Mexican Justice and the Bird Rock Bandits

The concept of justice is allusive. Some view justice exclusively as retribution - he got what he deserved. Others view justice as equal treatment: financially, educationally, legally, socially and spiritually. God views justice differently.

Two events took place this week that caused me to stop and think about justice.

Dave C organized a meeting between the Government of Mexico and the SDPD. Ranking officials from both sides of the border met to discuss justice in Mexico. In Mexico you are guilty until proven innocent. Therefore, to prove the case a confession is helpful. Mexico has been widely criticized (rightly so) for torture. They do get confessions. It is not known how accurate they are as most people are willing to say anything to avoid pain. One kid wanted for murder here in the US was caught in Mexico at our direction. After being in the hands of the Mexican police, he begged for our detectives to come get him. He was afraid of another interview in Mexico. Their justice system can also be slow. It is not out of the question for someone to sit in jail for years (4 or 5) before going to trial. If you are involved in an accident with injuries it is not unusual for the police to throw everyone in jail and wait for the courts to sort it out. It gives your in good hands with Allstate a new meaning.

After 200 years of the Mexican accusatory system where the defendant had to prove his innocence, they are moving to a legal system like ours. I spent some time with the equivalent of the DA for Baja California, Mexico. A bright and capable woman, she is eager to see how the police in the US put homicide cases together. I asked her, through David, why this new justice system was so important to her. She said, “God expects us to be just. When people sit in jail for 5 years before they are tried we are unjust. I want to fix that.” She also mentioned corruption. As we talked I learned she meets for a weekly Bible study to learn God’s idea of justice. She believes, and rightly so, God brings justice through his followers. Christians should be the center of just thinking.

Also, last week the Bird Rock Bandits were sent to prison. Finally! They are a group of thugs who grew up in La Jolla, preyed on others and knew they would get away with it. They came from privileged families in one of the wealthiest communities in the US. After drinking heavily they got into a fight with a slender built surfer and the four of them beat him to death at the doorstep of his mother’s house. They had little remorse. As part of their probation they were not to associate with one another, use drugs or fight. One of the bandits tested dirty 9 times for drugs. The lead detective on the case, Sandy, heard they were at a club downtown drinking with each other and mocking the victims girlfriend. Sandy went to probation and demanded they violate the terms of their probation. Officers went and scooped the bandits up and held them until the sentencing judge could order a probation report. When he got the report and with pressure from the DA and community, the judge who said they were NOT gang members, but misguided youth, sentenced them to three years in prison. He did everything he could to minimize the impact of the justice system on these violent men. I’m not so sure he would have been so gracious with them had they been from southeast SD and black or Hispanic. History shows they would have been convicted on a gang crime and spent multi-years in prison. It was a stark reminder of how close injustice is.

So, then how does God see justice? The Bible gives us a glimpse. The word justice in the English language is captured in the idea of the legal system. Not so in Biblical times. It gave the idea of “comprehensive well being, wholeness and peace.” (Marshall, Beyond Retribution, 2001) In the Biblical context justice is also interchanged with righteousness. Its about being, talking about, and brining about what’s right. God delights in what is right, hence righteousness. There are over 2,000 verses in the Bible that speak to the idea of justice! Here are just a few.

Amos 5:21-24
“I hate all your show and pretense” the hypocrisy of your religious festivals and solemn assemblies. 22 I will not accept your burnt offerings and grain offerings. I won’t even notice all your choice peace offerings. 23 Away with your hymns of praise! They are only noise to my ears. I will not listen to your music, no matter how lovely it is. 24 Instead, I want to see a mighty flood of justice, a river of righteous living that will never run dry.

Zechariah 7:9-10
9 “This is what the LORD Almighty says: ‘Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another. 10 Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the alien or the poor. In your hearts do not think evil of each other.’

Matthew 25:31-46
31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. 32All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. 34″Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ 37 ″Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ 40″The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’

Gary Haugen, founder of International Justice Mission “…when it comes to seeking justice for the hurting in our world, God doesn’t have a special roster. He intends to use you and me. He doesn’t have any other plan. In fact, it was precisely for such good works that we were created; they don’t save us or make us righteous before God, but they allow us to fulfill the Godly purpose for which God created us…”
Are you fulfilling the purpose for which God created you?