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Four years after a man was executed, someone else’s DNA found on murder weapon

cnn.com

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Re: Four years after a man was executed, someone else’s DNA found on murder weapon

#111

Post by hedora »

Prosecutors are typically promoted based on conviction rates.

Each false conviction, plea bargain or guilty plea should count as -20 convictions.

It all comes down to incentives. Murdering this man was probably great for all of the involved people’s careers (and I’d be surprised if he is their only victim). If it was a potential career-ender, they’d find some other way to game the system, or others would be promoted instead of them.

The same story plays out millions of times a year in the US (though usually with lesser crimes); it’s clearly a systemic issue.

Re: Four years after a man was executed, someone else’s DNA found on murder weapon

#112

Post by chmod600 »

endymi0n wrote: post #3

> In an effort to prevent his execution, Lee's attorney sought in the post-conviction appeals process to finally have the DNA evidence in the case tested for the first time. [...] Their request was denied. "The reasoning given by the judge was it wouldn't matter, that there were three people who saw him at or near that neighborhood on that day and time and honestly the DNA just wouldn't matter," Short said. Wow. Like…

It's interesting that a "fail to comprehend" post is voted more highly than an informative post that at least partially answers the question:

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27246831

Re: Four years after a man was executed, someone else’s DNA found on murder weapon

#113

Post by GavinMcG »

beerandt wrote: post #91
alex-yark wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Whilst that's the maximum permissible sentence in Norway it's worth highlighting that it can be extended indefinitely if he is considered still a risk to society - the requirement to review the need to continue detaining him (on a semi frequent basis) being considered a human right. Based on his activity since being convicted I doubt he'll be released for significantly longer than his minimum sentence.

That doesn't sound like much of a "human right" to me, if a maximum sentence can be extended by a parole board.

What if it was rephrased as an indefinite sentence, but a minimum of 21 years?

(If the law doesn't permit a longer minimum, then 21 years is the "maximum sentence" in that there cannot be a longer mandatory period imposed.)

Re: Four years after a man was executed, someone else’s DNA found on murder weapon

#114

Post by awb »

mikestew wrote: post #86
bananapear wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> This 19 wooden tire thumper lets you know if your tires are fully pressurized by making a thump as it hits the rubber. Just swing the thumper and listen for the sound. If your tires are low in pressure it makes a different sound. Save time checking tire pressure on your rig with this wooden tire thumper. Is this some kind of nonsense to avoid marketing it as a weapon, or do people really use these to check tyre pre…

Yes, if one views the package marketing at your local truck stop (and probably not at your family-friendly Pilot) it is quite obvious that it is a versatile tool, and you might even use it on occasion to check tires. But, yes, it is manufactured and market to thump one thing: someone’s skull.

Wikipedia says that the murdered woman’s husband bought it for her for self-defense rather than to check tire pressure.

Re: Four years after a man was executed, someone else’s DNA found on murder weapon

#115

Post by beerandt »

seer wrote: post #59

I’ve recently had the privilege of watching “12 angry men” for the first time. It’s a masterpiece in showing how a legal “sure thing” can be so wrong. Legal cases are often constructed with testimony, unreliable evidence, and chance. Its an effort to increase likelihood of certainty using very unreliable data. And human intuition really sucks when it comes to probability calculations. I think that film as no other re…

I recently watched the films "Hannibal," and "Silence of the Lambs," which convinced me that killers who aren't executed will continue to orchestrate murders from inside prison by psychologically manipulating people.

I think those films really capture what happens when we only imprison killers, even if we feel certain that there would be no public harm from handing down a life sentence instead of the death penalty.

Re: Four years after a man was executed, someone else’s DNA found on murder weapon

#116

Post by hedora »

fridif wrote: post #21
LocalH wrote: post #12

The death penalty should be abolished, end of discussion. If even a single innocent person is murdered , then an obscene and heinous crime has been committed by the state.

How much of your salary are you willing to pay to house violent criminals for the rest of their life? Let's not forget that someone else was also murdered too

More than I’m willing to pay to house innocent convicts, and to pay the salaries of the people that locked them up. Fixing those problems would save a lot more money than tweaking death penalty rates (in either direction).

Re: Four years after a man was executed, someone else’s DNA found on murder weapon

#117

Post by bryanrasmussen »

scrps wrote: post #42
bryanrasmussen wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>at least the person can be freed and compensated. I don't think most innocent people who are freed get any compensation in the U.S.

Do all states have compensation statutes? The federal government, the District of Columbia, and 36 states have compensation statutes of some form. The following 14 states do not: Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, Georgia, Kentucky, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, and Wyoming. https://innocenceproject.org/compensating-wrongly-convicted/

Thanks, I had no idea things had progressed so far, I basing my opinions on out of date perceptions I see now. On the other hand 14 states not compensating is not good.

Re: Four years after a man was executed, someone else’s DNA found on murder weapon

#118

Post by beerandt »

hedora wrote: post #111

Prosecutors are typically promoted based on conviction rates. Each false conviction, plea bargain or guilty plea should count as -20 convictions. It all comes down to incentives. Murdering this man was probably great for all of the involved people’s careers (and I’d be surprised if he is their only victim). If it was a potential career-ender, they’d find some other way to game the system, or others would be promoted…

Can we equally punish defenders who get criminals released, who shouldn't be?

-20 legal points for each aquitted defendant that goes on to actually be a repeat criminal.

Re: Four years after a man was executed, someone else’s DNA found on murder weapon

#119

Post by awb »

mikeryan wrote: post #108
awb wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For context, here’s the other evidence the judge is referring to: > Asked about the new DNA evidence, Rutledge repeatedly insisted Lee was "lawfully executed" and pointed to the testimony of an eyewitness who purportedly saw Lee enter Reese's home that day and then leave, "erratically," 20 minutes later. There’s also more context here for anyone interested in the case: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ledell_Lee As fo…

Any attorney or judge who justifies their conviction on eyewitness testimony has to know, at this point, its bullshit. Every criminal attorney at this point knows the infallibility of an eye witness has been proven over and over to be false.

Eye witness testimony is unreliable, but that doesn’t mean it’s always false. It just shouldn’t be the only evidence or the primary evidence in a conviction, as in this case. But if it’s used to corroborate other known facts that haven’t been revealed to the witness, then it’s still beneficial.

Re: Four years after a man was executed, someone else’s DNA found on murder weapon

#120

Post by jmercouris »

hedora wrote: post #111

Prosecutors are typically promoted based on conviction rates. Each false conviction, plea bargain or guilty plea should count as -20 convictions. It all comes down to incentives. Murdering this man was probably great for all of the involved people’s careers (and I’d be surprised if he is their only victim). If it was a potential career-ender, they’d find some other way to game the system, or others would be promoted…

If what you say is true: that prosecures or promoted based on conviction rates, false convictions should count as -100 convictions- perhaps even more.
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