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The systemic fix is that there needs to be accountability for these mistakes. Knowingly giving false testimony that leads to someone's conviction and incarcerat

The systemic fix is that there needs to be accountability for these mistakes. Knowingly giving false testimony that leads to someone's conviction and incarceration should be a crime, as should knowing utilization of false testimony by a prosecutor. Just like with torture and other criminal failures of government, nobody goes to jail; there is no incentive to avoid corruption next time someone has a choice like this one.

elthran 10y ago
> Knowingly giving false testimony that leads to someone's conviction and incarceration should be a crime Does the USA not have a crime of perjury?
- djdhdhehue 10y ago
  Not for those in power.
- hackuser 10y ago
  > Does the USA not have a crime of perjury? It does, but it is almost never prosecuted (as I've been told by attorneys and as I've coorobrated by my own anecdotal observations). The exceptions are high-profile scalps, such as Bill Clinton and Barry Bonds. The real penalty for perjury is that it discredits your testimony and damages your case.
- misnome 10y ago
  Who is going to prosecute, when it is the person who decides who gets prosecuted, doing the perjury? And all the other prosecutors use the same methods to get forward in their jobs?
wfo 10y ago
Well, sure, but in general this is never 'knowingly' -- technicians and people working in the lab are trained on methods, told the methods are sound, and then execute the methods and present them in court as trained. It is the methods people/higher ups at the crime labs who are really at fault here.
MichaelGG 10y ago
The systemic fix is to get rid of the terribly flawed juror system and replace it with qualified judges. Most people are incredibly irrational, uneducated (with respects to these things), and well, simply untrained. I understand the jury is supposed to be a final check against government tyranny, but in practise, what happens? If I were guilty of a crime, I'd prefer a jury trial. If I was innocent I'd much prefer judges.
- hackuser 10y ago
  I refer you to my post here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11582245 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11582245

elthran 10y ago

> Knowingly giving false testimony that leads to someone's conviction and incarceration should be a crime Does the USA not have a crime of perjury?

djdhdhehue 10y ago
Not for those in power.
hackuser 10y ago
> Does the USA not have a crime of perjury? It does, but it is almost never prosecuted (as I've been told by attorneys and as I've coorobrated by my own anecdotal observations). The exceptions are high-profile scalps, such as Bill Clinton and Barry Bonds. The real penalty for perjury is that it discredits your testimony and damages your case.
misnome 10y ago
Who is going to prosecute, when it is the person who decides who gets prosecuted, doing the perjury? And all the other prosecutors use the same methods to get forward in their jobs?

wfo 10y ago

Well, sure, but in general this is never 'knowingly' -- technicians and people working in the lab are trained on methods, told the methods are sound, and then execute the methods and present them in court as trained. It is the methods people/higher ups at the crime labs who are really at fault here.

MichaelGG 10y ago

The systemic fix is to get rid of the terribly flawed juror system and replace it with qualified judges. Most people are incredibly irrational, uneducated (with respects to these things), and well, simply untrained. I understand the jury is supposed to be a final check against government tyranny, but in practise, what happens? If I were guilty of a crime, I'd prefer a jury trial. If I was innocent I'd much prefer judges.

hackuser 10y ago
I refer you to my post here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11582245 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11582245