Emmett Till and the death of Scrutiny
This past week, a woman in Louisiana died at the age of 88. Now in and of itself that may not be a newsworthy notice, the woman in question- Carolyn Bryant Donham, is known the world over as the woman whose accusations led to the murder of Emmett Till in 1955. All the world over today, people are celebrating the fact that she is deceased, and proclaiming their desire that she burn in hell for her lies and causing the death of that young man so many years ago.
What I find truly ironic, is that this "I hope she burns in hell" mentality is overwhelmingly coming from the same cabal of hypocritical leftists who have been chanting "believe all women" for the past several years. But it does raise a necessary talking point to true change that is needed in society today- should we always and everywhere take someone at their word when they accuse another person of horrific and violent crimes? Should we, as the leftists say, just take a woman at her word whenever she claims a man has violated her; and throw him under the prison, never to see the light of day again? After all, simply taking a person's "word for it", is exactly what caused the murder of an innocent young man, whose poor mother had to bury her son because a woman wanted to falsely claim sexual assault. This demonstrates the true depth of the damage that such accusations cause to those accused; a point not often expounded on by the media unfortunately. In the eyes of the public, simply being accused of a sexual assault brands you forever as guilty in the community; and no amount of recanting of false testimony or public reprieve is ever enough to scrub out the stain caused to one's reputation by such vile falsehoods.
The American Justice system is built on a venerable concept which stems from the enlightenment principles on which this nation was also founded. Realizing that false accusations (at that time but also today) had led to many a person being wrongfully imprisoned or otherwise punished, they built the legal system on the principle that all people have the right to the presumption of innocence until PROVEN guilty in the court of law; which must be made manifest by both testimony and evidence. Sadly, our world has forgotten this venerable principle, preferring instead of just laws the absolute conviction of those we despise simply because we despise them. In place of evidence, we make ad hominem accusations; proclaiming the accused guilty because of who they are, rather than examine WHAT they are accused of. It is this mentality which emboldened the men who murdered the innocent Emmett Till; who felt justified that the accused was guilty because "he should be guilty".
Whenever someone is accused of any crime, but most especially horrendous crimes that violate the dignity of other persons; we must be cautious and careful in our consideration of the accusations, lest we find ourselves falling in with the mob of the socially outraged. We must never rush to judgement, remembering always that for as many legitimate and true accusations as exist in the world; there are even more false accusations, and it is sadly the false which hold the true ones' proverbial head under water so that they themselves may receive attention. Believe all women no matter what? No. To do so goes against common sense and justice. We must support all women, yes; but always be careful that in pursuing answers and justice for an alleged crime, we do not commit a greater one ourselves and destroy a human's life with falsehood.
Here Endeth the Lesson.
May He rest in peace; and may God the almighty Lord and judge of all creation, deal with her according to His own divine justice.
