The whole ‘taking an oath’ process has always fascinated me. The sheer assumption that people are Catholic and that they would think twice about taking a false oath in front of a crucifix or a Bible, always seemed naïve and presumptuous, at least to me.
Given how most believers, especially of the Catholic type, are ready to mold and squash their Catholic teachings to fit their own convictions, lifestyles and circumstances, I don’t see how our justice system can still base itself, even if not entirely, on this concept.
This week, our regular courtroom shenanigans were taken over by the case of a woman who is being charged with perjury (lying under oath), and for making her eight-year old daughter fabricate stories of rape against her father.
The horrific events started 12 years ago, when the child was still 8 years old. Now that the daughter is 20 years old and, after the father already spent 400 days in prison, it is alleged that the mother had lied all along, and had coached her daughter to do the same.
It also transpires that before turning 16 the daughter had tried to ‘take back’ the accusations against her father but this was not enough to influence the court’s decision. Neither was the medical evidence that despite having accused her father of raping her five times, she (the daughter) was still a virgin.
As horrific as the story is in itself, the worst part of this whole saga is the inefficiency and terrible state of affairs that our justice system is in. This story is not an isolated case of gross miscarriage of justice and whilst the justice reform seems to have taken a back burner position, it can’t get here soon enough.
Before this whole story kicked off, the children (the daughter and her late brother who has since then died of Leukaemia) had filed 25 reports of abuse against their mother. They had been so badly neglected that the son had found sleeping on the streets even when he was sick with cancer.
Again, 25 reports are shocking in themselves, but what’s more shocking is that this piece of pertinent information never made it to court. The prosecuting officer’s excuse was that the reports against the mother had been made in another police division and that therefore she had no way of knowing about them. In addition, and for some reason beyond my comprehension, the father’s defence lawyer did not know about these reports either, or else did not deem fit to use this information to discredit the mother.
Contrary to popular belief lying under oath is only considered a punishable crime if it seriously effects the judgment of a case. So, for example if a witness testifies that the accused was wearing red and then photos reveal that they were in fact wearing yellow, unless that bit of information makes a difference in the legal result of the case, the witness will not face any consequences. In theory if the lying affects the judgement, like in the case of this family, then the witness will be charged, but this happens so rarely that most, especially those familiar with our pathetic justice system, are likely to take the risk and lie.
A Facebook commentator suggested that our courts should replace the Bible and the crucifix with a picture of the witnesses’ loved ones. As ridiculous as this might seem to some, I’m pretty sure that with a picture of their kids, parents or spouses in front of them, there would be more people who would think twice before ‘swearing to say the truth and nothing but the truth,’ and then candidly proceeding to lying through their teeth.