Did Texas execute an innocent man?

[cheerfulgreek]

Originally Posted by Kevin

DNA does not close the case though. There have been cases where DNA evidence was later shown to be planted. In fact, a savvy criminal can use DNA of a patsy to gift wrap a case for the police. We don't close the case at DNA. The state still has to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt.

The state failed to do that in the Simpson case, the defense team did what good defense lawyers do -- they pointed out that the state failed to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt.

If you actually had an inkling as to how pro-prosecution most of our criminal laws and 4th Amendment law have become, you might be singing a different tune.

Kevin, I'm not saying to close a case based on DNA alone, because DNA is only an additonal recent tool available to the courts in determining a person's guilt or innocence. I was only speaking of all things being equal, meaning all the facts are in place to convict a person of murder. Once everything is in place and it's known that this person is 100% guilty of committing the crime, why the appeal? It's a waste of time and money. You're throwing in your assessment of the committed crime vs. my assessment of the committed crime. My argument is the person being 100% guilty of committing the crime of murder. Once that is established, there should be no appeal, no prison time, no bond, just a sentence being imposed and carried out that same day. That's all I'm saying. Let the sentence be carried out at the time it's imposed.

Not to bring the Manson Murders up again, but to my knowledge, that was the longest trial in U.S. history up to that point. It was a fact that they committed the crimes and even laughed about it, so why did the trial even need to continue, Kevin? And why are they still receiving the assets of everyday life without having to pay their debt to society? Susan Atkins even received a college degree at the tax payers expense without any hope of ever contributing anything positive to society. That education she received could have been allocated to a worthy student external to prison. This is the same disgusting monster who murdered Sharon Tate, tasted her blood, cut out her 8 month old fetus, called her a bitch and told her she doesn't care about her or her baby, dismembered the fetus and placed it front of the fire place, and then wrote "PIGS" on the door in Sharon Tate's blood. And she deserves due process???? Seriously??? Gimmie a break!

[DaemonSeid]

Originally Posted by cheerfulgreek

Kevin, I'm not saying to close a case based on DNA alone, because DNA is only an additonal recent tool available to the courts in determining a person's guilt or innocence. I was only speaking of all things being equal, meaning all the facts are in place to convict a person of murder. Once everything is in place and it's known that this person is 100% guilty of committing the crime, why the appeal? It's a waste of time and money. You're throwing in your assessment of the committed crime vs. my assessment of the committed crime. My argument is the person being 100% guilty of committing the crime of murder. Once that is established, there should be no appeal, no prison time, no bond, just a sentence being imposed and carried out that same day. That's all I'm saying. Let the sentence be carried out at the time it's imposed.

Part of the problem is, we are 100+ years away from dispensing 'frontier justice' and we still have organizations in the US that still see simply putting a man to death as barbaric. Think about human rights groups.

Just look at this board. Some people are for the death penalty if it truly sticks while some are against it and would rather let a guilty criminal live.

Trust me, I feel the same way you do, but in some cases, death is just too 'easy'.

[knight_shadow]

Originally Posted by cheerfulgreek

And she deserves due process???? Seriously???

Yes.

I agree with you (giving her life as opposed to death is a waste of time and money), but her rights are still protected.

[KSig RC]

Originally Posted by knight_shadow

Yes.

I agree with you (giving her life as opposed to death is a waste of time and money), but her rights are still protected.

One reason why I'm opposed to the death penalty is that current evidence shows it simply is not cheaper than life in prison.

That sounds counter-intuitive, but it's true - it's not just the appeals process, either, it's the separate facilities, the additional bureaucracy and support staff needed, and so on. Combine that with the non-zero chance of wrongfully killing someone, and I can't get on board.

Indeed, my first thought upon reading the thread title was "I'm nearly 100% sure Texas has executed multiple innocent men."

[UGAalum94]

Originally Posted by KSig RC

Indeed, my first thought upon reading the thread title was "I'm nearly 100% sure Texas has executed multiple innocent men."

http://www.salon.com/news/feature/20...ase/index.html

To continue my trend in this thread of posting kind of random crap: Salon article about a guy sentenced to death by a judge who was having a long term affair with the prosecutor IN TEXAS.