Louisiana death row inmate freed after 15 years – with a little help from DNA

reply to post by ArMaP

My bad on that and I did misread the 300/18 on Death Row vs. Prisoners in general. Thanks for a graceful way of noting that. I put a bit of effort into getting some more complete numbers, since mixing up numbers from various things I've read on this is part of why I misread the OP. Errr... Sorry on that.

Death Penalty Information Center

It's a bit shocking and this list also confirms the 18 on DNA basis...but the total since 1973 and the reinstatement of the Death Penalty according to that is 141. That's the number actually cleared, acquitted or pardoned (Not simply having sentence reduced to Life) after being sentenced to Death and serving time on a Death Row.

The above facts pose an enormous mixed issue for someone like me on feelings toward capital cases but I still have to say the DP is right. It's just a broken system we have right now and it's broken at virtually all levels. Death Row just being the worst for it being irreversible.

@ Boncho

In general to what is done with murderers, which really is the only class of crime outside treason I see that should ever fit the death penalty (anything else..literally, anything else...encourages MAKING it murder by killing victims, since it won't add to the penalty if caught ), what is the alternative to do with those people? Is it any better or more right that we kill them by warehousing until old age wears them to death? That is literally life without parole in it's simplest terms. It's a death sentence by other and more expensive, long term means....but everyone can tell themselves it really isn't somehow.

reply to post by SeventhSin


All right and fair enough SeventhSin, but the issue at hand has nothing to do with inmates who SHOULD be on a one way trip to the lowest pit of hell.

What do you think about the issue of people getting convicted of capital crimes, despite thier innocence?

There has been a TON of news in recent years of folks in prison being determined as INNOCENT by DNA. All of them thus far have been from the DEEP SOUTHERN states.

What the HELL IS WRONG with them down there?? I honestly think that they just convict the first person they suspect just to be DONE with it. The juries in the Bible-belt probably have a group prayer and say "God, if this man is innocent, then gives us a sign..." When nothing happens (as USUAL) then they rush out and convict the man.

The typical DEEP SOUTHERN folks aint right!!! SCARY!!

reply to post by Wrabbit2000


How is killing a cop more taboo then say killing a baby or child? Killing someone who is armed, has backup, has armor, and been trained and is expecting it would seem far less taboo then killing someone who can not defend themselves. I always wondered about that mindset and how it came about.

Back on subject. Not all that long ago the Governor of Illinois stopped ALL executions after they found some innocent men on death row. It is far to easy today to be convicted by the State. They have the money, the man power, the time, and effectively the rules to railroad anyone they wish. To even have a fair chance against them you need to be a millionaire since it costs those hired by the State nothing if they lose. Personally I think that if a prosecutor takes a case to court and uses false evidence, or a cop testilies that they get the punishment for the crime they are charging the citizen with and yes that means the death penalty as well. I am not a member of the forgive and forget group but I think if PEOPLE who work for the state wish to endanger your life they should take the same chances the citizen they are going after does.

Originally posted by oper8zhin
There has been a TON of news in recent years of folks in prison being determined as INNOCENT by DNA. All of them thus far have been from the DEEP SOUTHERN states.

The information on the Innocence Project's site, when grouped by state, is like this:

TX - 47
IL - 42
NY - 27
VA - 15
FL - 13
LA - 13
OK - 11
PA - 11
OH - 10
CA - 9
MA - 9
NC - 9
GA - 8
MO - 8
NE - 6
WI - 6
WV - 6
IN - 5
MS - 5
NJ - 5
DC - 4
AL - 3
AZ - 3
CT - 3
MD - 3
MI - 3
MT - 3
WA - 3
KS - 2
TN - 2
CO - 1
ID - 1
KY - 1
MN - 1
NV - 1
SC - 1
UT - 1

As I am not familiar with most of the states' abbreviations or if they are or not in the south I will leave it at that.

Originally posted by Jerk_Idiot
How is killing a cop more taboo then say killing a baby or child? Killing someone who is armed, has backup, has armor, and been trained and is expecting it would seem far less taboo then killing someone who can not defend themselves. I always wondered about that mindset and how it came about.

I have seen that idea on many movies and TV shows from the US, but obviously I don't know if it's true or not. Here in Portugal that "taboo" doesn't exist.

Not all that long ago the Governor of Illinois stopped ALL executions after they found some innocent men on death row.

Judging from the list I posted above (and if I'm not mistaken), Illinois is one of the states with more cases of people wrongly imprisoned and that were released by the actions of the Innocence Project

I haven't looked at other organisation's work.

It gets really sticky when there are people to prevent evidence from freeing the innocent in any way or form.

Until we begin holding the judges, police and prosecutors to a higher standard with more to lose this will continue.

We must institute change that they had better only prosecute and sentence GUILTY people or they will be inprisoned or worst.

They have no incentive to get it right as it currently stands.

It's a great thing that he was found innocent! Something should be done to help him out for being wrongly imprisoned for 15 years.

But one thing that should have been done differently: he actually confessed to doing it to the interrogators. Yes he was exposed to harsh methods of questioning but he eventually told them he was the one who committed the crime. Not the greatest of ideas.

My heart goes out to him and I wish the best of luck to him.

Originally posted by Jerk_Idiot
reply to post by Wrabbit2000

 

How is killing a cop more taboo then say killing a baby or child? Killing someone who is armed, has backup, has armor, and been trained and is expecting it would seem far less taboo then killing someone who can not defend themselves. I always wondered about that mindset and how it came about.

