Our criminal justice system is riddled with a series of loopholes designed by rich, high-powered attorneys for rich, high-powered attorneys to exploit, so the do-gooders would have you think. Or is our criminal justice system balanced by a series of rights and protections designed by the subjects of tyrannical government for all of us to enjoy?

Of course, the Constitution sometimes does serve to exonerate real criminals – even rapists and murderers. But how can we know who a murderer is if we do not afford the accused a fair trial? The great thing about our system of justice is the decisiveness of our courts. With the burden of proof beyond a reasonable doubt on the government, a wrongful conviction is rare. It works pretty well until the state of Iowa uses vitriolic emotion and politically sexy arguments to bend and break the Bill of Rights.

You might recall the 2004 Jetseta Gage kidnapping, murder and sexual abuse case in which Roger Paul Bentley was convicted of kidnapping and murdering Gage while his brother, James Bentley, was on trial for taking pornographic photos of Gage and her younger sister. James was finally convicted in March 2007.

James Bentley has also been indicted on state charges for second-degree sexual abuse of Gage, but the case continues on even after the Iowa Supreme Court ruled a 2004 taped interview with Gage as inadmissible evidence because it violates Bentley’s Sixth Amendment right to face his accuser.

Public outrage over Bentley’s Sixth loophole, plus the aspirations of Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller equals re-election. Miller is petitioning for a writ of certiorari to the U.S. Supreme Court after the Iowa Supreme Court affirmed the exclusion of the tape. After all, James Bentley is a sick S.O.B., and Miller needs all the evidence he can get to convict.

Of course, Miller could have simply overlooked Bentley’s 100-year federal sentence without parole, but that wouldn’t say much for the competence of him or the voting population of Iowa. This trial is nothing but a political statement: Tom Miller is tough on sex offenders.

The rationalization arguments of those in support of allowing the tape are no better than the arguments set forth by the Department of Defense and the Bush administration in regard to habeas corpus. Constitutional rights cannot be violated simply because of a change in technology, public outcry or because of a particularly vile act. Besides, there’s plenty of evidence to convict James Bentley – evidence of his pornographic exploitation of Gage and testimony from his other victims.

The implications of allowing the videotape in lieu of testimony are severe. The purpose of a trial is for a jury of peers to evaluate the facts – including the integrity and weight of witness testimony. Without cross-examination by the defense, the jury has no such opportunity, and the prosecution an extremely low bar to step over.

That might not be an issue in other cases, but child sex abuse cases present a unique issue. In 1988, a New Jersey preschool teacher was convicted of molesting 20 children and spent five years in prison before an appeals court decided the children had been convinced by election-hungry prosecutors, according to John Stossel, of ABC’s “20/20,” in his book, “Myths, Lies and Downright Stupidity.”

Gage wasn’t alive to give prosecutors this tempting chance, but the social workers at St. Luke’s Child Protection Center in 2004 were. Stossel cites child witness testimony expert Stephen Ceci, professor of psychology at Cornell University, who has found in study after study how the tactics of social workers, so-called molestation experts and prosecutors dramatically affect the memories of children. Furthermore, Gage was a very troubled child even before the alleged abuse – she was diagnosed with fetal alcohol syndrome, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, spina bifida, oppositional defiant disorder, asthma and a host of other behavioral problems, according to the Cedar Rapids Gazette.

Let’s be honest – there’s an extremely high probability James Bentley did it. He will probably be convicted for it, even though it serves no real justice.

Tom Miller needs to know that we will not allow him to thumb his nose at the Constitution. Hell, if he can’t get a conviction based on the other merits of the case, he shouldn’t be attorney general anyway. Nevertheless, it is not worth destroying the adversarial system of justice over one very disturbed individual.

– Aaron Gott is a senior in political science from South Amana.