Maybe this has always been obvious to everybody but the American justice system is not about truth or fairness. The goal is to convict no matter what. That is

Maybe this has always been obvious to everybody but the American justice system is not about truth or fairness. The goal is to convict no matter what. That is how the incentives are lined up. Case in point: the (famous) Serial podcast started about the (now evidently) wrongful conviction of a teenager. He was recently released after 20+ years because of a note found written by a prosecutor that pointed to other plausible suspects, information never shared with the defence. You are very unlikely to ever be judged by a jury of your peers. You are much more likely to not 'risk' that and take the plea deal. From the perspective of a European (and we have our issues) it sounds the system is fundamentally rotten. The mythbuster story only highlight how basic truth finding isn't really an issue.