So Much for a Speedy Trial
The 6th Amendment under the Bill of Rights says that accusers in criminal prosecutions have a right to a speedy and public trial. That was then.
This is now. Currently, there are over 430 inmates in Cook County Jail who have awaited two or more years for a trial with 36 of those inmates waiting over five years, according to a July 7th article in the Chicago Sun-Times.
I guess it’s supposed to be a minor consolation to know that the “percentage of Cook County inmates who have waited more than a year for trial has fallen to 13.7 percent this year from 18.3 percent in 2003.”
It was noted that “the inmates waiting the longest tend to face the most serious charges” and “Whenever we have major problems here at the jail . . . it almost always [involves] the people who are here the longest,” said Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart. “These are people with nothing but time on their hands.”
A few questions come to mind:
- What is the REAL reason why these inmates have not been to trial?
- Will the recent hike in county taxes help to resolve this issue?
- Since my tax dollars are being used to care for these people, can I write them off on my taxes?
Read the entire story at http://www.suntimes.com/news/24-7/1042636,CST-NWS-jail07.article.
