Who are we to judge?

(CBS) - David Simon, creator of the HBO shows "The Wire" and "Treme" has raised a controversial but interesting argument in a recent statement after he was asked to react to the arrest of Felicia "Snoop" Pearson, an actress who appeared on "The Wire" and who is now alleged to have taken part in a conspiracy to sell heroin in Baltimore.

In a statement, Simon wrote: "Both our Constitution and our common law guarantee that we will be judged by our peers. But in truth, there are now two Americas, politically and economically distinct. I, for one, do not qualify as a peer to Felicia Pearson. The opportunities and experiences of her life do not correspond in any way with my own, and her America is different from my own. I am therefore ill-equipped to be her judge in this matter."

Simon raises the incendiary idea that we can only judge those in the same life circumstances as our own. If that attitude were to be adopted, the court system would come to a screeching halt. But does his idea have merit? Can drug dealers only judge other drug dealers? Can poor people only judge others from the same economic background? Indeed, should someone like Bernie Madoff be judged only by other millionaire investment advisers?

Crazy and yet...I know what Simon means.

Last summer when I was working on a story about Colton Harris-Moore, the alleged Barefoot Bandit of the Pacific Northwest - the now 20-year-old who taught himself how to fly planes and then allegedly stole five of them - I had a similar reaction to Simon's when I learned about Harris-Moore's background.

Harris-Moore's life was troubled from the start. Social workers were in and out of his life dozens of times. Social workers wrote that his mother, who reportedly spent a lot of money on beer, refused to buy food for the child. His father abandoned the family after one episode when he was charged with choking the young boy. On that occasion Harris-Moore dialed 911 and, after his father was arrested, Harris-Moore's mother, social workers wrote, grew incensed that his actions resulted in the father being taken from the family.

Harris-Moore then began to steal, first to get food and later to wash his clothes and take showers.

It cannot be minimized that he also stole electronics, money, cars, boats and ultimately single-engine airplanes. In armchair psychological terms, it is easy to call this a classic case of a young boy trying to fly away from his troubles.

Before and after his arrest, many of Harris-Moore's victims were calling for his head, incensed that he had stolen from them. It's an understandable reaction and yet, I found myself thinking, "Who can judge this boy for doing what he did, given his life circumstances?" The counter-argument, from those who condemn him, is that many people grow up in difficult circumstances and do not do what he did...or what Felicia "Snoop" Pearson did either.

Being poor does not equate to theft and a life of crime, except...when it does.

Now, Harris-Moore and Pearson await trial, prosecutors might want to keep people like David Simon off their juries. He doesn't want to be there anyway.