Justice delayed is justice denied, but for who?....

  One of the most fascinating things happened almost 14 years ago when a man held up a Burger King manager with a gun when he was making a bank deposit. He was more of a boy than a man and he and his cousin actually used an air gun. The conviction for young Cornealious Anderson was for 13 years and considering the circumstances it was not unreasonable. You make bad decisions and you have to pay for them. After being bonded out of jail he was told the Missouri Department of Corrections would let him know when to report to jail. The problem or blessing was the call never came. Not for 13 years anyway.
  The real surprise of the story is what Anderson did in the 13 years. He worked, hard. He got married, had a family and started 3 different businesses. He paid his taxes and even a couple of speeding tickets. His real name, real address and real picture. The entire time he made no effort to flee or even hide. I'm sure the more time went by, the more he just kept doing what was right, the more he thought they had forgotten about him. Actually, I don't what he thought. Judging by his actions he seemed to think that anyway. Then after 13 years the MDOC found the clerical error when they went to release him. So they sent a SWAT team to his house and arrested him when he was feeding his 3 year old daughter. The piper came a calling and he answered.
  Currently he is in jail while they try and figure out what to do. His lawyer is pushing for release and the state wants him to do the entire 13 year stint. There is no question that justice has been delayed, but has it been denied? Every morning for over a decade Anderson woke up wondering if he was going to jail. That is some sort of sentence served but certainly not a jail cell. But was it his fault? No. Does that change the fact that he was sentenced? No. The state is demanding justice but the delay was on them. Justice it seems is at stand still here. The Governor can commute the sentence which is what happened back in 1912 but so far there has been no comment. Perhaps he could serve some time on weekends or do community service. I don't see how taking a productive member of our society and jailing him serves the states interest. Hopefully they can work out a logical solution. But that is not what made this so interesting to me. It was what Anderson did.
  What would I do in that situation? Would I try and make a difference everyday I was out? Start a business? Would I get married and start a family? It's hard to say without being in his shoes but my initial answer would be, not only no, but hell no. Given my destructive nature I would be much more likely to spend every day curled up with a bottle of the best thing to come out of Kentucky (except Kevin McCarthy and Justified). Or maybe I would make the rounds and visit old friends and family. Perhaps I would consider running, changing my name, my appearance and everything else I could.  How do you explain a 20 year old kid taking the path he did? You're freedom is about to disappear every time the phone rings and all you do is start a life that any man or woman or parent would be proud of? Would you do the same? Would I? Would I want a person like that in jail? I think the justice delay may not have denied justice, it may have come in a different form.

Till next......