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Kil
Evil Skeptic
USA
13476 Posts |
Posted - 08/19/2011 : 19:18:13 [Permalink]
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3 men convicted in 1993 Cub Scout slayings go free
...The prosecutor said he never considered any plea bargain that would throw out the verdicts of two juries.
"Today's proceeding allows the defendants the freedom of speech to say they are innocent, but the fact is, they just pled guilty," Ellington said.
By entering guilty pleas, the three have lost any right to file a lawsuit against the state.
"I can't say that wasn't part of my thinking in resolving this case," Ellington said... |
So the upshot is that the only person who actually left some DNA behind, found on the rope that tied the kids hands, which happens match the father of one of the murdered children, will not be investigated. As far as Arkansas is concerned, the case is closed. |
Uncertainty may make you uncomfortable. Certainty makes you ridiculous.
Why not question something for a change?
Genetic Literacy Project |
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H. Humbert
SFN Die Hard
USA
4574 Posts |
Posted - 08/19/2011 : 20:40:49 [Permalink]
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Anything to avoid having to admit wrongdoing. They conduct themselves exactly like the Catholic Church that way. Any errors are covered up, swept under the rug, kept in house. The public line must always be that the state never makes errors.
My wife Emily watches a lot of these true crime shows and it's amazing the number of stories they air about people wrongfully convicted. The way the police and prosecutors just get tunnel-vision and lock onto a single suspect, it almost always turns into a railroading job. Everything becomes evidence that they are guilty. If a suspect sits there in shock and doesn't act overly upset, then that shows how cold and unemotional they are. If a suspect vigorously affirms their innocence, then that just shows what a calculating liar they are. And what's scariest of all is how often juries convict people of serious crimes on nothing more than circumstantial evidence and the authorities' say-so. After seeing how many innocent people have been released due to the discovery of exculpatory evidence, once can't help but wonder how many innocent people still rot in prison because they can't prove it. And even after they are proven innocent and released I've never seen a single prosecutor who go on camera and admit mistake. Farcically, they always reaffirm their belief in person's guilt.
I think the reason so many people don't like stories like the West Memphis Three is that it forces them to face the corruption in the system, something they are unwilling to believe exists. They need to believe in the fiction of a fair justice system, one that is not racially prejudiced or systematically incompetent. And so it continues.
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"A man is his own easiest dupe, for what he wishes to be true he generally believes to be true." --Demosthenes
"The first principle is that you must not fool yourself - and you are the easiest person to fool." --Richard P. Feynman
"Face facts with dignity." --found inside a fortune cookie |
| Edited by - H. Humbert on 08/19/2011 20:45:46 |
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Kil
Evil Skeptic
USA
13476 Posts |
 Posted - 08/19/2011 : 21:40:15 [Permalink]
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Originally posted by H. Humbert
Anything to avoid having to admit wrongdoing. They conduct themselves exactly like the Catholic Church that way. Any errors are covered up, swept under the rug, kept in house. The public line must always be that the state never makes errors.
My wife Emily watches a lot of these true crime shows and it's amazing the number of stories they air about people wrongfully convicted. The way the police and prosecutors just get tunnel-vision and lock onto a single suspect, it almost always turns into a railroading job. Everything becomes evidence that they are guilty. If a suspect sits there in shock and doesn't act overly upset, then that shows how cold and unemotional they are. If a suspect vigorously affirms their innocence, then that just shows what a calculating liar they are. And what's scariest of all is how often juries convict people of serious crimes on nothing more than circumstantial evidence and the authorities' say-so. After seeing how many innocent people have been released due to the discovery of exculpatory evidence, once can't help but wonder how many innocent people still rot in prison because they can't prove it. And even after they are proven innocent and released I've never seen a single prosecutor who go on camera and admit mistake. Farcically, they always reaffirm their belief in person's guilt.
I think the reason so many people don't like stories like the West Memphis Three is that it forces them to face the corruption in the system, something they are unwilling to believe exists. They need to believe in the fiction of a fair justice system, one that is not racially prejudiced or systematically incompetent. And so it continues.
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Yep. The WM3 were lucky in that there case was interesting enough to be made into a documentary. And even at that, the result is less than great, and they spent half their lives in prison. |
Uncertainty may make you uncomfortable. Certainty makes you ridiculous.
Why not question something for a change?
Genetic Literacy Project |
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H. Humbert
SFN Die Hard
USA
4574 Posts |
Posted - 08/20/2011 : 18:06:43 [Permalink]
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Not a bad way to kick off your new life: | Damien Echols (who once came within three weeks of execution) spent Friday night on the hotel rooftop with supporters, including Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder and the Dixie Chicks' Natalie Maines, who both whipped out guitars. Liquor flowed. Hugs were plentiful, especially for a man who hasn't had much physical contact for 18 years. |
Drinking wine on a rooftop while hugging Natalie Maines and listening Vedder play right in front of you! Are you kidding me? That has to make up for a large chunk of his misfortune right there. Yeah, I know he'll never get back the years of his life that he spent behind bars, but he did get an iPhone!
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"A man is his own easiest dupe, for what he wishes to be true he generally believes to be true." --Demosthenes
"The first principle is that you must not fool yourself - and you are the easiest person to fool." --Richard P. Feynman
"Face facts with dignity." --found inside a fortune cookie |
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West Memphis Three granted new trial!
