When Natural Justice Suffers

Daily Devotional – Sunday, January 21, 2024
One witness shall not rise against a man concerning any iniquity or any sin that he commits; by the mouth of two or three witnesses, the matter shall be established.
Deuteronomy 19:15 (NKJV)

When Archie Williams appeared on America Got Talent (AGT) and delivered a powerful rendition of Elton John’s ‘Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me’, few would have guessed that he had spent 36 years in jail for a crime he had not committed. This native of Louisiana had been wrongfully convicted for rape and attempted murder in 1982, when he was 22 years old, and had been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Law of Nature

According to The Innocence Project, “Williams’ conviction rested almost exclusively on a single cross-racial eyewitness misidentification made by the victim.” Actually, there were conflicting descriptions of the alleged perpetrator from the victim and neighbors. It did not matter that William’s family testified that he was asleep at home when the crime took place. Being a black man, Williams stood no chance before a white judge while accused of raping a white woman.

In ancient Israel, God established safeguards against injustices like the one meted out to Williams when He directed, “One witness shall not rise against a man concerning any iniquity or any sin that he commits; by the mouth of two or three witnesses, the matter shall be established.” (Deuteronomy 19:15). God knew the propensity for malice among human beings and the risk of judges being influenced to convict the innocent based on fabricated evidence.

When Natural Justice Suffers

How heavy is the weight of guilt on the conscience of the woman who accused William’s wrongfully, the policemen who conducted shoddy and biased investigations, and the judge who did not call additional witnesses or listen to William’s alibi? How often do we fall into the same trap of judging others before getting adequate evidence? Does natural justice suffer in our hands?

Today, if you find yourself in a position where you must judge between two parties, heed God’s instructions and gather enough evidence first. There are countless innocent people in physical and moral jails who, like Williams, are paying for wrongs they never committed. Many of these people never got a chance to tell their side of the story. Keep the counsel of Nicodemus in mind: “Does our law judge a man before it hears him and knows what he is doing?” (John 7:51).

Prayer
Heavenly Father, help me apply the law of natural justice in dealing with others.