Mixing politics and judicial process is a dangerous mix…

Well, I don’t what to add. People are getting carted off to jail for all sorts of things they did (or allegedly did) in the past. The case of Padraig Wilson seems to have particularly set the cat amongst the pigeons.

And Gerry Kelly is channeling anger from Republicans:

“I can tell you frankly that many, many people have been in touch, from other colleagues, very angry about the idea that someone who was crucial to bringing people along in the peace process and political process is now behind bars where he should not be.”

The problem is there are judicial processes that have to be adhered to, no matter who people are, or what debt we may or may not owe them. Gerry’s arguing they should be bypassed for political reasons.

Which is a bit more than just a bit of a problem. I understand the impulse to want to tame a given problem and make it work for you or your political party. It’s what politicians do the world over.

But there are limits, particularly when the interests of a political party come into conflict with the requirements of justice.

There’s been a lot of focus on historic cases in which the state has over reached its powers. Some relatives have spent half a lifetime trying to force the truth out of a state reluctant to give up its darker secrets.

But it should not be forgotten that the state now is in part run by the representatives of many of those who lost their loved ones to past state actions.

That is, to say the least, an awkward place to be standing.

We are reader supported. Donate to keep Slugger lit!

For over 20 years, Slugger has been an independent place for debate and new ideas. We have published over 40,000 posts and over one and a half million comments on the site. Each month we have over 70,000 readers. All this we have accomplished with only volunteers we have never had any paid staff.

Slugger does not receive any funding, and we respect our readers, so we will never run intrusive ads or sponsored posts. Instead, we are reader-supported. Help us keep Slugger independent by becoming a friend of Slugger. While we run a tight ship and no one gets paid to write, we need money to help us cover our costs.

If you like what we do, we are asking you to consider giving a monthly donation of any amount, or you can give a one-off donation. Any amount is appreciated.