Linda Fairstein. Photo: Katherine Marks/Penguin Random House via APRush to Condemn Linda Fairstein Is Mob Rule
Mob rule, which this clearly is, is morally and intellectually indefensible. The mob serves as a substitute for thought; to be the liberal purveyors for a just society and behave in such a manner is outrageous.
June 13, 2019 at 03:22 PM
3 minute read
I read with dismay of the abuse that was heaped upon Linda Fairstein, former prosecutor of the New York County District Attorney's Office. I find those who responded based upon the show “When They See Us” may be well-meaning but wrong.
Everyone has a right to their opinions, but they do not have the right to their own facts. One cannot and should not be allowed to make up facts to justify an opinion. This rush to judgment to condemn Ms. Fairstein is unfair and inappropriate. The show was interesting and impactful, but it was not a totally fair portrayal of the events. What happened to these young men is disturbing but it cannot be laid upon the shoulders of Ms. Fairstein. To see a person's reputation torn apart and this invective heaped upon her is distressing.
It was a television show for entertainment purposes. It is a docudrama for God's sake; it is a story that it claimed to be more or less true with added facts for dramatic purpose. When you add to the truth, you diminish it, once you have added to it; it is no longer the truth.
Why would we subject a person who has the respect of her community, honesty and integrity to such abuse based upon admittedly made up portions of this television series? It has not been offered as a factual piece. The issue is not Ms. Fairstein but whether one may make a judgment on a fictional depiction on what may have happened.
Is it dramatic, admittedly so? Is it said to be the absolute truth, the answer is no.
Mob rule, which this clearly is, is morally and intellectually indefensible. The mob serves as a substitute for thought; to be the liberal purveyors for a just society and behave in such a manner is outrageous.
I have been a criminal defense lawyer for fifty-five years. I have served as the president of the New York State Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. I have tried literally hundreds of cases against the system. I have defended the civil rights and liberties of those charged with crimes on a repeated basis. I feel strongly for their concerns as I feel strongly in this case for the fair administration of a judgment by the conduct of seemingly bright people in their inappropriate responses.
Long ago my mother taught me a half-truth is a whole lie.
Murray Richman is a past president of the New York State Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.
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