No Matter How Corrupt Our Judicial System May Seem, It Is Way Better Than Other Countries.

McKenzie Fink


Article 3


North County Times


WORLD: American hikers fred from Iran prison


http://www.nctimes.com/news/world/article_0a13e491-9f7e-54e7-bc20-5a1782bdb726.html


The three American hikers that were released, after being held in Iran jail for two years, on suspicions of them spying.


This whole article is about how Iran has finally let two of the three hikers go after two years in the prison. Sarah Shourd, the third hiker, was freed the year before (2010). This is not the first time this has happened either. There was once a reporter named Roxana Saberi, a French Academic named Clotilde Reiss, and a businessman named Reza Taghavi that spent time in Iran jail for being accused of spying or other crimes. It also explains what little to no trust Iran and America have in each other and how it doesn't seem to be getting better anytime soon.


This article connects to what we are studying class for many reasons. Since we have been learning about the Bill of Rights I know that these people 8th Amendment was violated. This is because the bail for both men added up to $1 million dollars, even though they weren't a threat. Their bail did not match up to the crime. We have also learned a little bit about the court system and how it works from the 5th Amendment. Even in Iran, the two hikers were able to get a lawyer, but they were still convicted of a crime they did NOT commit. It was probably a biased jury, if there was even a jury, or the Iran government may not have even had a trial and if they did it was not a fair one.


This connects to my life for many reasons. For one, I have heard many stories about people who are convicted of crimes they didn't commit in other countries all the time. This makes me very sad because people don't get the amount of government protect they should/would have if their trial was in America. I have also hears many stories about Iran wrongfully holding people captive as their prisoners for crimes the didn't commit. This too is very depressing because the people their are probably given poor conditions to live in because they don't have the 8th Amendment to protect them. If I were ever put in that situation, as a captive or a family member of one, I don't know what I would do or whether or not I would be able to see my loved ones again and it's sad that people have had to deal with that.


My opinion on this situation is that the hikers should have never been in jail at all. The Iran government should have set the poor hikers free immediately after realizing they were no threat instead of keeping them for ransom. I also believe that America and Iran have to erase the tension between each other before we end up really causing damage to our countries and their citizens. There have been so many instances in which Iran has kept people prisoner because they are claiming that these people are spies and/or have committed other crimes. These situations can be stopped if both countries work together to at least become acquaintances and not mortal enemies always trying to kill each other.