This Is Our Justice System?!
Ok, so I am actually going to post a serious rant on my blog. Yes! It's true! A little nervewracking for the first time, but I feel this needs to be said, so here I go.
For those who don't know this story, feel free to check out this article on CTV's website:
You can find it here:
Ok, so this case is about a little girl who was sexually assaulted by a former soldier. He agrees that this happened but has been declared not guilty due to mental unstableness in the form of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
This absolutely sickens me. Maybe it is because I have a sister the same age as that little girl, or maybe it's just the plain fact that nobody seems to have the ability to stand up and take responsibilities for their actions anymore.
I mean, is wrong not wrong anymore? Growing up, I was always taught that ignorance is NO excuse because sin is sin and wrong is wrong. And when we mess up, knowingly or unknowingly, we still need to take responsibility for our actions and face up to our consequences. Why? Because it is NOT our right to hurt and affect someone else negatively. Unfortunately it seems that society is not following those same actions. If there's a way to get out of it, then do it (and screw whoever you can on your way)...that's what seems to be the trend.
What about this little girl? How is she supposed to deal with this? She was horribly assaulted and the message she has now been given is "It is okay to do this when you're mentally screwed up". To me it's like saying that someone can go into a house and order a person to sit back and let themselves be assaulted because "the court says it's okay because I'm mentally ill". I mean, why doesn't she go out and do something screwed up too? She could blame it on some mental issue that had arisen out of this assault (let's be ironic and say PTSD). This sickens me and I don't think it's right.
When we mess up, we hurt others and/or we hurt God. As a teacher once told me, "Freedom only extends as far as my arm". It was in reference to punching somebody. In otherwords, when you punch somebody, you have freedom to the end of your arm, but as soon as you connect with somebody's face, you have then invaded into their freedom. It is NOT our right to take away that freedom from somebody, and that is exactly what has happened to this little girl.
Now, I do feel the need to address the fact that sometimes mental illnesses cause problems with people. I don't disagree with this at all. But when something like this happens, first off, it's a sign that maybe they should be seeking help. The soldier, if deemed mentally ok now, may get off scott free in all areas, including mental help. Secondly, they still need to face up to the consequences of their actions because (as stated before) they invaded somebody else's freedom. This girl get's completely screwed over if he gets off scott free (oooo, so he has to pay a few court fees...she has to pay with her dignity). It is our right to have our freedom protected.
Her freedom to feel safe, to know that she has rights, to have privacy, to have dignityetc....they were all thrown out the window as soon as this court ruled "not guilty" on the soldier.
I'm scared to see what kind of doors this opens up in our judicial rulings. People really will be getting away with murder.
posted by Astley @ 10:39 AM
8 comments
8 Comments:
Hi Leah,
This is off topic but I thought you may want to know that I was not accepted to the Sem next year.
Steve
aww Steve, sniffles, now what are you going to do? Praying for ya
Not sure....taking time to work and consider my options
Steve
I agree with you Leah. It's disgusting the way society continually turns a blind eye to injustice and responsibility, and it's almost always in the name of some disorder which should have been addressed and dealt with in advance! If they're suffering from post-traumatic stress, then what are they doing out in the field? I mean, if they're not responsible enough to keep themselves from raping someone (esp a little girl), why would anyone in their right mind give them a weapon?
Either way, making excuses to make a sin seem excusable is never the 'right' thing to do. It's time that we start being accountable for our actions rather than make excuses for them---especially if we're Christian. Why? Because Christians know (or at least they ought to be informed) that in spite of ourselves, in spite of our sins and the consequences of our sins, we know that in Christ there is forgiveness and healing. This does not mean that in Christ we have an excuse to sin even more; rather, it means that in Christ we are given the courage to admit that we're wrong when we sin or err, we have the opportunity to repent of our sins, and we are given the strength to change (or seek change) in our life to reflect our repentance. Yet it by grace through faith, not by our works, that we have forgiveness, redemption and new life in Him; the aforesaid are good fruits that are a product of that tree of faith grown in us and through us by the Holy Spirit.
May we all hunger for, encourage one another in, teach our children and live as an example of truth, love, accountability, responsibility, repentance, forgiveness and our new life in Christ. And don't worry, God will help us; the tough part is allowing Him to help us grow in these areas (since
we're all impatient control freaks)! :p
It amazes me that people will not take responsibility for their actions. I could not live out my life if I did something like that, even if I did not know what I was doing.
Here Here
Here's a little devo that kinda goes along these lines. I thought you'd enjoy it.
http://www.lhm.org/dailydevotions.asp?date=20060630
All that you guys said is true about owning up to your mistakes. In the soldier's defense though, it sounds like he went through some crazy stuff himself and may not have the capacity to do that. Also, we only know the details we get in the newspaper and we all know how selective the media can be.
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