Back on subject. Not all that long ago the Governor of Illinois stopped ALL executions after they found some innocent men on death row. It is far to easy today to be convicted by the State. They have the money, the man power, the time, and effectively the rules to railroad anyone they wish. To even have a fair chance against them you need to be a millionaire since it costs those hired by the State nothing if they lose. Personally I think that if a prosecutor takes a case to court and uses false evidence, or a cop testilies that they get the punishment for the crime they are charging the citizen with and yes that means the death penalty as well. I am not a member of the forgive and forget group but I think if PEOPLE who work for the state wish to endanger your life they should take the same chances the citizen they are going after does.

One idea to ensure truthful prosecution by the state.Is to remove immunity for prosecutors.It would go a long way if they knew they could be held responsible in civil court.

reply to post by Wrabbit2000


Lol I totally disagree with you about killing police. To me there is nothing worse than someone who would murder a CHILD. A policeman/woman is simply another adult wearing a uniform and who represents the government. Why is killing a representative of the government any worse than killing a normal citizen, especially a child? Many police are simply thugs who want to bully their way through situations and exert their powers. In my opinion, when someone kills a police officer, there is at least a 50/50 chance that the officer maybe have been at fault and deserved it. After all, how many cases =do we see every single year after year and decade after decade, where police routinely abuse their power. Beating, killing, framing, lying, extorting.....Nah, your logic is flawed.

I have mixed feelings about the death penalty. Yes some crimes do justify the death penalty. As it happens this has been outlawed in my country for 30 plus years now.
My concerns are;

1) a country with the death penalty is no more a deterrent to murderers to those countries that don't have it.
2) how would you feel if one of your family members were executed in error?
3) do you actually believe its right that the state, the authorities can kill people? Do you trust the state enough as it is, let alone be sanctioned to kill people? Are you comfortable with your country having abattoirs for people?
4) doesn't that make us as bad as the condemned?

I understand some believe its right, and some could even pull the trigger. As much as I believe that some crimes are so terrible that there can be only one outcome. But personally I'm against the death penalty, mainly because I simply do not trust the authorities enough.

reply to post by TrueBrit


That's why I pointed out they get 7 appeals; moreover, it's insured they get the best attorney and it cost them not one penny. If there is an answer for getting them off these guys generally have 10 to 15 years in Texas to find that piece of misstep taken in the convict's trial by the judge, prosecution, or the police. If a guilty man get executed with the way the death penalty is now scrutinized I would be surprised to say the least. I've personally witnessed some maintain their innocence until the moment before they drop the chemical into the condemned, and then they real and admit their guilt. Others, well, they continue their claim to pressure the family of the victim as one more thing they can # up before they die. I'm pretty sure Texas executed the wrong man back in 1990 where there was a kangaroo trial and no one wanted to politically take responsibility for it because the guy was a Mexican National Illegal but with DNA and the need for more than just witness testimony for a Capital Conviction I feel better about my job.

reply to post by Jameliel


Texas kills plenty of child killers and female killers, cops that die in the line of duty get first billing for sure. Something about living in a neo-political state.

reply to post by boymonkey74


He won't have to sue. He'll be compensated, quietly, out of court for an undisclosed sum of money.

This is how the system works, to prevent unwanted publicity.

Bare in mind,, I am sure the ammount will mean thiss man will never have to want for anything ever again and will prolly live in the 90210 and have a private jet...

If I didn't kill someone before going to prison for 15 years for it, I would definitely be killing someone after getting out.

It is always refreshing to hear about cases like this...

but,

they always leave a bad aftertaste.

He is free from prison, yes. Though he is still a convict, which is yet another layer of hell. An inescapable one at that. It is a life sentence as well.

There truly is no justice for people like this. They are damned.

No amount of money or restitution can give back fifteen years to anyone or change them back to the person they were before the prison system taught them how to be a real criminal.

In some cases the innocent must agree to not bring suit against the state and/or in no way profit from the telling of their story.

reply to post by Jameliel


Like I said... It has absolutely nothing to do with your feeling about cops. Love them, hate them or just get disgusted by them. It makes no difference because it's not about them. If my Father had been killed on duty, it wouldn't have been revenge that saw the guy who did it die on California's Death Row for it. (Of old age...given the state).

It's 100% about the mindset of the killer, not the victim. Killing a cop IS the furthest a human being can get for crossing lines against society as a general and very meaningful step. It's a step that can't be taken back and generally marks the point where someone knows they've gone too far, as evidenced by past incidents and how it goes after that's happened.

Killing kids? Yes.. I'd agree with DP for that but I already said, I agree with Death as the sentence to any killing outside defense or war. The problem I have when kids are mentioned is that the knee jerk thing is always to call for Death over child molestation or atrocious child abuse. That is the WORST idea I've ever heard, personally. If you make a crime that didn't start as a murder into a Capital offense......the guy may as well kill the kid at the same time because the murder is a freebie for penalty and removing a witness may let them get away with it. "Nothing lost by trying" is the evil unintended consequence of that, IMO.

Originally posted by SeventhSin
That's why I pointed out they get 7 appeals; moreover, it's insured they get the best attorney and it cost them not one penny. If there is an answer for getting them off these guys generally have 10 to 15 years in Texas to find that piece of misstep taken in the convict's trial by the judge, prosecution, or the police.

From what I could find on the Innocence Project's site, although Texas has many cases, only one was sentenced to death, so it looks like the system is working better than with non death penalty related cases.