Presumed Innocent? That Really Changes Things!

Scott Ritsema | May 10 2005

Many astute Americans have come to realize that many of our basic freedoms have been eroded over the past several years. This erosion takes many forms, one of which is the end of “innocent until proven guilty.” Many recent developments in the U.S. such as random checkpoints and searches (not based on the constitutional requirement of probable cause) and extensive databases on innocent citizens have given the impression to Americans that they are now presumed guilty until proven innocent. However, rarely is it ever forthrightly stated that we are not to be presumed innocent. Until now, that is.

Even the casual observer of mainstream news will see that the constitutional awareness of even our top news anchors is very slim. In fact, it is not even apparent that the U.S. Constitution is on the radar of the mainstream news most of the time. This deficiency was so clearly illustrated during CBS Evening News on April 26. The program ran a spot on the Florida self-defense law that was recently passed. Bob Schieffer asked a clarifying question, saying, “I want to make sure we're reporting this story correctly here.” His reporter in the field then explained that this law assures that you will be presumed innocent when you have fired your weapon in self-defense. Schieffer then made a comment that left this writer in shock for a good ten minutes (though these sorts of episodes are now becoming less and less shocking). Schieffer exclaimed, “Well that really changes things; there’s no question about that.”

The fact that Schieffer and others completely neglect is that the presumption of innocence cannot be changed. We never lost our right to be presumed innocent, so no law in Florida, Supreme Court decision, or act of Congress needs to return us to the state of presumed innocence. Put simply, our rights are God-given (“endowed by our Creator”) and can neither be taken away nor granted by men. Additionally, it is worth noting that the anti-2nd Amendment bias in the reporting of this story is so nakedly obvious that it is laughable.

However, the real story here is that “broadcast journalism’s most experienced Washington reporter” (according to CBS News) thinks that being presumed innocent “really changes things.” One could reasonably deduce, then, that he also believes that, this law aside, the law of the land is that we are presumed guilty until proven innocent. Apparently, it is now openly admitted: Americans are guilty until proven innocent, and any law that presumes us innocent is radically new and “really changes things.” Sorry Mr. Schieffer, you are mistaken; this anti-American slide into a police state is what really changes things.