We are at a time in life when the world can be so harsh and judge mental, where accusations run rampant like a common cold, destroying lives and causing damage far beyond repair.   Accusations of wrong doing are at a point where little to no evidence is needed to support them.  They play out boldly in the public’s eye via the news or social media for everyone to weigh in on, and cast their opinions, opening a person up to persecution from those that have little to no true knowledge of the person or the situation.  There are no boundaries to these accusations.  Not race, creed, religious affiliation, or age.  No one is safe.  All it takes is a person or person’s, pointing  a finger and saying “he did it” and the  witch hunt begins.  When these instances are tried out in the media or social networking, the facts become skewed or erased all together.  You tend to only get the side of the accuser/victim and those that have joined in with their one-sided views.  If you are not careful enough to find out all the facts yourself, you may find yourself joining in on the side of the accuser too soon.

Recently we have had many instances that seem to validate my statement above.  Also, as things further unfold, paint a totally different picture to news stories that initially appeared to be slam dunk cases.  Bernie Fine was persecuted and fired from his long standing position of Assistant Coach at a National Power house men’s basketball team.  Now stories are coming out by a couple of his accusers saying that they fabricated the stores for personal gain, saying that Bernie Fine never had inappropriate physical contact with them all.  Bernie Fine appears to be a victim of false allegations and very, very bad timing.  Remember, the allegations came on the heels of the Penn State scandal, when everyone was already on edge and enraged by Jerry Sandusky’s allegations.  Bernie Fine never stood a chance!  He was guilty in the public eye day one.

We are still learning facts in the Trayvon Martin case everyday as things lead up to a trial for George Zimmerman.  When the story first broke, I myself like everyone else felt as if this was such an obvious act of murder and racial injustice that it was a no brainer.  An unarmed black youth killed by a gun welding white male, it just had to be racially motivated.  I found myself jumping on the bandwagon and standing up for justice by persecuting George Zimmerman without knowing all of the facts.  Zimmerman could still be guilty of murdering an unarmed teenager.  But as the facts continue to come out, it may prove that he was in fact fighting for his life, and therefore justified in the shooting Trayvon.  Again we won’t know until all of the facts are presented.

The story of Brian Banks being released from prison has hit the news last week, is the real reason that I wrote this blog.  His story as tragic as it started in 2002, may eventually be an awesome story of redemption.  A story displaying not only how God gives us more than one chance, but how life sometimes does as well.  After being wrongfully accused of rape at 16 years old by a schoolmate, his life is coming full circle to where his dreams can be fulfilled.  A highly recruited football player in California went from standout student athlete to convicted sex offender to having charges that sent him to prison dropped and his criminal record erased.  Robbed of part of his youth and a college experience,  Brian received tryout offers from several NFL teams for a shot to fulfill his dream of playing in the NFL.

Again in Brian’s case, there was no physical evidence or witnesses.  No video to support the claims, just a person pointing a finger and saying “he did it’.   But thankfully, Brian has been redeemed!

(read more about Brian’s story by Rick Reilly) http://espn.go.com/espn/story/_/id/7986979/redemption-brian-banks