FREE ESSAY ON FERGIE JENKINS

FERGIE JENKINS

FERGIE JENKINS: WHAT IS JUSTICE?
Justice: Fairness. A state of affairs in which conduct or action is both fair and right,
given the circumstances. In law, it more specifically refers to the paramount obligation
to ensure that all persons are treated fairly.
-World Wide Legal Information Association (www.wwlia.org/dict-jk.htm#J)
To do justice: to ensure that all persons are treated fairly. Fergie Jenkins was not
treated fairly. He was let off, even though he committed a crime and admitted his guilt.
As you will see here, Fergie Jenkins did not receive justice.
In order to treat all persons fairly, a set of laws -and corresponding punishments- must
be set out, and adhered to when the situation described therein occurs. Justice would
state that if a certain crime is committed, and proven to have been committed, then a
certain, predefined punishment is the consequence for that crime.
All cases are, of course , subject to some form of leniency given unexpected or
extraneous circumstances. A case like Fergie Jenkins, however, is a normal case occurring
under completely normal circumstance. It is therefore subject to the punishment that has
been selected and imposed as being appropriate to the offence. In this way, judges do not
need to make up a sentence, and there is conformity throughout different locations as to
crime and punishment. 
In this case, Fergie Jenkins was caught possessing cocaine, an illegal narcotic, in an
amount sufficient for personal use only. He pleaded guilty immediately to the charges
against him. For this crime, the punishment has been set at a fine of $1000, and an
optional 30 days in jail. The judge is supposed to have no discretion, which protects
his/her rulings from personal biases or emotions. Fergie Jenkins committed a crime, and
justice would dictate that he be punished for it. Instead, he was given an absolute
discharge, letting him off the hook with no criminal record. This was not justice, he was
not treated fairly. The judge took pity on him because he knew a conviction would destroy
Fergie's career. This brings to mind an old saying: don't do the crime if you can't do
the time. Fergie Jenkins should not have carried or done cocaine if he was not prepared
to accept the consequences if caught. As such, justice demands that for the possession of
cocaine, Fergie Jenkins should have been fined $1000. He was not, he was let off the
hook. Fergie Jenkins did not receive the justice that he deserved.