Innocent Until Proven Guilty

(originally published September 15th, 2005)

I was at dinner last night with a few other consultants, and somehow the conversation came around to the last 3 high profile court cases in California, O.J. Simpson, Michael Jackson, and Robert Blake.

The two ladies, both white, were emphatic in believing the guilt of all of them. They both also said that they believe the U.S. system of law should be that people are guilty if arrested, and it’s up to the person to prove their innocence. The one other male, latino, didn’t want to offer an opinion at all, except to say he could see it both ways. I, being the black male, felt that each person was absolutely innocent, based on the shoddy evidence, the way the police did their investigation, and of course some of the witnesses brought in by the prosecution.

One wouldn’t believe it unless they’ve thought about it enough, but how one decides on the guilt and innocence of someone else, sans evidence, isn’t necessarily racial as much as it is background and income. People who are born rich and stay rich usually believe the arrested are always guilty. People who are born poor and always stay poor usually believe the cops are trying to railroad someone.

That group in the middle is the wildcard because it’s quite diverse, and that’s where culture can come into play. I consider myself as one of those in the middle because I certainly didn’t grow up rich, but I didn’t grow up poor. I’ve lived in many different places in this country because of my dad’s military background. But I did grow up black. I have been in places where I stood out from the crowd because of it. I have been singled out more than once in my life because of it. And I’ve been stopped because of it, just like many other blacks with middle class backgrounds, because we happen to be in an area where someone has decided we possibly don’t belong.

The American justice system says a person is presumed innocent until proven guilty. Rarely is it so apparently obvious that someone is guilty that it’s a slam dunk case. A lot of evidence usually has to come up to get as close to proving that someone is guilty as they can. If you have money, the evidence has to be that much stronger, the witnesses that much sharper. If you don’t, well, you know.

The reality is that an estimated 32% of black males will end up in prison as opposed to 17% Latino and 5.9% white males. For females, 1.7% are black, .7% Latino, and .3% white. And blacks on average stay in prison from 3.5 to 5 years longer than whites convicted of the same charge.

Is everyone guilty? Not even close. Is everyone innocent? Not even close. But it does beg a little more foresight and thought as to how one perceives those who are arrested, tried, and the decisions that are made based on the evidence, and how much money the defendant has to challenge what possibly might be shoddy evidence. For something interesting, check this out.