U.S. Justice Sends Out a Strong Message

Strauss-Kahn’s arrest is a very strong and categorical message from the judicial system of the United States: The average man intuits that justice is equal for all and that it is better to abide by the laws than to break them.

Indeed, in only four days the police, a public prosecutor and the judge, Melissa Jackson, did the following:

– The IMF leader and presidential candidate of France was arrested.

– The official was removed from the plane as it was about to take off.

– Strauss-Kahn was sent to prison, where he remains.*

– His request to be bailed out for a million dollars was denied, and so was his offer to wear an electronic wristband in exchange for being released.*

– He was accused of seven different charges.

– Strauss-Kahn had to change his initial statement, presumably because of the strength of the evidence.

Little did North American justice care about that man having influence and being the leader of a worldwide organization.

Faced with this situation, the average man has strong incentives to believe that in his country there is justice and that he’d better abide by the laws.

The United States is one of the countries with the highest rate of people in jail worldwide, and the laws are meant to be followed. Of course, there are also deviations and vices, like everywhere else.

But the message is straightforward: a real lesson for other countries where the officials and the ones with power seldom end up in prison and their charges are nearly always dismissed.

*Editor’s Note: On May 19, Strauss-Kahn was granted bail at one million dollars and is required to wear an electronic monitoring device while under house arrest.