Dear Kevin--
The Innocence Project has demonstrated through DNA evidence that numerous men on death row were convicted of crimes that other men committed. It is simply illogical to believe that only these men who have been exonerated of crimes were the only innocent men facing the death penalty. For more information on the Innocence Project and the cases of innocent men who have faced the unimaginable torment of facing execution for crimes they did not commit and losing their rights as free people to spend time with their loved ones, you can read more at http://www.innocenceproject.org/. Another organization that I am less familiar with, death penalty info, also has information on people who have been executed even though there was evidence that someone else committed the crimes for which they were convicted: http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/executed-possibly-innocent.
It does not serve our country to defend death penalty procedures that are so flawed in some states that it is documented that innocent people have been wrongfully convicted. When that happens, not only does an innocent person lose his freedom and his rights but also then guilty dangerous men walk free to strike again. That is not to say that there are no guilty men on death row--there are plenty--but it's not possible for a reasonable person to believe that there are not innocent men among them based on the evidence of those who have been exonerated.
I do not believe the death penalty is unconstitutional in all circumstances but it certainly has been applied in unconstitutional ways over the past two centuries, with countless African American men convicted and executed for crimes they did not commit. And, it is foolhardy to believe, as your twenty-year time limit seems to indicate, that suddenly from 1990 no more innocent men ever made it to death row. What changed in 1990? The fact is that even since that time the U.S. Supreme Court has issued decisions that increase the likelihood of innocent people being convicted, most notoriously in my view in a case out of Texas where the Court held that a man was not denied effective assistance of counsel even though his ill-prepared lawyer slept through part of his trial. Regardless of his guilt, that precedent paves the way for people to be railroaded toward conviction of crimes they did not commit merely because they could not afford a competent lawyer to defend them, let alone stay awake throughout the trial for their life and freedom.
So, wake up. Ignorance is not bliss. Open your mind. Every innocent man behind bars means a guilt man walks free. That ought to cause any reasonable person pause and increase the desire for reforms to help ensure that the guilty are convicted and punished and that the innocent are free.
Can you name three people who have been incorrectly convicted and executed in the past twenty years?
The "innocence project" like all anti-DP groups relies on the never ending appeals process to eventually require a re-trial. Facts that were properly addressed and dealt with 22 years ago in the original trial when the case was fresh, can no longer be proven because the sands of time cloud memories and forever silence witnesses. From this comes reasonable doubt, and voila', we have "another innocent man" convicted in error by the horrible criminal justice system.
When the "innocence project" says innocent they don't mean innocent, or that the perp. had nothing to do with the crime, they mean they were able to get him off after 22 years of appeals.
Dear Anonymous--
What? Name calling is just immature. What are your facts for casting such aspersions? You resort to ad hominen attacks because you have no facts.
We are not propagandists--we point out propaganda and alert people to the truth.
We don't apologize for anything, except the occasional error.
And, we do not monger lies. We work to debunk lies and myths and provide links to evidence that reveals the truth about policies and spin.
We aren't providing misleading disinformation--nothing could be further from the truth.
If reading the truth is uncomfortable, we understand. It can be hard to hear the truth if you've been mislead into believing myths. It's basic cognitive dissonance. But, if you open your mind to reality, you will become a more informed citizen who can help support better policies.
As for the article above, it documents an unfortunate case of spin. Do you need other examples? What about Pat Tillman?
good post Mary!
This is but one example of predatory capitalism.
Of all the "developed" nations on planet earth- the USA has the highest death rate and morbidity rate because of its "free market" capitalist system- when I was growing up during the Cold War, we were brain-washed by our side into believing that communism was evil and capitalism was best. As 2011 approaches, it appears that capitalism has finally conquered the world. The moneyed elite of the world prosper, while the vast majority of the world's people are prey to these carrion eating vultures.
The Propagandists, Apologists and Lie-Mongers here at the Center for Misleading Disinformation really shouldn't be hurling rocks around their glass house.
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