Some brief thoughts on the Media and our Judicial System

(as couched in the verdict levied today in the Casey Anthony trial)

Here is the problem with the media being so intertwined with our justice system… After watching the Casey Anthony case, the public at large now thinks they have the right to judge and and lay down a guilty verdict upon her, regardless of the court proceedings, and regardless of how the jury came to their verdict.

While the media filters ‘facts’ through their ratings tinted lenses, we all seem to have forgotten that 12 jurors had to deliberate, vote, and lay their determination based on the proceedings and facts presented. Is it so difficult to believe that perhaps the media has skewed our perception of what may really have happened? Do we all really think we know better because we saw a 30 second spot on TV or read a 3 paragraph news article? I’d love to hold the media as greatly responsible for the deep distrust society has for our system, but really, I can only blame our own arrogance;  our own belief that we know better because we have a little knowledge.

I know I wasn’t on the jury; I have no place to lay blame or judgment. I, for one, can only identify 12 people who DO have that capability and responsibility. The rest of us get to trust that their decision was more well informed and thoughtful than ours ever could be with only the media to influence our perception of the case.

The media has served to thoroughly break our trust in the system time and time again by providing tidbits of information disguised as fact. And, once broken, that trust is near to impossible to regain… even once we realize that cherry-picked facts never provide the whole story; that our condemnation of the accused may have been misguided by poor journalism standards and partial truths.