justice delay is justice denied
willam e. gladstone
a recent criminal court ruling brought home gold medals in injustice. the ruling concerning mrs. gina chiles, mother of olympian jordan chiles, evidenced a moral failure of the judiciary, the justice department and the journalists covering the story.
mrs. gina chiles got a great plea deal. she pled to one count of wire fraud for embezzling 1.2 million dollars from clients and a business partner. according the the reporting, “she was sentenced to one year and one day in federal prison for the crime, and when she gets out, she will have to repay what she stole. ” dailyuk
due to her daughter being in the olympics, she sought to postpone the start of her sentence. the federal judge granted the delay so she could ‘support her daughter throughout the olympics’ and ‘give mrs. chiles’ daughter at least some additional time to have her mother’s emotional support and guidance during such a monumental time her young life.’ ” dailyuk mrs. chiles, however, will not travel to tokyo. she will watch her daughter compete from her house. dailyuk
the justice department failed to object to the postponement request.
the judge, in this matter, is awarded a gold medal in injustice. the sentence’s postponement delayed justice. mrs. chiles’ requirement to repay the victims was also delayed. thus, the judge’s action was tone deaf towards the victims. the judge could have asked that the postponement be conditioned on a restitution payment being made to the victims. without doing so, this is a case of justice delayed. after all, isn’t justice delayed justice denied?
the department of justice attorneys who did not object to the postponement are also medal worthy. they too could have objected and asked for an accelerated restitution payment to the victims.
a number of the articles reporting on this story leave out the names of both the judge and the justice department attorneys. their names should be easily obtainable since the matter was of public record. the public needs to know the names of public officials who show contempt to victims. one day, the individuals may seek or be nominated for higher offices or positions. these articles would educated the public to form an opinion as to whether they are a good choice. to these journalists who wrote these articles, no pulitzer for you! a gold medal for injustice, yes.
in sum, this story illustrates when institutions fail to protect the public.
be well!!
if you would like to read more blog posts, click here
if you find this post meaningful, please share
The Ten Commandments Project 