The Other Side of the Coin...Casey Anthony & Jared Loughner

So I was thinking...everyone is talking about these two people lately, you know, Casey Anthony & Jared Loughner. One allegedly murdered her daughter, and the other shot up a political event outside a grocery store (okay, that, to me, was a little bit of an odd place for some political meet-n-greet, but whatevs). Now, everybody wants justice.

Let's first talk about Loughner. He was found incompetent to stand trial earlier this week, which means that he was transferred to a facility in Missouri (Coincidence? Missouri?? Misery? I don't know...). Either way, the judge basically said that the dude is whacked out of his mind and won't be able to understand what is going on. Some people are really pissed about this. Personally, I'm not surprised.

The other trial going on that everyone seems to be following is that of Casey Anthony. Let's assume for the moment that she did kill her daughter. I'm not saying one way or another because I haven't followed the story closely enough, nor is it my job to make that determination. However, let's say she did. So these 2 people both committed unspeakable acts of violence and injustice, right? Okay, great (well, not really, but you know).

One of these people is found incompetent to stand trial, and the other is chasing her tail and can't decide which story is the truth. People in America are outraged at both of them. People are disgusted and angry and want justice. So this is where I come in with an opinion.

I would argue that our "justice system" is incompetent. Our justice system is really systematic revenge that is socially acceptable. Here's why: humans are inherently good. (I understand that this is an opinion, but it's one of my core beliefs) If humans are inherently good, no one would intentionally harm another human being unless something is wrong with that person. Criminal acts are committed out of desperation, misunderstanding, fear and mental illness. It is believed by many that Loughner suffers from paranoid schizophrenia. And it could easily be argued that Anthony suffered (suffers?) from post-partum depression, which was the reason that she killed her own daughter.

Now, justice is defined as the quality of being just, impartial or fair. That said, is it really fair to punish either of these human beings for committing an act that they were compromised mentally while committing? Wouldn't the fair thing to do be to fix the problem, rather than to kill them or lock them up? And if they can't ever be "cured," wouldn't the fair thing to do be to treat them in a mental hospital? I'm not saying that they should be held in the same facility as just anyone with a mental illness, but a confinement facility for the mentally ill who have committed crimes against humanity.

I realize that Anthony claims she didn't kill her daughter, but again, this all goes back to human nature. As humans, one of the most common reasons that we lie is to avoid punishment out of fear. So maybe now that she is in her right mind (if she even is), she is scared. Who wants to go to jail? Raise your hand! I mean, I'm not saying that lying is the right thing to do. I'm just saying that none of us can say what we would do in her situation...unless we're in it.

For me, I could never agree with capital punishment because it goes against everything I believe. It's a hell of a lot cheaper to kill the stray animal than it is to rehabilitate it, love it, and take care of it though, isn't it?

Til next time...