📜 The Dilemma:
Would you rather an innocent man go to jail (possibly be executed),
or a guilty man go free?
🎯 My Answer:
I would rather the guilty man go free.
🧠 Detailed Breakdown:
1. The Core Principle of Justice:
This question isn’t just about law—it’s about our deepest values.
The foundational principle in any just society is this:
“It is better that ten guilty persons escape than that **one innocent suffer.”
– William Blackstone, 18th-century legal scholar
This idea undergirds modern justice systems in most democracies.
Why?
Because once the innocent can be punished, the system loses all moral authority.
2. The Irreversibility of Wrongful Punishment
Let’s break it down:
- If a guilty man goes free, there’s a chance to still catch him later.
Justice can be delayed, but not necessarily denied. - But if an innocent man goes to jail—or is executed—
you can’t undo that.
You can’t resurrect a life, rebuild broken families, or heal a soul destroyed by a system that failed it.
This is not just a legal question—it’s a spiritual one.
When we punish the innocent, we become what we claim to oppose.
3. The Power of Doubt
“The evidence is inconclusive.”
That matters. A lot.
We don’t just punish based on suspicion—we punish based on proof beyond a reasonable doubt.
And when that doubt is real, the ethical response is restraint.
Think of doubt like a fire alarm in the justice system.
When it goes off, it doesn’t mean “don’t ask questions”—
It means: “Don’t act until you’re sure.”
4. The Emotional Weight
Now let’s talk emotion, because this isn’t a cold intellectual choice.
This is about fear, pain, revenge, and the need for closure.
When a murder happens, we want someone to pay.
But wanting someone to pay is not the same as knowing they should.
There’s a very human urge to just “do something.”
But justice isn’t about doing something—it’s about doing what’s right, even when it hurts.
5. Real-World Impact:
Innocent people have gone to jail.
People have been executed who were later found to be innocent.
And every time that happens, trust in the system dies a little more.
But letting a guilty man go?
That’s painful. That’s frustrating.
But the integrity of the system remains intact.
And that integrity protects all of us—including you, your students, and your families.
🧘🏾 Final Thought:
This isn’t about protecting criminals.
It’s about protecting the idea that truth matters, and that power must always be accountable to proof.
To convict without certainty is to say:
“It’s okay if we ruin a few innocent lives to feel safer.”
But we can’t build justice on the backs of the innocent.
So I’d rather let a guilty man walk…
than become guilty myself of betraying the very principle of justice.
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