Retroactive Justice?

Retroactive justice. Is there something like that? The accused is executed or serves a life sentence based on cooked up evidence, a common miscarriage of justice for African Americans since slavery.

Years later, the truth comes out and he regains his freedom. Films such as The Hurricane, directed by Norman Jewison with Denzel Washington as Rubin “Hurricane” Carter, are based on such stories.

The retroactive justice I have in mind is political in nature. Take the 6 January Committee for instance. So far, U.S. courts have not found any evidence of voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election.

But what if testimony before the Committee also indicates that indeed, Trump’s voter fraud claim is a lie? Is there a loophole that can declare voter suppression laws in the South, null and void? Nineteen states with Republican legislatures enacted them based on that lie.

What if Trump confesses, although it is highly unlikely that he will admit he was just a sore loser, there was no fraud. The matter cannot be taken to the U.S. Supreme Court because it is his personal property, judging from how he stacked it.

Retroactive justice is a long shot, but is it possible?

By: Nonqaba waka Msimang.