Innocent Until Accused

Saturday night, Florida State's quarterback Jameis Winston became the 79th Heisman Trophy winner in a landslide. There were a few who thought Winston's performance during the 2013 season would be dismissed because of an investigation into an alleged rape that happened in 2012 which would cost him this prestigious award. I have no desire to comment on the allegation and would agree with anyone who has read about the initial investigation and has come away from that with the impression that the police department did not do their due diligence.

Make no mistake, the allegation of rape is something I take very seriously and I am one who believes it should carry the stiffest of prison sentences. The bottom line is that, at this moment, a State Attorney does not believe there is enough evidence to file charges.

So where does everyone get this idea that they KNOW what really happened? I was at a bar watching the ceremony and couldn't believe some of the comments I was hearing out of people's mouths: "You gave the Heisman to a rapist!" one patron said. "He got off and now he has a Heisman" yelled another guy. Got off of what? He was never convicted in the first place. He was never even charged.

This happens far too often in our society - where someone is charged or simply investigated for a crime and, before the justice system process plays out, that person is already being tarred-and-feathered. You could argue that too often athletes and celebrities get preferential treatment because of their status, but that works both ways. There are examples of athletes and celebrities who get the book thrown at them too.

Jameis Winston may not be innocent. He may have done what this woman accused him of doing last December. If so, he should spend his days in a dark prison cell with a burly cellmate waiting for him to drop the soap. I'm not asking you to forget about this allegation and investigation. Winston might be the next O.J. Simpson or he could've been the next Brian Banks.