Today we are living in the society where the spirit of
justice and fairness prevails, and promotion of human rights is upheld as one
of the most critical virtues. Even from
a young age, students are taught about good and evil, friends and foes, and
right or wrong. Would this long-term education that encourages the sense of
righteousness, then, make everyone of us truly able to draw the precise
demarcation line between completely guilty and innocent? Even with many experienced lawyers and judges
at hand, not everyone can secure their safety or court decision they truly find
just. It is probably because there can be so many issues involved hidden behind
judging people: their own interest, stereotyped points of view or parochial preconceptions against the
defendants, or possibly the aftermath
of their verdict in regards to the judging people’s future, etc. In this
respect, John Adams was a brave man who steadfastly advocated America’s
official enemy, Captain Thomas Preston, along with the British soldiers in Boston
Massacre. It would have been much easier for John Adams to think about his own
prosperity as a promising future politician than to tread a thorny path by defending his nation’s public enemies. John
Adams’ great demeanor filled with sense of fairness reminds me of the British
theologian and lawyer, Thomas Erskine. He defended the British writer Thomas
Paine, who was imprisoned and tried for treason in England towards the late
1700s. The reason for accusing Thomas Paine of treason was because he wrote the
well-known pamphlet titled The Rights of Man in defense of the French
Revolution. Although writing this type of pamphlet was considered an evidence
of treachery by the British royalty and government, it was in Erskine’s mind
that the verdict against Thomas Paine was no more than mistaken opinion. As an
Attorney General for the Prince of Wales, Erskine could be in dilemma between
advocating the justice and securing his own career. However, he was never deterred from defending Thomas Paine,
since Erskine believed in freedom of speech. Eventually, Erskine was dismissed
from office, but he never regretted the fact that he had stood up for Paine.
The strong voice that supports and defends the rights of the
accused still continues today. A good example of defending human rights of the
accused is a law professor named Mark P. Denbeaux of Seton Hall University in
New Jersey. He was one of the defense lawyers for the detainees at Guantánamo
detention facility. As the U.S. and the rest of the world were united against
the terrorism, the treatment for the Guantánamo detainees must have been harsh
and relentless. In the midst of this strict world atmosphere, the defense
lawyer Denbeaux was strongly determined to protect the rights of the detainees
and published “Report on Guantánamo Detainees” on February, 2006. Against the
nationwide criticisms or threats against his support for the detainees, he did
not give up his faith to fight for the truth and just cause in our society. His
loyalty as the U.S. citizen might have been doubted by many. In spite of it
all, professor Denbeaux wanted to prove that the detainees were being
maltreated and suffering from severe physical abuse in a barren land of human rights and democracy.
In order to foster true fairness and respect for basic human
rights in our society, people should depend more on rational decisions than on
emotions such as hate or animosity to judge the accused. Furthermore, defense lawyers and politicians
who champion the cause of justice
need to be brave enough to break free from scornful attitudes towards their
work. With people like Erskine and
Denbeaux continuing to defend the basic rights of suspects all across our
society, President John Adams’ spirit of justice will continue to make a bold
impression on generations ahead of us.
Expressions
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parochial:
having a very narrow-minded or limited outlook/ vision for something
-
aftermath:
some negative effects as a result of something bad
-
to tread
a thorny path: to go through hardships/ difficulty
-
to be
deterred from: to be discouraged from doing something
-
to stand
up for someone or something: to support or defend something/ someone
-
barren:
sterile or lifeless
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