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The DNA 200
DNA exonerations spotlight problems with judicial system
Date published: 8/3/2007
AT LEAST 200 American prison- One of those is Earl Washington Jr., the Culpeper man who came within days of being executed in 1985 for the rape and murder of a mother of three. Technologically refined DNA testing not only cleared Mr. Washington--he received an "absolute pardon" from Gov. Kaine last month--but also led to the conviction of the real killer. Better late than never as far as justice is concerned, right? Maybe so, but it would be better to get it right the first time, especially if capital punishment awaits. It's hardly satisfactory that a couple of hundred people have wasted an average of 12 years of their lives in prison while the actual perpetrator continues life as usual, often engaging in criminal activity, on the outside. His belief that the justice system has failed to examine, in earnest, the circumstances that led to these injustices so rankled University of Virginia law professor Brandon Garrett that he took on the challenge himself. His research points to the frightening likelihood that more prisoners than we think are telling the truth when they claim innocence. Since DNA evidence testing is available in only 10 percent of violent-crime investigations, 90 percent of such cases rest on more conventional evidence--the same sort of evidence that originally put those innocent 200 behind bars in the first place. Mr. Garrett's findings were reported by The New York Times and will be published in January's Columbia Law Review. They show that many cases were decided on critical evidence or testimony that turned out to be dead wrong. This should raise red flags with prosecutors, defense attorneys, and judges.
Date published: 8/3/2007
Taking your argument
(posted by
patrick4hp
, Sep. 25, 2007 2:41 pm)
The only thing I can surmise that innocent people accused of filth are somehow better than innocent people not accused. Yep, we are going to convict you beyond a reasonable doubt, kill you, just because the crime you are accused of doing makes you filthy. Shows how little some people care about justice if you ask me. Sorry, but if you are going to kill a person, you had better be damn sure you got the right one. And, again, what about the 8th commandment. Do two wrongs make a right?
Not so fast
(posted by
BGILBERT
, Sep. 25, 2007 2:41 pm)
Since we are in the age of science, then DNA testing should be mandatory when applicapable. However I do not buy this notion of getting rid of the death penalty. Take for example the case of the 2 men who killed an entire family, including slitting the throats of 2 little girls. How can anything but the death penalty be appropriate for this filth. I also question the accuracy of the statistics. It sounds like alot of rhetoric from a lawyer. While no system is perfect, there is ample oppurtunity to overturn
Finally
(posted by
patrick4hp
, Sep. 25, 2007 2:41 pm)
Well, is seems the FLS has finally gotten around to telling the god awful truth. Many who are scheduled to die are innocent. And, the real kicker is, they all have been convictted beyond a reasonable doubt. This is stupid, usually very racist, and proves that most prosecutors are only concerned with a guilty verdict, not the truth. Why in the world do people of this commonwealth support killing people with a system so flawed? Get rid of the death penalty, replace it with life in prison withou parole.
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