While I was offline for a month, I kept a note of any links and news stories worth commenting on. Now that I’m back, I’m aiming to post two short items a day here, about stuff that happened during my online absence, until I’ve cleared the backlog. This is one of those.
One of the primary arguments that campaigners against capital punishment have used for a while is that, if the state executes a convicted prisoner, and it’s somehow later proven that the conviction was mistaken and the executed victim was innocent, then no-one can ever undo this cruellest imaginable miscarriage of justice.
It’s never worth the risk, they argue, that the state might kill an innocent person by mistake.
Well, there’s a good chance that that’s totally happened.
Claude Jones was executed for murder ten years ago. In 2010, DNA evidence undermined the best evidence that tied him to the crime. And it was a pretty flimsy-sounding bunch of evidence to begin with.
It’s not an exoneration, but go to that link and read up on the rest of the details about how he was found guilty. Then ask yourself if that’s really the kind of evidence you’re okay with your government using to justify putting someone to death.
I’m too lazy to look it up at the moment, but I’m pretty sure there are dozens of similar cases.
Agreed with sara g. People are found factually innocent on death row surprisingly often (there is a long gap between sentence and execution because you have) and yet it still happens. The Innocence Project you linked to is an an amazing and tireless organisation.
“Innocence Project Case Profiles
There have been 265 post-conviction DNA exonerations in United States history. These stories are becoming more familiar as more innocent people gain their freedom through postconviction testing. They are not proof, however, that our system is righting itself.
The common themes that run through these cases — from global problems like poverty and racial issues to criminal justice issues like eyewitness misidentification, invalid or improper forensic science, overzealous police and prosecutors and inept defense counsel — cannot be ignored and continue to plague our criminal justice system.
Seventeen people had been sentenced to death before DNA proved their innocence and led to their release.
The average sentence served by DNA exonerees has been 13 years.
About 70 percent of those exonerated by DNA testing are members of minority groups.
In almost 40 percent of DNA exoneration cases, the actual perpetrator has been identified by DNA testing.
Exonerations have been won in 34 states and Washington, D.C.”