Felony Treatment Without The Felony

This is an excerpt from an interview I conducted with a 42-year-old man from Massachusetts whom I will call Bob because everyone knows someone named Bob but it isn’t his name. I was introduced to him by an acquaintance who said he had some interesting things to say and personal viewpoints. I wanted to get his perspective on the legal system in Massachusetts and to ask some questions about his personal experience with it. I wasn’t surprised to learn that he thought it could use some work, or perhaps a complete purge and redo. I’m paraphrasing that because I like to keep my posts relatively PG 13, needless to say, he was less polite about it. The following is not verbatim for the same reason but the point is clear nonetheless.

Me: What do you think is most wrong with the Massachusetts justice system?

Bob: Most people I was in jail with were waiting to go to court but we were all treated like convicted felons. And going into court in a jumpsuit, from jail almost always ends in a conviction, especially with a public pretender.

Me: Do you mean public defender?

Bob: No, some great attorneys work with the courts, I have had a few of those. Then some public pretenders barely glance at your case and work it half-***ed.

Me: Do you think the problem lies in the people who work in the system or the system itself?

Bob: Both. The system itself is broken, being held up by people who are so used to it that they can’t see how broken it is and just go about their daily lives like everything is fine. The ones who want to change it and make a difference are silenced by those who want to keep it the same.

Me: There has been some reform, has it made a difference?

Bob: Yes and no. The new bail laws are making it harder to jail people but that doesn’t mean that the police can’t manipulate reports or work around the new laws or even that they acknowledge that they have changed. Law Enforcement still holds all of the cards and can decide how to use them or who to use them against.

Me: What would you say to the people that think the laws aren’t strict enough? That they are creating dangerous situations for the public?

Bob: That they don’t understand the system, or how much damage jail and the court process does to people and families; that they are putting to much trust in police and not holding them accountable when they are wrong; and that by jailing people for small or non-violent crimes or by jailing them pretrial, they are creating more problems than they are solving; and that it is costing the public more than money.

Me: Aren’t trials, judges, and juries supposed to maintain balance and ensure a fair trial regardless? And there is an appeals process.

Bob: It’s supposed to work that way, and if it did, it might actually work

Me: That is how the system is set up and how it unfolds.

Bob: In a game of he said, she said, who do you think the juries will believe? They are programmed to believe in the system and support law enforcement while fearing and distrusting “criminals”. Convicted or not, anyone in a defendant’s chair looks like a criminal, especially if they have a prior record for anything related or unrelated to the charges.

Me: That is where the evidence comes in, isn’t it?

Bob: And the attorneys can make evidence say whatever they want it to say, that is their jobs, to play angles and convince the Juries that the other side is wrong. Juries don’t know what or who to believe half the time because everyone has an agenda and their own take on what the evidence proves. The Jurors themselves are split ad seeing the evidence through the lens of their own experiences and feelings.

Me: In their place, how would you be?

Bob: As a Juror:

Me: Yes

Bob: As a juror, I’d look at the facts. Having been a defendant, innocent of the charges, and faced with jail time because of how I looked and things I did 15 years before… I wouldn’t be trusting the system or the police. I probably wouldn’t even get selected because of my past.

Me: What changes would you make to the system based on your experiences?

Bob: I’d start by making sure that anyone working in it has better training. I’d hire police that weren’t afraid of everything. I’d make the laws apply to police just like they do everyone else. I’d make sure that the system wasn’t as biased or crooked. I’d cap attorneys fees and make sure that all attorneys were equally skilled and that good lawyers were available to everyone. I also think that making anyone who works in the system spend a weekend in jail would help them learn empathy and so that they would really understand what the consequences of their actions were for others or perhaps even their own misdeeds.

Me: How would you do that?

At this point, he couldn’t come up with any real plan or solution because there isn’t an easy answer, only steps in the right direction. I tried to keep the interview focused on the system rather than sidebar ideas but he did make me think. Reflecting back on our conversation, I may be inviting him back into my chair to dig a little deeper.