It was also a coincidence that Gideon was picked up from in front of the store by the taxi driver and/or, he had pockets full of change when he was confronted by the officer the next morning. The coincidence of Gideon having the coins, and being picked up near the store led to the assumption that he had committed the crime. If the criminal justice system was set up to accuse the first individual suspected, then there would be more prisoners in the prisons than there would be average citizens.It was wrong decades ago and it is wrong now. Individuals have the rights given to them by the constitution to prove their innocence with fairness on their side. I think it was very interesting how Gideon remained poised about the entire situation.
He knew that he was innocent, and he also knew that he was not being treated fairly, but throughout it all he remained under the necessary control, to keep himself out of any unnecessary troubles (referring to doing something that would only make matters worse).During the first trial, Gideon’s response to being accused of the crime seemed a bit awkward. Reason being, he just presented himself as being innocent but in an unexpected manner. I had questioned myself whether or not he had committed the crime all because of the way he acted, but I still could not conclude that he was guilty. Many times individuals can perceive being calm as a sign of guilt. It was clear that Gideon was pleading innocent, but did others have any other reason to believe him?Gideon’s determination though, to prove his innocence was commendable.
That helped others to see and understand that there could more than likely be some truth to his innocence. In the film, after Gideon was shipped off to prison, it was obvious that most of the men in the prison may not have wanted to be there, but they were also not doing anything to help get themselves out. Shortly after realizing that Gideon was determined to prove that he was convicted of a crime that he did not commit, many of the men had reason for hope towards their own situations.After the Supreme Court ruled for a retrial, which I must add was a wonderful decision; Gideon definitely became the prison’s hope-bound icon. In the later scene with the second trail, Gideon’s competent lawyer Fred Turner, did a fantastic job showing the people of the court the injustice that was showed towards Gideon and his case. It was interesting to see how he was able to prove one of the eye-witnesses of the case to be the actual perpetrator, and show the court how poorly the case was reviewed/ looked into before accusing Gideon.
After Gideon’s conviction was reversed, he was a free man. Gideon was able to show a number of people the many flaws that lay upon the criminal justice system, and that opened many doors of opportunity for other wrongly convicted individuals to call for retrial and/or appeal their cases. From an initial appearance, Gideon may have come off as an old man with no morals in life, just a man to let the days past him by and he seemed satisfied with that. But as the movie begin to run; Gideon’s character began to grow on me.He was a man who possessed determination and patience, a man who had a heart to help others. Those qualities showed others around him and even one’s who had not even met him that he was a man worth fighting for.
The criminal justice system had not only treated Gideon unfairly, but another 5,800 individuals as well. Gideon’s case was the stepping stone for many others cases similar to his. He helped change some of the flaws of the criminal justice system and for that he will always be well respected and appreciated.
