WHICH IS MOST DEAR - OUR LIBERTY OR OUR SAFETY?

By Edwin Cooney

A few days ago, I attended an after dinner presentation by an attorney who defends those charged with offenses in federal court.  During his presentation he made two outrageous assertions.

First he asserted, although he defends them, that many of his clients are guilty and ought to be imprisoned.  Second, he asserted that due to the public’s expectation that prosecutors aren’t doing their jobs unless they convict, too many prosecutors are more interested in convictions than they are in genuine justice.  Thus, the defense of the accused takes on a vital importance in the ongoing assurance of both our freedom and our safety.

Many of us cling to a false belief that the vast majority of people indicted for a crime are guilty.  Otherwise, we tell ourselves, why would they be in a position of vulnerability to indictment?

Generally, you and I are most concerned with three things: our safety, our prosperity and our convenience.  Hence, since we’re usually removed from sufficient knowledge of the circumstances of most alleged offenses, we too readily assume that most, if not all, under indictment are guilty as charged.

My question to our after dinner guest was: “Mr. Greenwald, if I were to tell you that I’d rather see 10 guilty people go free than let one innocent person be convicted, would you agree with that?”  His response was indeed he would.  Since prosecutors are evaluated by the public as essential guardians of the people’s safety, the conviction of the indicted too often, in the public mind, takes a higher priority than justice.

Certainly the public’s safety is one of the absolute essentials of a free and just society.  Still, it seems to me that our fear and loathing of criminals (whether violent or nonviolent) too often blinds us to the vulnerability of our individual liberties!  Therein lies my streak of libertarianism.

As I listened to Attorney Greenwald, I became aware once again of the individual’s historic vulnerability to both accusation and tyranny.  While our personal safety is vital, it seems to me that government’s top priority must be the protection of our liberty.  A guarantee of our liberty provides a well-informed public with the essential tools to control government and provide for its own safety and security.

At the close of his presentation, Mr. Greenwald asserted that indictment for a crime, regardless of guilt or innocence, is one of the most devastatingly demoralizing occasions one can ever experience. One need only recall the occasions in life when someone pointed an accusing finger at us over a circumstance that was far from being the least bit criminal.  Nevertheless, such an accusation can constitute a lingering embarrassment and distortion of our intentions, actions, or our personal values.  It’s almost impossible to imagine how demoralizing a legal accusation can be.  Such an accusation is a life-altering experience even after one has successfully weathered its force by being declared not guilty.  This is particularly true when one realizes that in the public mind there is the firm conviction that “not guilty” and “innocent” are not the same.

Because liberty guarantees our access to every just and desirable attainment in life and is so vulnerable to personal and official accusation, its protection is the ultimate guarantor even of our ultimate safety.

A people vulnerable to unjust prosecution are no safer than the most helpless victim of the most ruthless thug!

RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED,

EDWIN COONEY