DAVID Yallop’s third book, Beyond Reasonable Doubt forced the government to free a man who had unjustly been serving a life sentence for double murder he knew nothing about in New Zealand.  After the publication of the book the innocent culprit, Thomas, was granted a Royal pardon and after a Royal commission had deliberated, was awarded $1 million compensation.

These are just few of the numerous cases where the innocent are suffering or have suffered unjustly. Situations whereby the innocent are punished for crimes they know nothing about abound worldwide and it is pathetic.  Oftentimes justice is deliberately twisted because the judge and the law enforcement agents had been bribed.  Sometimes miscarriage of justice happens as a result of mistake or when people take laws into their hands and refuse to allow the law to take its course.

And moreover I saw under the sun the place of judgment, that wickedness was there; and the place of righteousness, that iniquity was there.

For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath; so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast: for all is vanity.

So I returned, and considered all the oppressions that are done under the sun: and behold the tears of such as were oppressed, and they had no comforter; and on the side of their oppressors there was power; but they had no comforter.

Wherefore I praised the dead which are already dead more than the living which are yet alive.

Yea, better is he than both they, which hath not yet been, who hath not seen the evil work that is done under the sun.

Again, I considered all travail, and every right work, that for this a man is envied of his neighbour. This is also vanity and vexation of spirit.  

Eccl. 3:16,19;4:1-4, 13-16

All this have I seen, and applied my heart unto every work that is done under the sun: there is a time wherein one man ruleth over another to his own hurt.

Eccl. 8:10
The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.  Eccl. 1:9.

In the greater part of these passages, the preacher was lamenting the injustices and inequalities of life.  Indeed friend, the world is full of injustices and inequalities. Even in the seat of judgment where you expect sound justice, there is miscarriage of justice either inadvertently or deliberately.  And this is the phenomenon we want to examine – a phenomenon whereby the innocent are made to suffer punishments for crimes they did not commit.