Thank goodness for the legal system. If it wasn’t for it, Aaron Hernandez would be sentenced to life behind bars already. In the court of public opinion, he has already lost.
The evidence given by the prosecutor in yesterday’s arraignment was shocking. Text messages around the time of the shooting. Absence of security footage from that night. A laundry list of items read off in the ten or so minutes that led the majority of fans to write Hernandez off as guilty.
While that list is certainly compelling, it is not fair to write him off as guilty just yet. What was heard was one side. Ten minutes by the prosecutor laying out their side of the story. For many, that has all they needed to hear to reach a conclusion. Case closed. The trial now just a formality.
Why does a conclusion have to be reached now? Is the “get it first instead of right” mentality by the media rubbing off on everyone else? Innocence or guilt will be the ultimate conclusion but for now, there’s a third option.
Wait. Suspend judgment. Listen to what the defense has to say in attempting to refute the prosecution’s claims. Maybe they’ll build a good argument. Or maybe it’ll be as flimsy as the case appears right now. It’s impossible to say.
And that is why it’s equally impossible to make up your mind on Hernandez’s guilt. For a trial that will take weeks or months to complete, reaching a conclusion after just two days is absurd even in the face of so much evidence against. To put it in football terms, it’s picking a winner after the first drive.
This is not a defense of the former Patriots’ tight end. It is attempting, and failing, to understand the need to call him guilty today.
Aaron Hernandez will get his day in court. A chance to tell his side of the story, refute evidence, and possibly even take the stand. The legal system will provide the best avenue for the truth.
Thank goodness for that.
