Sunday, April 5, 2009

A guilty verdict does NOT mean justice


Some of my more militant brothers are celebrating the conviction of former police officer Raphael Lora for manslaughter in the death of Fermin Arzu.

The account, according to the only survivor, went something like this. Mr. Lora heard a crash outside his home. Though off duty, rather than go to assist the driver, he armed himself and proceeded to ask for the license of Mr. Arzu. He goes so far as to admit that Mr. Arzu was in a drunken stupor. For whatever reason, Mr. Arzu did not comply, according to Mr. Lora, and proceeded to drive off. Mr. Lora claims his arm was in the window and that he sought to protect the rest of the neighborhood from this drunk driver, so he shot Mr. Arzu... in the back... as he fled...in the back....did I say in the back?

Well, the police have a tactic they often use to escape the scrutiny of their "peers". They choose a bench trial as is their legal right. In a bench trial the judge is the only jury member...logically, if a judge sees criminals all day long, and understands the difficulties police have to deal with, not to mention the fact that they are painfully aware of how plea deals and technicalities often skew justice towards the undeserving, then surely that judge will be more lenient/understanding towards a officer of the courts. NOT THIS TIME, Bronx Supreme Court Judge Margaret Clancy applied the law, and fairly adjudicated the case. Of course the police are not happy. Of course the family of Mr. Arzu is not exactly on cloud nine, they stated no verdict can bring back their father.

Now here is the cautionary portion of this sordid mess. A guilty verdict, does not mean justice. We, the public, cannot determine justice until sentencing. Many cases have been won at trial only to be given a sentence so trivial as to liken a murder to stealing a candy bar. While we should never celebrate the downfall of anyone, we should be reassured each time a proper punishment, suiting the crime, is meted out. This is what tells us the system that still treats us unfairly is not totally corrupt. Wait for the sentence in this case...with any luck, justice may very well be served after all.

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