A personal favorite is when the criminal defense attorneys explain why their clients are innocent of heinous charges. These excuses usually break down into three distinct categories:
1) "They didn't mean it" or lack of malevolent intent. Therefore, if the victims died, the defendants only meant to injure them. If the victims were badly beaten, the defendants only intended to punch them once. See how it works?
2) "It was a crime of passion" or the uncontrollability claim. This is a handy and often-utilized alibi in wife-, child- and boss-beating cases. Unfortunately for the defense bar, most people in society do manage to refrain from killing and maiming those who happen to piss them off.
3) "They feel really awful for what happened" or the remorse course. This requires a great deal of melodramatic flair on the part of the jailbirds. Tears are mandatory, chest beating optional. Nothing, however, can mirror the gut-wrenching grief displayed in the courtroom by the victims' families and friends.
Certainly one of these tried-and-true excuses would materialize when James A. Miller II, an active-duty Army warrant officer, was indicted for transmitting sexually explicit images of children on his computer. Miller is the first person in Hawaii to stand trial for sending kiddie smut through the Internet.
But Miller's attorney, Brook Hart, has devised a new defense strategy.
Last week, Hart did NOT say that Miller didn't mean to do it. ("Jimmy was looking for first-aid information on children's bandages and got children's bondage instead.")
Hart did NOT say that his client was a porno junkie, or that he was sorry for having transmitted sick images of keiki engaged in various sexual acts and poses.
What Hart said was that Miller did NOT know that it was a federal crime to transmit those images across cyberspace.
He didn't know it was a federal crime? Well, then, did he know it was an international violation against humanity?
I'm no prude. Go ahead and buy adult magazines or rent naughty videos, if that's what turns you on. Get groped at hostess bars, enjoy a body shampoo or buy the favors of professional streetwalkers. We're all big boys and girls.
But leave the little boys and girls alone.
WHICH is why child pornography is such a despicable, destructive offense. There is no excuse for it. People who get their kicks exploiting children - the most helpless of the helpless - are subjecting these youngsters to heinous violations of their bodies, minds and souls. They rob them of their dignity and youth, forever.
There should be a special place in hell for those who make kiddie porn. And let's save room for the creeps who peruse it. If there's a demand, then there's a need to be filled. Children all over the world don't stand a chance.
I have a better plea for Brook Hart to consider on behalf of James A. Miller II. Forget about not guilty by reason of insanity. Try not guilty by reason of inhumanity.