Justice?

I have a half serious expression I use sometimes. ''The world would run much better if the Mafia was in charge of it!!'' Behind the statement, of course, is the frustration of how the governments of the countries of the world are run. Obviously, the legal system is on the top of my many grievances. And, the Casey Anthony decision is the latest example.... Ask yourself this: Are you really that surprised they found her not guilty? We have seen this absurd drama before-- most famously with O.J. Every once in a while, a clearly guilty person goes free because of twelve people. Chalk that up to top notch attorneys and less than top notch juries. There is outrage from the public that borders on bloodlust. But, what can we do? The system is set up to accept the verdict. However obscene it is, she is allowed to go free... And, this is where my Mafia feeling comes into play. At the beginning of ''The Godfather'', there is the famous scene of the undertaker, Bonasera, talking to Don Corleone about how the law let him down. If you remember, Bonasera's daughter was attacked by two men and beaten. He went to the police '' Like a good American''. The police arrested the boys, there was a trial, and, the boys were set free. That is when the undertaker knew '' For justice, we must go to Don Corleone''. In the book, the boys were beaten to an inch of their lives. That is the justice in the world of crime... And, yet... You are strangely on the side of the undertaker: you want these boys punished. Why? Because the law and the legal system failed. That is the same feeling I had watching the verdict on Casey Anthony. The law let us down, where is Don Corleone to correct it?... Now I must clearify something: I do not have any romantic notions about the Mafia. It is filled with horrible, despicable people who would kill their mothers at the drop of a hat. This world should not be admired. Sadly, some segments of our society do embrace it. This is wrong. Violence and robbery should never be celebrated.... But, there is that nagging and uncomfortable thought: if Don Corleone did exist in the form like in the movie, would that be justice to have him take care of Ms. Anthony?... The answer comes back to bloodlust. Do you want this woman harmed? Is it morally wrong to want her hurt? Do we play God?... I will leave that debate up to others to argue. I am torn with my decision. A part of me accepts that she should go free because the law says so. Let God be her final judge... The other part, the bloodlust part, says '' Let the bitch suffer like her daughter suffered at her own hands!!'' I really don't know, which is why its lucky I'm not in charge of this woman's fate. I suppose I believe that eventually she will get hers, O.J. did. But, how long before that happens?... One other thing about this case that is disquieting: the public, as it does so well, treats this case like a tv show. The news channels give breathless coverage of the event. Mindless people like Kim Kardashian pipe in with their two cents. Let me bring down the world's intelligence for a brief moment and quote the great sage, Ms. Kardashian: ''It is a travesty of our legal system that a guilty person like Casey Anthony can go free!!'' Really, Kim? Wasn't your old man one of O.J. 's lawyers?... Ok, now I take us all back to the land of sanity... I haven't seen it, but, I'm betting that someone, somewhere, is selling shirts with Casey Anthony on it. This is the dark underbelly of humanity-- profiting from tragedy. There will be books. There will be t.v. appearances by the people in the drama. And, if you watch out of curiosity, you will be a player in the drama too. That is also human nature... I don't know what the next major trial will be, of course. I have an inkling, though. There will be death. There will be suffering. There will be outrage. There will be people taking sides. And, the verdict will have something for people to talk about until the next media circus... And, while all of this is happening, there will be flowers blooming by a grave of a little girl named Caylee Anthony.