Ah, the Sweet Smell of Bigotry in the Courts....

In English class, we were discussing possible discrimination in the courts on the basis of race, because we read To Kill a Mockingbird. I don't think that race counts against people as much as it used to. People are discriminated against in court on the basis of money, influence, and gender. Martha Stewart, for example, was found guilty of obstructing justice and lying to investigators while her male Enron counterparts are still being tried, to my knowledge. Martha paid time in a correctional facility and served home confinement, while Jeff Skilling and Ken Lay were only held to await their trial. Martha’s trial was executed rather quickly, and she served prison time, while the two men have only been indicted. This shows discrimination between the genders. No longer are people discriminated against by race in today’s courts, but by money and influence. O.J. Simpson’s double-murder trial was held in 1995. Simpson’s hair was found on both of the victims’ clothing, and his blood was found at the Bundy household, yet he was found to be not guilty. Although Simpson’s wife was one of the victims, he never put considerable effort into finding her killer. O.J. Simpson never testified at the trial, unlike most convicted felons believed to be innocent by the jury. Although Simpson is a black man, he is an affluent black man with many prominent friends. No longer would his statements be considered invalid simply because of his color. Rather, O.J. Simpson was acquitted of a double-murder because, arguably, he is a wealthy former-NFL star. This shows that courtroom bias is no longer based on skin color.