Justice system isn’t flawless

OPINION:

I, too, believe in the guilt of Canadian mass-murder suspects Damien Sanderson and Myles Sanderson (“Canada police hunt remaining suspect in stabbing attacks,” Web, Sept. 6). Nevertheless, whenever I hear relief in people’s voices that a suspect has been charged in a reviled crime like this, I think of that old move line: “We’ll give him a fair trial, then we’ll hang him.” 

However statistically unlikely, the average person could someday find themselves unjustly jailed, even for life. Justice-system vice probably occurs much more frequently than we can ever know about. And I’ve noticed that people tend to naively believe such ethically challenged prosecutorial — and even judicial — conduct can or will never happen to them.

These people fail to consider the potential flaws and even blatant ethical misconduct that gets committed in the law-enforcement/justice system.  It’s why I strongly believe that whenever possible, the news media should refrain from publishing the identity of people charged with crimes (especially one of a repugnant nature) for which they are jailed pending trial. If convicted, the names should be released.

FRANK STERLE JR.

White Ro​ck, British Columbia