Justice in the United States of America is an interesting thing, particularly in how it applies to people under the public eye. We all want to see justice done, but our definition of justice varies greatly from case to case. Stereotypes, negative connotations, and preconceived notions blind us to due process of law, and make us rage at the proper carrying out of the law. Take, for instance, the current trend to condemn professional athletes. Now, while it is certain that some athletes do like to pretend that the laws of the land do not apply them, we seem to have taken it for granted that all professional athletes behave in this way.

I have gotten used to hearing people talking about athletes suspected of crimes as if they were convicted. When the Ravens made it to the Super Bowl, people began talking again about Ray Lewis and the murder charges that had been raised against him last year. These charges were dropped, and replaced with obstruction of justice charges, since Ray apparently lied to protect his friends. Some people like to say that he got away with murder charges because he was a celebrity. The fact is that there was almost no evidence proving that he personally had done the deed. This tends to create reasonable doubt.

Another instance is the current rape charges against former Packer Mark Chmura. He is accused of taking his former babysitter into a bathroom during a post-prom party at his house and having sex with her. Interestingly enough, the star witness in this trial, a boy who supposedly saw Chmura taking the girl into the bathroom and then saw the girl run from the room crying, has changed his story three times.

Still, whenever I discuss this with people, they tend to ignore the facts of the case. Instead, they talk about football players being out of control. Ultimately, they always seem to look at me and say “You know he did it.” But how do we know this? Because he is a football player? People seem to forget that Chmura is a football player who refused to go to Washington to receive his Super Bowl ring because he thought President Clinton was such an immoral person.

I am in an interesting position during all of this, because I know the family. I have worked with Mark’s older brother Mike at a Young Life camp. I got to know him, and I often heard him speak favorably of his younger brother. While there is a chance that Mike did not know that his brother was a lecher, I tend to trust a brother’s opinion.

Could Chmura be guilty? Certaintly. We live in a fallen world, and viler acts have been performed, even by people who seem to be more “upright” than Chmura was before this accusation. In the same way, Ray Lewis might have been the true murderer outside of that bar last year. But to ignore evidence, and assume guilt because of their occupation, is wrong.

Our judicial system is far from perfect, but it is among the best in the world. We demand evidence of crimes, and are supposed to assume innocence until guilt is proven. Unfortunately, this means that some criminals will get away with their crimes. However, trying to amend this will only harm justice, and will turn our nation into a police state that convicts innocents in order to assure that the guilty are taken.

So I ask that we, as Christians, try to look at suspected criminals with as neutral an eye as possible. Everyone deserves a fair trial, from the homeless, to the middle class, to celebrities. Remember, we are all on an even plain before God.