Virginia’s state law is forbidding the request of Lee and Burwell Reynolds to allow black juries on their trial. On December 1877, the Reynolds brothers were on trial for killing a white man named, Aaron Shelton. The attorneys of the brothers couldn’t change Judge Treadway’s mind into accepting their request. Until, Alexander Rives, a judge, decided to defend the rights of Lee and Burwell by preventing discrimination towards their race and color. He argued that the Virginia state court has violated the Fourteenth Amendment and the federal Civil Rights Act of 1875. The Fourteenth Amendment provided protection and rights to former slaves. Virginia’s jury system created discrimination towards the blacks’ by denying the request of a fellow citizen.
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The discrimination Lee and Burwell Reynolds have received from the jury system don’t abide by the deontology framework. Justice is learning how to treat everyone fair and equally. John Rawls talks about justice saying, “The way to think about justice is to ask what principles we would choose in an original position of equality, behind a veil of ignorance” (Sandel, 151). Judge Treadway should accept the proposal of the attorneys of the Reynolds brothers to prevent more arguments between the two parties. Virginia state court violated these two slaves and never received an apology. A deontologist would agree to allow black juries in the case and wouldn’t discriminate that person based on their color. Only, Judge Rives used the deontological framework to respect the decision of the brothers by taking in charge of their court case. The motive of this murder is to let others know that slaves should be treated with respect and not be mistreated based on their background. Immanuel Kant describes what matters by saying, “What matters is the motive, and the motive must be certain. What matters is doing the right thing because it’s right, not for some ulterior motive” (Sandel, 111). The right thing to do is to tell the motives for causing this crime and fight against Virginia state law for not providing the needs of a defendant. The white community in Virginia was against the slaves and didn’t want them to receive any help from the government. Especially the plantation owners wanted to control the slaves by prohibiting them from receiving education and freedom. President Lincoln began by providing this new amendment which gave the slaves hope to succeed just like the whites. There were many flaws found in the jury system before and after the Civil War that created a division between two nationalities. No law would have helped form the relationship between the whites and blacks
The discrimination Lee and Burwell Reynolds have received from the jury system don’t abide by the deontology framework. Justice is learning how to treat everyone fair and equally. John Rawls talks about justice saying, “The way to think about justice is to ask what principles we would choose in an original position of equality, behind a veil of ignorance” (Sandel, 151). Judge Treadway should accept the proposal of the attorneys of the Reynolds brothers to prevent more arguments between the two parties. Virginia state court violated these two slaves and never received an apology. A deontologist would agree to allow black juries in the case and wouldn’t discriminate that person based on their color. Only, Judge Rives used the deontological framework to respect the decision of the brothers by taking in charge of their court case. The motive of this murder is to let others know that slaves should be treated with respect and not be mistreated based on their background. Immanuel Kant describes what matters by saying, “What matters is the motive, and the motive must be certain. What matters is doing the right thing because it’s right, not for some ulterior motive” (Sandel, 111). The right thing to do is to tell the motives for causing this crime and fight against Virginia state law for not providing the needs of a defendant. The white community in Virginia was against the slaves and didn’t want them to receive any help from the government. Especially the plantation owners wanted to control the slaves by prohibiting them from receiving education and freedom. President Lincoln began by providing this new amendment which gave the slaves hope to succeed just like the whites. There were many flaws found in the jury system before and after the Civil War that created a division between two nationalities. No law would have helped form the relationship between the whites and blacks