We Must Judge People with Criminal Pasts with Compassion
If you are like millions of other people in the United States you have probably found yourself in court facing some criminal charge. Most criminal cases are classified as misdemeanors such as disturbing the peace, criminal tresspass, and other charges. Some people who intentionally violate the law may be doing so as part of a political process, such as activists and protesters who mean no harm to other people. They may rack up many criminal charges in the course of their activities. These examples of civil disobedience are often tolerated by society but they may accrue some stigma if they become excessive.
Some people have innocently found themselves drawn into felonious activity because they were unaware of all the facts of their circumstances. Whether you’re sitting in a car while a companion goes into a store to rob it (without telling you) or simply treating a patient who comes to your door in the middle of the night (without mentioning he just assassinated the President), you may be treated badly by society because the letter of the law was broken and the police and courts forgot to take the spirit into account.
The history behind the great accumulation of criminal records is rife with mistakes. These mistakes have been recognized by numerous jurists who argue that it is better that X guilty men go free than 1 innocent man be imprisoned. While some people may question the wisdom of this doctrine, they may never have found themselves facing a criminal charge for a crime they truly did not commit.
Should the law hold us responsible for acts committed without knowing that a crime was in process? That is reasonable legal principle deserving of further investigation. Nowhere does the United States Constitution say that innocent men should be imprisoned for crimes of which they were not aware. The lack of knowledge should reasonably apply only to the situation, to the action. That is, it is reasonable to hold members of society for knowing that robbing a store is illegal — but it is unreasonable to hold a man responsible for the actions of his companions that were taken without his knowledge.
Such miscarriages of justice unfortunately are not documented in criminal records databases. If you perform criminal records searches and learn that someone — perhaps a job applicant — has been arrested and charged with a crime, if other indications tell you this person will probably be a reliable and worthy employee, you owe it to yourself to learn if the applicant may be the victim of justice gone too far — or perhaps merely a political activist with a long record or protests.
