Publicity is the very soul of justice.
— Jeremy Bentham
Journalists have voiced near-universal praise for Darnella Frazier, the 17-year-old who filmed the murder of George Floyd with her cell.
Her footage all but convicted Floyd's killer.
She deserves our praise.
Her cell made the law work.
Eighteenth-century philosopher Jeremy Bentham thought the law's purpose is "to govern;" that is, to keep us safe.
But to govern, the law must be enforced—and enforcement is everyone's responsibility.
The law, he said, "governs through the governed."
Because it depends on the governed, the law is highly fallible—because we are. The corrective, Bentham said, is publicity.
Publicity, he said, "keeps the judges on trial."
"It is through publicity alone that justice becomes the mother of security. Without publicity, all other checks are fruitless."
Without publicity, the law is toothless; but with it, the law can prevail, as it did yesterday.
HAT TIP: Thanks go to historian Jon Meacham for inspiring this post.
