~April 30th
Is the court system in the United States reliable? Are cases in the court based off of reliable evidence, or what is the best story for the media? These are questions that many Americans wonder. The American court system is about finding justice. However, this does not always occur. There are many cases throughout American history that have not come to the correct verdict. This occurrence needs to stop and we must find a way to make sure all cases are based off of pure evidence.
In The Stranger, Meursault's trial lacks the evidence needed to convict him of murder. However, he is convicted anyway and sentenced to the death penalty. Throughout his trial, both sides create stories as to why Meursault killed the Arab. However, none of them are based off of the truth. It cannot be the truth because Meursault does not give them any information to help their cases. He basically answers them with the answer "I don't know". The fact that Meursault is convicted without evidence could be Camus's way of exposing the real court system of America. He is exposing the flaw that America does not find complete evidence before deciding they are guilty.
In America, there are many cases where one could say there is not enough evidence to convict a person of murder. The case I am going to talk about is the court case involving Aaron Hernandez. Hernandez is a former NFL tight end for the New England Patriots. He has recently been found guilty of the murder of Odin Lloyd. Even though I believe he is most likely guilty, the actually court case seemed to be purely based off of assumption. There is evidence that he was in the area when the murder took place, but there is know hard proof he was at the scene of the murder or that he pulled the trigger. The fact that Hernandez also keeps stating he is not guilty makes one wonder if he is somehow being wrongly accused. Even though it seems like he is guilty, and everyone in America believes he is guilty, there is a small chance he is not.
There is a saying in the American court system that a person is innocent until proven guilty. I believe the court system needs to base court cases off of this motto. Even if it means having longer wait periods before convicting a person of murder, it must be done in order to make sure one is 100% a person is guilty of the crime they are accused of. Assumptions should not be part of the court system, Many assumptions are wrong. Should we be basing a person's life on a lawyer's assumption that they did something wrong? No.
