4 ms·

Can he sue for compensation? Or, better yet, for putting prosecutors into jail for that?

tzs 11y ago
Probably yes on the first. No on the second, for good reason. There wasn't anything in the article that indicated that the prosecutors did anything wrong. They took the evidence they were given by the police, by informants, and by the crime lab employee and presented it at trial. That the police did not give the prosecutors all the evidence the police had, and that a forensic technique that was widely accepted at the time by the FBI and the state turned out to not be accurate is beyond the scope of the prosecutor's role.
- mannykannot 11y ago
  I don't know about this case, but about a month ago I heard another wrongfully-convicted person discussing his case, including the fact that in the agreement that freed him, he waived the option to sue. His stated reason was that his alternative was to stay in jail for the process to work its way through, and in jail, 'accidental' death was just too easy. Paranoid? Given his circumstances, l don't think so.
  - onion2k 11y ago
    If a prosecutor knows someone is innocent and doesnt let them out immediately they should be disbarred.
    - nommm-nommm 11y ago
      I am pretty sure prosecutors don't have the power to let people out of jail.
- blisterpeanuts 11y ago
  The prosecutor's job is not to robotically, bureaucratically follow a fixed process. They have a lot of latitude and can choose to pursue a defendant for maximum prison time, minimum prison time, something in between, persuade them to take a plea, or drop the charges completely. Many options, really. For this prosecutor's office to have put this fellow away for so many years on not even circumstantial evidence but merely the good faith acceptance of three unreliable sources with criminal records, and the hair which turned out to be erroneously identified, despite the bloody handprint that was not a match, and despite the victim's failure to identify the defendant, is almost obscene. Sadly, however, it's not unheard of at all; our criminal justice system is far from perfect, though it probably still ranks near the top in a world where justice is difficult to obtain in most countries outside of western Europe and North America.
walid 11y ago
I think that the blame lies on the FBI. How can non-science be pushed into court under a deceptive cover of legitimacy.

tzs 11y ago

Probably yes on the first. No on the second, for good reason. There wasn't anything in the article that indicated that the prosecutors did anything wrong. They took the evidence they were given by the police, by informants, and by the crime lab employee and presented it at trial. That the police did not give the prosecutors all the evidence the police had, and that a forensic technique that was widely accepted at the time by the FBI and the state turned out to not be accurate is beyond the scope of the prosecutor's role.

mannykannot 11y ago
I don't know about this case, but about a month ago I heard another wrongfully-convicted person discussing his case, including the fact that in the agreement that freed him, he waived the option to sue. His stated reason was that his alternative was to stay in jail for the process to work its way through, and in jail, 'accidental' death was just too easy. Paranoid? Given his circumstances, l don't think so.
- onion2k 11y ago
  If a prosecutor knows someone is innocent and doesnt let them out immediately they should be disbarred.
  - nommm-nommm 11y ago
    I am pretty sure prosecutors don't have the power to let people out of jail.
blisterpeanuts 11y ago
The prosecutor's job is not to robotically, bureaucratically follow a fixed process. They have a lot of latitude and can choose to pursue a defendant for maximum prison time, minimum prison time, something in between, persuade them to take a plea, or drop the charges completely. Many options, really. For this prosecutor's office to have put this fellow away for so many years on not even circumstantial evidence but merely the good faith acceptance of three unreliable sources with criminal records, and the hair which turned out to be erroneously identified, despite the bloody handprint that was not a match, and despite the victim's failure to identify the defendant, is almost obscene. Sadly, however, it's not unheard of at all; our criminal justice system is far from perfect, though it probably still ranks near the top in a world where justice is difficult to obtain in most countries outside of western Europe and North America.

walid 11y ago

I think that the blame lies on the FBI. How can non-science be pushed into court under a deceptive cover of legitimacy.