A Prosecutor’s Duty; or, Of Creeps, Weirdos, and Those Who Are Special

This weekend, I discovered this video for “Creep.” It reminded me of the condescending and uncharitable way in which many people look at my clients. One memory, in particular, came to mind.

I was in my first few months as a PD, handling misdemeanor domestic violence cases. One morning, a strange man was led into the courtroom. Short, bald, round. Hands like flippers. Skin white as lime and draped in the jail’s orange jumpsuit, he was as garish as a creamsicle. He spoke in a voice so high and shrill he reminded me of Owen Meany, but without the brains.

He was in his forties and still living with his mom. They got along pretty well, but she wouldn’t let him have something that he wanted and he got angry and gave her a shove. He was sorry about it. He wanted to go home. Very soon he was going to move out of his mom’s place and get a girlfriend.

I asked the prosecutor for an offer. Like many prosecutors, she was beautiful and privileged. Also like many prosecutors, she was supremely aware of the former and shockingly unaware of the latter. She wanted him to stay in jail for another two weeks.

“That’s ridiculous,” I said. “Look at him. He’s pathetic.”

“I don’t want to look at him,” she said. “He’s gross.”

In 1923, Akira Kurosawa and his older brother stole away to view the carnage left in the wake of the Great Kanto Earthquake. Appalled by what he saw, Kurosawa tried to turn away. “If you shut your eyes to a frightening sight,” his brother told him, “you end up being frightened. If you look at everything straight on, there is nothing to be afraid of.”

I think that prosecutors don’t have the right to look away. To look away is to dehumanize, and that’s something that prosecutors must never be allowed to do. No matter what, they should always acknowledge those they prosecute as people.

My prosecutor refused to look. If she had, she might have seen that she’s not the only one who belongs here.