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PORTSIDE CULTURE

THIS IS MORE THAN A LEGAL READ  
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Bill Fletcher, Jr.
April 11, 2025
Portside

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_ The focus of the book is on Dominic Ongwen, a former soldier in the
cultish army known as the Lord’s Resistance Army in northern Uganda.
Ongwen had been kidnapped by the LRA when he was nine years old and
transformed into a soldier and criminal... _

Dominic Ongwen (photo, January 2015), Women's Initiatives for Gender
Justice

 

Let me first confess that I read this book because it was written by a
very longtime friend.  The title is deceptively academic and hides an
incredibly important work that, while focused on legal proceedings, is
about much more.  As a result, I am so glad that I read it!

Race, Culture and Mental Illness in the International Criminal
Court’s Ongwen Judgment:  Biases and Blindspots.
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By Beth S. Lyons
Palgrave MacMillan; 133 pages
December 19, 2024
Hardcover:  $65.95;  E-book:  $47.99
ISBN: 9783031736827

 
Palgrave MacMillan
The focus of the book is on Dominic Ongwen, a former soldier in the
cultish army known as the Lord’s Resistance Army in northern
Uganda.  Ongwen had been kidnapped by the LRA when he was nine years
old and transformed into a soldier and criminal through ruthless
indoctrination and ruthlessness.  In the International Criminal Court
his defense counsel pleaded his case, arguing that he was—and
remains—a victim of mental and emotional disorders that were
directly related to the brutal existence he experienced in the LRA
and, therefore, he should not be found guilty of the crimes that he
committed.

Lyons’ book is both dense and passionate.  As a member of the
defense team, she carefully and in immense detail, explains the
arguments of both sides and the approach the defense team attempted. 
But that is not the central importance of the book.  What Lyons
explores are what she identifies as “blindspots” on the part of
the court that are directly related to racial and cultural biases. 
As such, this book is extremely timely in a moment where the notions
of racial and cultural biases—let alone racist and national
oppression—are under assault by Mr. Trump and the MAGA cult.

Drawing from the work of individuals such as Theodore Allen (author of
the two volume work, _THE INVENTION OF THE WHITE RACE_
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and others, Lyons addresses the unspoken and frequently unconscious
assumptions that operate on the part of what I will call _oppressive
majorities,_ irrespective of intent.  Lyons provides examples of
everyday circumstances in which this is in evidence.  She goes on to
identify how bias operated during the case, including actions by the
prosecution and assumptions by the judges.

What struck me as I read on was the passion contained in this
otherwise very straight forward legal text.  One almost feels the
dismay on the part of the defense team as a result of actions and
rulings that simply seem to ignore the full implications of the
capture, punishment and indoctrination of the accused.  By the end of
the book I, too, joined in the dismay, but also was left with a
question regarding responsibility.  Specifically, at what point does
the background of an accused enter into a judgment of someone who has
committed heinous crimes?  How should such crimes be addressed and
what level of accountability is appropriate?

Behind a very long title, Lyons leaves these matters for the
consideration of the reader.  How should one balance mental and
emotional health, as well as so-called racial and cultural matters in
rendering a verdict?  And, by implication, what is the line between
vengeance and justice?

_[BILL FLETCHER, JR. is a trade unionist, writer and international
solidarity activist.]_

* racial bias
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* cultural bias
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* Uganda
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* Dominic Ongwen
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* Lord's Resistance Army
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* war crimes
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* International Criminal Court
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* accountability
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