Due process of law is among the most important protections afforded by the Constitution. It is critical to the preservation of religious freedom, rule of law and equal protection under the law: all things we care deeply about here in Utah. We revere the Constitution. We must be the voice of reason now.
In tumultuous times, it can be tempting to restrict due process for those seen as dangerous. But we cannot know a person’s guilt without a trial. Those who sent Japanese Americans to camps thought they were in the right. The lesson we must learn is that due process is not an inconvenience or a liability — it is a barrier to tyranny and genocide, a critical safety measure that good government cannot exist without. It was intentionally created to apply to the basest criminals. No person should ever find themselves beyond its reach.
When due process is denied to groups of people based on any characteristic — ethnicity, poverty, wealth, category of crime, religion, gender, nation of origin, race, gender or legal status — it always leads to tragedy. The greatest crimes against humanity and the greatest mistakes our country has made have hinged on the denial of fair trials.
Caroline Collett
Springville