-The Chief Commander: Chronicle page 3
Hello. As a teacher in my by-gone twenties I had concluded, a little hastily, that our laws and system of justice, especially “criminal” justice, were tilted and lopsided in favour of the criminals.
That’s because since then I would read of numerous failed prosecutions, botched trials and acquittals of accused. By my forties to fifties a more matured me tempered my impatience. For besides studying what a good prosecutor must prepare and competently present, a good articulate attorney-at-law could explain simply, even persuasively, why every criminal and civil piece of law was/is fashioned as it is. Every law, we would be told, is at the service and protection of us all – accused, complainant, related stake-holder. The framers aimed for just adjudication and decisions. Still described as “justice” by and from our Courts of Law.
So a few years into this now 26 year-old column I essayed a few pieces on “Why criminals go free”. In my layman’s style and based on public reports, I listed what magistrates, High Court and Appeal court judges found wrong with prosecutors’ presentations. Results/decisions meant that very guilty accused would be deemed “innocent” and set free. “Proving” guilt was deficient.
