Criminal Procedure Analyzed 1
The intensive study of criminal procedure has been an interesting journey. There are elements of the subject that I had never considered or evaluated. However, many of the subjects presented, including those mentioned in this particular assignment, had been mentioned in a general sense at the very least in other classes that I had completed. One of the things that have been extremely crucial to a true education is the examination of the justice system in light of the truth of the Bible. Key areas that can be evaluated in light of the Bible are witness procedures, cross-examination, and physical evidence.
The differences between witness procedures as discussed in US and state criminal law and the witness procedure discussed in the Bible are apparent. Some of these differences are as a result of different times and periods in history. In the world of today, there can be different demands on the quality of the witness’s testimony than those mentioned in the Bible. With the arrival of video surveillance and other technological advances, there has been a rise in such things as circumstantial evidence, which did not have a significant place in Biblical courts and most definitely could not convict someone of a crime. The rise of convictions based on circumstantial evidence is not necessarily something that I support. The Biblical philosophy, while being very harsh toward confirmed offenders, shows more of a concern for letting guilty goes free instead of running the risk of punishing an innocent. In addition, since God had a place in the courtroom, the guilty were given the assurance that, if they went free in this life, their sins would be punished in the next. While such a focus is not feasible in our current justice system, there can still be a greater focus on the innocent. Providing for protection for the innocent while still having common sense with such things as the exclusionary rule would be a step in the right direction.
In any interaction with witnesses, cross-examination inevitably can be addressed. This is an area where our criminal procedures tend to echo Biblical principles. Cross-examination is mentioned in the Bible, as is shown by Proverbs 18:17. I would not recommend a large shift in any cross-examination procedures on a basic level. Wheatcroft and Ellison (2012) point out that most in the justice system see cross-examination as crucial to examining the witness’s story (p. 823). This sentiment echoes that of the Bible. A key difference, however, is in how our justice system deals with perjury and how the Bible deals with lying. The justice system lists perjury as a separate offense, while the Bible says that a witness that commits perjury should be given the punishment that was going to be given to the person he or she lied about. I would then recommend that this would be followed in our own justice system, as it would be an effective deterrent to lying on the witness stand.
Finally, the way in which the Bible treats evidence is very different from that of our justice system. The Bible emphasizes a person’s word above most cases of requirement of physical evidence. For example, in Deuteronomy 21:18-21, a man and his wife can have their son stoned merely on the weight of their word. I postulate that this difference comes as a result of a difference in basic culture and respect for other people; in that society, there existed a higher regard for a person’s promise. In our day and age, a person’s word simply is not reliable enough for people to give it so much weight. While this difference exists, I do not hold that the justice system’s current protocol should change. The unfortunate fact is that people lie and cannot truly be trusted to tell the truth. In a culture where a man’s word displayed how much his life was worth, there was no need for doubt; a lie would mean death. This is not the case in American society today.
There are differences, many rather large, between Biblical procedures and those of our criminal justice system today. Some of these differences are a result of our fallen society. Others result in the miscarriage of justice. All, however, are important to examine and analyze. We must check and be willing to be honest and open before the truth of the Bible. This source of absolute truth will never ever steer us wrong.
References:
Wheatcroft, J. M. and Ellison, L. E. (2012), Evidence in Court: Witness Preparation and Cross-Examination Style Effects on Adult Witness Accuracy. Behav. Sci. Law, 30(6), pp. 821–840. Doi: 10.1002/bsl.2031
Answer the following questions for your thread:
•Did these Scriptures change or confirm your views about how criminal procedure should operate according to each topic?
•How does our current system deal with each topic?
•How could our current system change (or not) to deal with each topic in a more biblical manner?
•Provide at least 1 reference and 1 different Scripture (other than those given above) in support of your post.
Responding to a post above requires both the addition of new ideas and analysis. A particular point made be addressed and built upon by your analysis in order to move the conversation forward. Thus, the response post is a rigorous assignment that requires you to build upon initial posts to develop deeper and more thorough discussion of the ideas introduced in the initial posts. As such, reply posts that merely affirm, restate or unprofessionally quarrel with the previous post(s) and fail to make a valuable, substantive contribution to the discussion will receive appropriate point deductions.
Use other sources for your reply post not the one is given above.
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