Justice ... For all or for some?

Have you ever wondered if the judicial system honestly works like everyone makes it out to? Recent events that have happened to my family have made me have second thoughts about the system that officials say is suppose to "protect" me.

These recent events have only caused problems for my family and I and have us thinking it protects the guilty more than the innocent.

Back in June, my sister's boyfriend was shot in the face by another person. The person who shot him hid out from the police for a few days, then turned himself in after saying he would two separate times.a He spent a couple of months in jail and then was released on bail. A bail, I add, that was set at $120,000 then lowered to only $5,000!

My sister's boyfriend however, spent about four weeks in the University of Louisville hospital. He went through two surgeries and has to have a minimum of one more, with the possibility of more later on. He has been though rehab, had his jaws completely wired shut, (he still has the back of his jaws wired shut), went through about nine days of hallucinations, and still has nightmares about what happened.

So if you ask me, my sister's boyfriend has gone through a pretty rough time. The boy who shot him got out, and they went to court to set his trial date, which was only postponed to a later date. However, the assailant is only being charged with wanton endangerment in the first degree, and assault in the first degree. I thought that if you shot someone above the chest, it is attempted murder, especially if the boy had thought about doing it before it happened.

So I don't understand how there's no attempted murder charge, along with no charge of possessing a handgun without a permit, not being charged with firing a gun in city limits, and not being charged with possession of a handgun by someone under the age of 21.

Another problem I have with the judicial system is that when they went to court, the assailant's mother kept staring at my sister. Yes, I understand that my sister was in the wrong when she blurted out in court using profanity towards the woman. However, she only had one outburst in the courtroom, and her boyfriend said nothing. The judge had said they both had multiple outbursts, which was false. When they got out in the hallway, after the police used unnecessary force to take her out, she had a few more things to say to the assailant's mother. Now, I ask, how come the officials couldn't make the woman leave which would have resolved all conflicts? There were two courtroom officials holding my sister, then two more came over and all four turned her and slammed her against the wall. She was not resisting arrest, but the officials left some horrible looking bruises on her arms.

As she was being handcuffed, her boyfriend simply asked the officers to not be so rough, seeing as she wasn't resisting arrest, and they arrested him.

They were taken before the judge soon after and he handed down a 20-day sentence to my sister's boyfriend, and a 30-day sentence to my sister. The judge said that he heard her boyfriend hollering in the hallway. How can you holler when your back jaws are wired together? You can hardly hear him when he talks, and he definitely can't holler.

Also, as my mother, girlfriend and another girl were leaving the courthouse and headed towards their vehicles, an officer stopped them and threatened to take them to jail. He told them not to take another step or say another word, or he would take them all to jail. How can this one man have enough power to take away someone's rights to walk to their car, or take away their First Amendment rights? This man didn't even have his own badge on, so that could be labeled as misrepresentation.

I'm not making accusations, but could this be a racial issue? The assailant who is free happens to be white, while the victim is black.

My main concern, though, is how can the law hand down such severe punishments to my sister and her boyfriend on their first offense, but someone who has shot and tried to take the life of someone else is out walking free.

I don't know what these "officials" are thinking, but it doesn't seem right in my book. So, when you blurt out in court you do time, but when you're found guilty of drug possession, assault, or some other severe crime, you only get probation and a slap on the wrist.

I'm glad to see that the system and judge are on my side - Not!

So the next time you see yourself in some kind of trouble, just remember, as long as you don't burst out in court, then you will probably be let off the hook.

So we need to ask ourselves, is it liberty and justice for all? Or for some?

Steven Seibech

Campbellsville

- Campbellsville Police Chief Dennis Benningfield declined to comment.