Justice delayed is not justice denied

OPINION:

We have just marked the 60th anniversary of one of the most tragic events of the Civil Rights Era: the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, that claimed the lives of four young Black girls.

To commemorate the event, former Sen. Doug Jones of Alabama (one of my law firm colleagues) recently made a presentation about the event with a focus on the subsequent prosecution of the perpetrators of that heinous act.

Using photographs and documents, Mr. Jones provided a compelling and moving description of both the bombing and the legal proceedings that led to the conviction and incarceration of the men behind the killing of the girls. It was Mr. Jones who, some 38 years after the bombing, led the prosecution team that ultimately resulted in the conviction of two of the principal culprits in the bombing.

While we often say that justice delayed is justice denied, it is also true that whenever justice is achieved, it is an important accomplishment. In this instance, although delayed, not only was justice obtained, but that act of justice also evidenced a reversal of the venomous attitude that existed in the Jim Crow South. The martyrdom suffered by the four girls by reason of their race was recognized in the manner promised by our system of laws.

The convictions of the criminals who deprived four children of their right to life were a signal accomplishment both for those who pursued justice and for our system of justice. As I wrote to Mr. Jones after his presentation: “That triumph [the convictions] is a tribute to your efforts and to the efforts of all those who worked with you, and it is a tribute to the United States.”

In describing the bombing and the determined efforts that went into the legal proceedings following the event, Mr. Jones did a masterful job. He was truly compelling. The emotion emanating from the attendees was palpable, as it was in the voice of Mr. Jones himself, who was profoundly invested in his pursuit of justice.

For many in the United States today, we are a society in decline, headed toward renewed racism and discrimination. To me, Mr. Jones’ presentation provides an important element of comfort about our future. His presentation left me inspired, reinforced in my view that our nation has confronted an evil part of our past and has sought by word and deed to rectify that past.

The outcome obtained by Mr. Jones and his team provided me with a level of optimism and a sense of satisfaction that the victims of a heinous crime had received justice in a manner worthy of a great nation, in stark contrast to the absence of justice to which many others have been subjected.

My reaction has its roots, in part, in my family history. Since we are all, to some extent, prisoners of our own histories, the presentation made me think about my own family and its encounter with destructive racism. In 1941, my father’s family lived in a small town in northeastern Poland when the German army conquered the area. The family included a number of children — boys and girls similar in age to the four girls who were killed in Birmingham.

In less than two years, every Jew in the town, including the children, was marched out of the town. First brutalized by deprivation and forced marches, they were then loaded into cattle cars and taken to the death camp at Treblinka, where they were murdered.

For those children, there has never been justice. No one was ever prosecuted for the crime of killing them. Few Nazi ringleaders were tried at Nuremberg, and even fewer were executed for their crimes. But the perpetrators — those who carried out the murders of these innocent children — were never required to pay for their actions or even to acknowledge their wrongdoing.

What a contrast between the justice never meted out to the killers of my cousins in Poland with the justice imposed on the killers of the four girls in Birmingham. It is certainly true that nothing can restore destroyed lives, but the knowledge that those who commit heinous crimes will be punished, even 38 years after their crime, can assuredly give rise to optimism about a system of justice.

Perhaps because of my family history, I draw an unqualifiedly positive lesson from the ultimate handing down of justice in the Birmingham case. I believe that the outcome achieved by Mr. Jones is an affirmation of the greatness of our nation and of its great strides forward.

Yes, there are those in our society who would try to reverse the great progress we have achieved, seeking to reimpose discriminatory distinctions on our citizens. And there is no denying that we need to be vigilant in order to prevent a reversion to the discrimination and injustices of the past. Sadly, this is always a potential danger.

But the United States is a great nation, and Mr. Jones’ efforts have helped to reinforce that greatness. The good that he accomplished — an American good — needs to be recognized and emphasized.

As I wrote to Mr. Jones after his presentation: “It is incumbent upon our leaders to focus on the goodness of America, as epitomized by your remarkable, relentless and successful pursuit of justice.”

It is with that kind of focus that we can be assured that America’s best days are ahead of us.

• Gerard Leval is a partner in the Washington office of a national law firm. His book, “Lobbying for Equality: Jacques Godard and the Struggle for Jewish Civil Rights During the French Revolution,” was published by HUC Press last year.