Therefore, the law is paralyzed, and justice never prevails. The wicked hem in the righteous, so that justice is perverted. -Habakkuk 1:4 NIV
Solzhenitsyn writes a good deal about the injustice experienced by the Soviet system. People were shot or imprisoned for the smallest of offenses, often for things that were not illegal, but rather uncomfortable for those in power to hear. He cites an example of a peasant man who tried to dutifully serve the State in hopes of gaining some help for his six children (page 76):
Because he had six mouths to feed he devoted himself whole-heartedly to collective farm work, and kept hoping he would get some return for his labor. And he did – they awarded him a decoration. They awarded it at a special assembly, made speeches. In his reply, the peasant got carried away. He said, “Now if I could just have a sack of flour instead of this decoration! Couldn’t I somehow?” A wolflike laugh rocketed through the hall, and the newly decorated hero went off to exile, together with all six of those dependent mouths.
Solzhenitsyn continues:
The very concept of guilt had been repealed by the proletarian revolution and, at the beginning of the thirties, was defined as rightist opportunism. So, we can’t even discuss these out-of-date concepts, guilt and innocence.
There is a growing loss of confidence in our justice system. For good reason. The smallest of offenses are severely punished if you are not a part of the Statist system, and the gravest offense is ignored if you are.
Out of the Miry Blog 