Diversity Thursday

Our Coast Guard has a lot to answer for.

The only reason this fits in to DivThu is because one of the most caustic efforts of the diversity industry is how it metastasizes in to the legal system. 

The nation’s highest military court has thrown out the 2012 rape conviction of a Coast Guard enlisted man because admirals and prosecutors packed the seven-member jury with five women, four of whom held jobs as advocates for victims of sexual assault.

In a 5-0 ruling that could change how the military conducts sex abuse trials, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces unleashed caustic criticism of all involved.
...
the Coast Guard commandant down to an appellate court to the original trial judge ... contributed to a “stain on the military justice system.”
...
The opinion, delivered by Judge Margaret A. Ryan, said the four admirals who played a role in assembling the officer and enlisted jury pool produced an illegal “gender-based court stacking.” She suggested that the admirals’ role amounted to unlawful command influence

Politics and agendas have always seeped in to our legal system. Only transparency, a free press, and a lot of money for good lawyers to force the truth out keeps that in check.

There is a special kind of evil in humans that will willingly - heck joyfully - move to destroy another person's career, family, friends, and private life for no other reason than to move a narrative forward. To promote an agenda. Or worse, to satisfy an internal need to feed some other craven desire.

This isn't the first case, and it won't be the last - but it does beg a few questions.

- After over a half a decade, how does a man get his reputation back?
- Who will be held accountable for warping the legal system?
- What will happen to them?
- What can we put in place to prevent this from happening again?

Most of us know both victims of sexual assault and those who have been accused of same. I've been around enough to know both more than I like to remember.

While we should all be focused on victims on sexual assault, not every accusation is true. There are legion of false charges, as there all with all crimes. 

If it has not already found its way in to your life, it will. You will have someone in your circle accused of sexual assault of one degree or another. If you are friends with someone who has been charged with any kind of sexual crime, do not automatically assume they are guilty. If you are truly a friend, be a friend. 

They probably will be abandoned my most people they know. Their personal and professional lives will be shattered and will never be the same regardless of what comes out of the legal system. If they are military, even if they are found not guilty in civilian courts, the military can and probably will take them to Court Martial. Double jeopardy is a thing, and is a Kafkaesque experience to watch someone go through.

If guilty, they will have family that will need support - and even they will need support if you are willing to provide it. Remember, the legal system is not totally about guilt and innocence - it is often about winning or losing. Even if guilty, he may not be. Even if they admit their guilt or you are sure of it and you cannot be in the same room as them ever again - remember their family and friends and support them.

If they are found not guilty ... and you wait until then to come back to them - don't expect to pick up where you left them off. They have a life to rebuild. They probably will have little use for such a poor quality material that abandoned them when things were the worse.

Hat tip Ken.