Guilty Unless Proven Innocent

This is truly disturbing news. I was surfing blogs and came across this entry on The New England Republican, which ought to bother the crap out of you.

Apparently, a twenty year veteran of the Marine Corps, and veteran of three foreign wars, was dismissed from his job as a police officer because seven years earlier an ex-girlfriend charged that he had harrassed her. No evidence was found to substantiate the claims, and he was never taken to trial.

I was going to take a day off from blogging, but this just sickens me. Having been falsely accused of crimes a couple of times in my life, and having spent a few days in court on the wrong side of the bench, I've got a lot of sympathy for those accused of crimes they didn't commit. While our legal courts may require evidence to convict a person, increasing the courts of public opinion do not. Just ask Tom Delay, indicted on charges that I can't even fully comprehend. I'm not saying I like the guy, but I just can't quite figure out what was illegal. IANAL, but don't you have to show intent to intent to commit a crime in order to convict someone of conspiracy?

It's time to stop judging people prematurely. That, and I really wanted everyone to hear Dennis Walsh's story. These things need to be told.

Labels: heroes, nanny state, personal freedoms, privacy

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