicted of a crime, but in this case, where there are simple political differences in ideology, they have decided to convict someone who has never been found guilty.
I ask my friends to truly think about the precedent they set, because it lays the moral foundations on which they stand. You cannot accuse the system of being unfair to the poor, to women and to minorities when you yourselves have adopted the same techniques of their oppressors.
If there is anything good to come out of this I hope my friends (and I still call them friends despite our differences) will not sacrifice the principles which make them admirable for the expediency of politics. Let us have the debate over the serious issues of the day, be the war on terror, the economy and making our communities safer and our schools better. But a strategy of guilt by police report, rather than by a jury, is a disservice to the values that you hold. And it opens the door to path that serves no one.
Let’s debate, let’s discuss, but let’s not loose sight of what is important. And let’s not sacrifice principle for politics.
September 22nd, 2006 at 7:09 am
I’d like to know your statistics for “In same-sex relationships the numbers are even more staggering.” As far as I know the only “research” on that subject was done by the Family Research Council - you know, the place that says LGBT folk will burn in hell and can “overcome” their sexual orientation.
Face it, we’re just like you. We’re not a boogeyman to foist all of society’s ills upon.
September 22nd, 2006 at 8:00 am
The not guilty presumption is extremely necessary as procedural matter for determining when the Government can take action against you for your alleged commission of a crime.
As a societal matter not involving the overwhelming power of the government, there is a different standard. Does Dickerson’s case rise to that lower standard? I don’t know. It’s right on the edge. You’ve got Dickerson and the alleged victim denying anything untoward happened, 15 years later. At the time of the incident, you’ve got a (theoretically) disinterested third-party in the person of the police officer recording some pretty specific details suggesting abuse.
Could the police officer have had ulterior motives that make his report unreliable? Certainly possible.
So, it’s a toss up. Similarly, I don’t believe Carson’s protestations when she says that disclosure of this incident was unintentional, or whatever she has specifically said to that effect, — even though she was never convicted of such malicious behavior in a court of law.
September 22nd, 2006 at 7:51 pm
Great post Abdul! And Browning, you’re missing the whole point here.
September 23rd, 2006 at 9:18 am
Wilson 46201 aka Wilson Allen, former Clerk for Center Township, is reported to be researching files in the Center Township Assessor’s office for information on members of Eric Dickerson and his family members’ property and assets for Julia Carson and Company.
My message to Wilson; While on the payroll of Center Township, you have spent numerous hours in the City-County Building researching files with the intent to destroy the credibility and reputations of any opponent to members of the Ghetto Mafia.
Ghost employment is a violation of Indiana Law. You have cheated the taxpayers of Center Township with your time spent during the hours of 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. performing tasks which were not associated with the duties of Clerk. Your primary purpose is to discredit candidates who oppose Julia Carson, Carl Drummer, Tony Duncan and others on the Democratic Party’s ticket.
Your comments on these blogs are proof that your intentions are to use their personal information to defame, discredit and to damage the individual’s credibility in this community.
More recently, you have attacked the credibility of Atty. Darla Williams for her past association with the Marion County Coroner’s office.
It has been disclosed that Atty. Williams was in charge of the transition team for Dr. Ackles when he first assumed the duties as Coroner.
Atty. Williams was not involved with any of the day-to-day decision making in the office. You have slandered her reputation on these websites. It is no secret that Julia Carson wanted to appoint all employees in the office and control the selection of vendor contracts.
Dr. Ackles would not agree to this arrangement. Therefore, it can be concluded that your loyalty to Julia Carson has blinded your judgment when making vicious and unsubstantiated comments regarding the reported incidents in the media.
You have continued to insinuate malicious allegations against Eric Dickerson a congressional candidate running for the 7th District seat
September 23rd, 2006 at 9:20 am
To All Concerned:
It is time for Julia M. Carson, the incumbent congresswoman, soon to be retired in the 7th District to answer the charges made on these blogs. No other person can speak for her. The voters have a right to know if the charges are true or false.
Not Andy Jacobs, Wilson Allen or any of her supporters can answer to these allegations for her under the penalties of perjury.
If she chooses not to answer, voters may assume that she is guilty as charged.
The websites have been flooded with opinions and comments. My name has been mentioned numerous times in a negative way by Wilson Allen 46201. If you do not have proof that she was not involved in these events, you must remain silent until she responds.
At the appropriate time, I will produce evidence and witnesses.
Enough said regarding any comments I have written on these blog