Time to Kill Blog - Ben Sollinger

1. It’s extremely hard to say whether or not what Carl Lee Haley did was justice. His actions were a form of vigilante justice, which is inherently both just and unjust. He has taken the law into his own hands. According to law, vigilante justice is illegal, and inherently unjust. But, in the eyes of the people, especially the jury, his actions were illegal but justifiable and understandable. In order to decide whether or not Carl Lee Haley carried out an act of justice, we must first decide on the question of whether or not emotion has a place in our judicial system. Emotions can turn the darkest of villains into a martyr. Pure objectivity is an unattainable goal. The question is whether or not we should banish or embrace our natural emotions and tendencies in the eyes of the law. Since subjectivity will always have a place within the courtroom, welcomed or not, I believe that no matter what his actions are, if his actions satisfy the “pathos” part of the jury’s mind, it will completely override the “logos”.
2. What Carl Lee Haley does is a crime of passion and revenge. The true love for his daughter drove him to commit the crime. Nothing and nobody was going to stop him from reaching his goal. He is looking for revenge for what the 2 men did to his daughter.
3. Again, in order to decide what CHL’s punishment should be, we have to answer the same question I raised in answer 1. By law, during this time in history, It is likely that he would be put to death. But because of the emotional frailness of the situation, the pathos once again outweigh the logos.
4. Up until the closing statements, the scales of justice are unbalanced. As Jake Brigance goes through his closing statement, he brings the scale to an equilibrium. But, again, to truly answer the question, we must answer whether or not emotion has a place in the courtroom
5. It matters, but obviously, it shouldn’t. We are told justice is blind, and expect for it to act accordingly. But, justice clearly doesn’t live up to it’s requirements.
6. Due process works for CLH fairly well, about as well it could for a black man in the south during that time.