I momentarily paused while presenting a prosecution witness in a criminal case. What struck me was the witness’ answer when asked why she decided to testify (she first saw the victim when the incident happened; the victim died). She said that if she should be a victim, she would also want others to testify for her.
Bottomline, justice should be done (I was about to use the word “shall”, but I guess you know why I used the word “should”).
This echoes the Golden Rule. “Do unto others as you have them do unto you”. Stated in the other way around, it goes: “What you do not want others to do to you, do not do to others” (Confucius). Yet, it’s better said than done. It’s never easy to testify in a criminal case, especially if someone already died.
In the same way, it’s also difficult to watch someone do unjust things and get away with it. As I said somewhere, what should we do when dishonesty (or injustice) stares us in the eye? Should we blink and just wait for others to blow the whistle? Should we speak out and risk retaliation?
You have the answer.
