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The pendulum swings. Each time it passes the midpoint of what justice should mean to hover over extremes that fail to serve the best interest of the American public.

We are at the extreme right of that swing now. We are the prison capitol of the world and, with the exception of China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, we are the execution capitol of the world. These are NOT things we should be proud of. These facts to not speak well of American Justice.

With a new administration and a more liberal congress, we hope to see the swing move toward the left. But let's be careful that we find a balance that does not carry the pendulum too far to the left. Neither extreme serves us as well as a measured, fair and affordable system of justice.

Some aspects of justice in America have not really changed for the better regardless of the position of the swing. Justice has always favored the white, wealthy criminal over the poor minority one. Race and economic status should have no place in the administration of justice. We need to omit the phrase "Best Justice Money can Buy" from our vocabulary.

The issue of victim's rights has a lot of play in todays courts and in the media. I sympathize with victims. That said, justice has to be cautious because justice, in order to be equal, also needs to be blind. Not just blind to color, or to the size of the bank account, but to the level of rage of victims who have a perspective that is not the necessarily compatible with the greater needs of society. Our system of justice cannot become the personal tool of any victim for exacting revenge. Justice is to protect society, not to satisfy individual desire to see the offender suffer.

I am sorry if my thinking offends victim's rights advocates but even though victims should be heard, the system of justice cannot make its decisions based on any victim's desire for revenge, either at trial or at parole, probation or pardon hearings. Why? because there is no "rating" revenge. Of multiple persons who are the victims of identical crimes, some may be forgiving while others may have the "hang them" mentality. These are personal emotional feelings that cannot be permitted to cloud justice where the facts of a crime may be nearly identical.

There is a strong tendency for legislation on sentences etc. to be clouded by victim's rights issue. This is poor thinking but understandable because law makers are politicians first and they are always looking at the next election.

I call on all law makers to put aside their future campaigns, to educate themselves and not rely on emotional arguments when justice is concerned. Your duty is to write laws that are honest, effective, practical and equitable for all. Laws that place the over all good of society ahead of the emotional desires of the few.