Carrying the burden of the burden of proof

i guess i just figured out that i cannot post blogs here from my new ipad. it will not let you in the field where the actual content is typed.

anyway, i feel like i should comment on the casey anthony case and verdict, not because i know a lot about it specifically, but because everyone in the world seems outraged by the outcome of the trial. casey anthony was accused of murdering her daughter, caylee, and recently on trial for a litany of charges. there was a guilty verdict rendered on only 3 charges of lying to authorities, but she was not found guilty of murder.

i'm not really sure why this was surprising. in our courts system, innocence is presumed and the burden of proof lies with the prosecution. the defense only has to cast reasonable doubt on the prosecution's presentation of the facts or scenarios. the defense is not responsible for proving innocence.

i am also amused at how many people are convinced that she did it based on media reports. if the prosecution couldn't prove that she did it with a barrage of evidence and a parade of expert witnesses, maybe they should have just done a 10-minute newscast in front of the jury, since that is all it took to convince most of the country. seriously, people, there is a lot of information we were not privy to, and beyond a reasonable doubt is a pretty high bar.

My feelings on the question of releasing the photo...

Photos and video of Americans landing on the moon have not silenced detractors. The mere mention of JFK invokes great conspiracy theories. Barak Obama has released two forms of live birth certification, yet the "birthers" still shout. There are pictures, video, and recorded cell phone calls of the events of September 11, 2001, and a video of Osama Bin Laden claiming responsibility for the attacks, and people around the world still argue that he had nothing to do with it. This type of evidence does nothing in the way of convincing those who do not want to be convinced. Releasing a photo of a dead Osama Bin Laden, his skull blown apart by a Navy SEAL's bullet, will not help the American cause abroad, nor will it silence any who do not want to believe.

Obama made the right call when he sent SEAL Team 6 in via helicopter rather than bombing the compound in Pakistan, and he made the right call when he decided not to release the photo. I am proud of that decision, and am embarassed by those Americans who call for the release of it, just as I was embarassed by the victorious, celebratory chants of "USA! USA!" following Obama's announcement Sunday night that Bin Laden had been killed.

I remember the outrage across America when a newspaper ran the photo of dead Americans hanging from a bridge at the beginning of the Iraq war, as well as the outrage when videos were made public of Iraqis celebrating the deaths of American soldiers by dancing in the streets, laughing and burning American flags and likenesses of then-President Bush. How could we turn around and do the same thing?

I hope it is obvious that I am not condemning the actions ordered by President Obama and carried out by the U.S. military, and that I am not upset by the outcome of said actions. I just wish that Americans would realize how important it is that we pay attention to the way we react to things like this, because the entire world is watching.