http://www.slate.com/blogs/bad_astronomy/2013/12/07/optical_illusion_shades_of_grey.html
Please look at the link above before you make any comments.
The link above will send you to an article that will help you to realize why the scientific method is so important. Part of the problem that we face today is the lack of confidence in scientific findings. Some of the problem is that there are indeed charlatans and snake-oil salesmen around. But, most of the problem is actually due to the lack of knowledge of what is required by the scientific method. There is very little knowledge about the unreliability of eyewitness evidence, and the difficulties that many face in communicating objective observations of what they have seen.
In fact, the many DNA exonerations, which are now reaching troubling levels, point to the clearly proven fact of how eyewitness evidence is not as reliable as most people think. There is evidence that God was quite well aware of this since Old Testament times. Take a look at what the requirements were to prove someone guilty of a capital crime. It was required that there be two to three witnesses willing to testify to the crime. It was required that their testimony agree. It was required that the penalty for false witness was to be punished for the crime of which they had accused the person. The high priest, Caiphas, finally tore his robes in frustration because the witnesses to Jesus’ alleged crimes were not able to give a coherent single story among them.
The exonerations of today show that one can falsely accuse someone with no repercussions. Ask yourself, how many prosecutors have been sent to jail for falsely and criminally sending an innocent man to serve a sentence? Answer: only one, and that only for five days. The prosecutor and the police always get away with pleading that they performed due diligence. And, the person who has lost 10, 20, 30 years of their life is left bereft, and with no way of fulfilling the dreams that they had before immoral prosecutors and law enforcement officials sent them to jail.
This is why the scientific method is so important. This is why it is so important to train neutral observers. Eyewitnesses are not reliable. Elected prosecutors have no reason to hold back if there is reasonable doubt. In fact, the higher the conviction rate, the better. If there is insufficient scientific evidence, prosecute anyway. That is better than having an opponent tarnish your reputation by claiming that you are “easy”‘ on criminals. The person who suffers is the innocent drawn into a horrific process based on a lack of scientific method and a desire to punish anyone in order to not suffer an election loss.
Sadly, as long as the USA keeps claiming that we have the best justice system in the world, so long will the innocent continue to be punished. As long as we refuse to send to jail those who falsely prosecute an innocent, so long will our reputation for human rights be a false reputation. Only when there is a true system of checks and balances in the prosecution of crimes, will justice truly flow like rivers.
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