What is justice?
For some it’s being able to take a stand and have your opinions valued, or to be declared not guilty for a charge of which someone was falsely accused, and sometimes it’s being served on a first come basis.
A large portion of the time the word “justice” is associated with the law, specifically in the courtroom. Justice is served when the legal system gives proper punishment or fair treatment. We desire to have justice. It is an assumed right that we ought to deserve as human beings, yet the right to justice remains problematic in law.
. . .
In July 1973 Robert Garrow murdered four people. He was the suspect in the middle of one of the largest manhunts until he was found 12 days later. He desired to have Frank Armani as his defense attorney in trial, as Armani has served Garrow in the past. Working together, Armani with his friend Francis Belge, one of the best criminal defense lawyers in central New York, strived to get Garrow a non guilty verdict on the account of insanity.
While investigating Garrow’s case, he admits to the murders and gives a detailed explanation as to where he hid two victims bodies. The victims he was referring to were still presumed missing and the police were actively searching for the young women, 21-year-old Susan Petz and 16-year-old Alicia Hauck. Armani and Belge discovered the bodies (both men were present when finding Petz and Belge was alone upon finding Hauck) and told no one. They attempted to use the information to bribe the prosecution into helping achieve a non guilty verdict, but the prosecution didn’t agree. Armani even kept his mouth sealed when confronted by the father of Susan Petz, pleading for any information he may have.
While in trial Belge made the mistake of revealing their knowledge. There was public outrage. The two men received death threats, vandalism, and were forced to equip themselves with weapons in order to prepare for the worst.
However, the law (and the legal community) was on their side.
Their story and case, referred to as “The Buried Bodies Case”, is used as an example taught in law schools across the nation, and is the topic of interest in this episode of RadioLab. The men were relieved of any charges relating to the failing to report a dead body due to the fact they were following legal ethics in maintaining confidentiality with their client.
Was there justice in this situation? Garrow was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison due to second degree murder. He was given the proper punishment for his crime meaning that justice was served, but it doesn’t feel right.
Legal ethics seem to play an interesting role in the idea of justice in the courtroom. We hold up our hopes that justice is served on some high pedestal even while the complex compilation of ethics used in law sit in a dingy lawn chair at the bottom, poking justice with a stick in an aggregating manner.
A large reason this becomes so complicated is the line we draw between legal ethics and our own morals. Most of us would make the decision that it is morally correct to tell the families of the hidden bodies to ease the family that has lived lacking sanity and to allow for proper burials. But ethically (according to the legal community) it is correct to keep the bodies’ locations secret in order to preserve the information and told by the client and the client’s confidentiality.
It’s hard to tell how there’s such a difference in two sides that fundamentally believe they’re doing the same thing while striving for the same goal that is justice, but the difference is evident. Interestingly enough, I personally find it hard trying to find a winner. They both debate inside my head, but they both seem correct.
So, how would you define justice?
The Cons of Writing 