In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy trial and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusations; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defense.
What it means to me...
Basically, the accused have the right to a speedy trial. This clause prevents long-term incarceration without a trial-a person cannot have a prison sentence without a guilty verdict. The innocent should not have to sit in jail for years if they are in fact innocent of their accused criminal act.
The following is a video for a class project done by kids to illustrate the sixth amendment...
This video uses an example of a girl going to jail for stealing a dog, even though she is innocent. It is a reenactment of how simple innocent people can be put in jail whether they did anything wrong or not. Without the sixth amendment, those innocent people would sit in jail for long periods of time because there are so many court cases to hear. This amendment gives them the right to a quick trial so they don't have to rot in jail for something they truly did not do.
The following is a political cartoon...
Here the artist is using a turtle to illustrate the fact that turtles are naturally slow-moving animals and therefore he is waving his right to a "speedy" trial.
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