It's not a criticism, it's an observation...
Media kills American justice
Mike Cox

We had been released from Tuscaloosa High for the day. Ronald was driving the most dangerous automobile ever manufactured. I was riding shotgun. I think it was 1967.

Randy came flying up beside us. Enough bad stuff happened in his 1960 Chevy to condemn 30 people to Hell. He wanted to race down 15th Street. We obliged for two blocks then stopped for gas.

After we continued our journey, we saw Randy on the side of the road talking to a cop, which wasn't unusual. A red Corvair identical to Ronald's was also there. Randy told us later they were pulled over for racing down15th Street. The guy was adamant. He had not been racing anyone. The officer refused to listen and wrote tickets for both of them.

When Ronald got mad, he looked like Chuck Connors, the TV star who played The Rifleman. Lucas McCain got that expression when anyone messed with his son Mark or when facing a lynch mob.

Usually the sheriff had been knocked out by a rock, and the prisoner was about to be strung up. Lucas appeared in time to save the victim and the town's reputation.

Today, we still have lynch mobs. When Michael Vick was first accused of dog fighting, PETA demanded justice without waiting on the courts. Every sports columnist weighed in on the Atlanta quarterback' s situation. The story aired more than the war in Iraq.

Barry Bonds is considered a cheater even though no one has actually caught him. Circumstantial evidence and public outcry indicate guilt of something. We continue to assail his character, mostly because he's such a jerk.

Bonds has never been formally accused of anything, never failed a drug test, or linked to anything other than disdain for every fan and sportswriter on the planet. Yet, we still hate him.

O.J. was found not guilty, but no one accepts the verdict, mostly because he was convicted on CNN for months before the actual trial. We all knew Gary Condit killed Chandra Levy until Wolf Blitzer found something else to occupy his time.

Sometimes the media is right; sometimes they are wrong. Either way, due process is lost as all forms of media rush to sell advertising by being the first to declare someone's unsubstantiated guilt.

Vick decided to plea bargain after his homies rolled over like Lab puppies. Life long posse members who have lived off Vick's fame for years were shoving each other aside to be the first to claim Vick was the ring leader and bargain for an easier sentence for themselves.

Vick's lawyer had declared the quarterback's innocence weeks earlier and promised the Virginia equivalent of the mother of all battles. Now the quarterback is sorry for his mistakes and wants to get the best deal he can. And he's wishing he had friends like Barry Bonds.

The trainer accused of giving Bonds steroids sits in federal prison, refusing to open his mouth while Barry makes millions and extends the home run record. Even the guy in the other Corvair got a better deal than that.