This story caught my eye, if it becomes official, that would be an eye opener. I wonder if it would be enough to end capital punishment in this country.


http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/09/07/090907fa_fact_grann?currentPage=all

One hell of a story. Thanks for sharing it. It also does a great job of illuminating just how narrow-minded people in positions of authority can be.

I doubt it will halt executions in Texas, but I do believe it may result in a higher level of forensic science being applied to investigations.

He should've started some fake bank accounts to help the prison warden money launder and then tunneled out with a rock hammer.

This story caught my eye, if it becomes official, that would be an eye opener. I wonder if it would be enough to end capital punishment in this country.


http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/09/07/090907fa_fact_grann?currentPage=all

I doubt it. For every person wrongly convicted and executed, there are other convicted killers who kill again (either in prison or after escaping or being paroled) who would likely not have had the chance had they been sentenced to death. In the hard game of raw numbers, capital punishment may actually save lives (it's uncertain as no one knows precisely how many innocents get convicted and executed). That is no consolation to someone wrongly convicted and executed, but on the other hand it is no consolation to be murdered by a known killer who has escaped or been let loose either.

One thing I'm sure of though, the threat of capital punishment is not really a deterrent to a would be killer. No killer expects to be caught in the first place, so the punishment is pretty much irrelevant to them from a deterrence standpoint. What capital punishment does do is give the families of a murder victim some degree of solace and guarantee that the killer can't kill again in the future.

I did read the whole story. It was very well written, and showed the human side of of someone sentenced to death.

The sad part is, if you ask everyone on Death Row, if they are innocent or not, you will invariably hear that each person is.

However, if you sentence a person to life in prison, with out the possibility of parole, is that justice? They get 3 meals, and a place to sleep. Barring having to fight off cellmates trying to ride their rump roast on a nightly basis (And who knows, that might be considered a fringe benefit to some), it sounds like a marginally worse situation than enlisting in the military.

Personally, I think a person who is given that sentence should be forced to perform some sort of retrubution to the family, whether it be monetary, or psycological. How long could a person take having to look at the faces of his victims for 50+ years? Discounting the true serial killers, the average person would break. And who knows, maybe a serial killer might as well?

There are no absolutes in any system. Innocent people, might be put to death. Prisoners can escape to kill again. Which situation serves the public, better?

There are no absolutes in any system. Innocent people, might be put to death. Prisoners can escape to kill again. Which situation serves the public, better?

One innocent death is too much. I'm a supporter of capital punishment, but even just one death that is proven to be innocent after the fact is enough to make me rethink my stance.

What if this were me? What purpose does the appeals process serve if the people on whatever panel that is supposed to oversee the process won't even look at expert scientific statements before deciding not to give the guy an appeal? The appeals process is supposed to be in place to be an "escape hatch" for people that slipped through the justice system that weren't guilty. If the people in charge of that process won't listen, what's the purpose? It makes me feel like our whole justice system is a traveshamockery (not that I know whether this guy was guilty or innocent, but additional evidence from an expert shouldn't be so summarily dismissed by the appeals board).

What if this were me?

Exactly! storys like this only highlight how easily it could be any one of us. If this was the only such case it would be excusable but the work of people such as the innocence project are proving this happens alot.

IMHO one of the problems is over zealous prosecutors who are looking for feathers in the cap to further thier careers and set the stage for a jump to politics. ya dont get points for setting people free!

I know. i spent 9 months facing a 2 year sentence for a hit and run charge by a prosecutor who was out for blood. FYI i hit a barbed wire fence at 2am on a snowy night on a back country road. criminal mastermind indeed.

Its never excusable to kill an innocent, not even one. It becomes a mockery of justice and makes the state and those that pay for it (taxpayers) guilty of killing an innocent.
Think about those families who are there witnessing the death, thinking this was the guilty person and that justice or revenge or what ever was being done in the name of there lost loved ones. Only to find out it wasnt, and they instead watched an innocent die. Think of the parents or other family members and friends of the person condemned, the psychological and emotional issues they would have to endure. Or those who did the deed itself, the judges, the lawyers, and executioners. You cant just walk away from something like that and say oops sorry. There is no going back to change it, once its done its done and you have to live with that memory for the rest of your life. This effects many more then just the one innocent person put to death.

The state of Texas will do whatever it can do to make sure this or any other story like this, is never proven true, even if it is. They will fight to bury it, tooth and nail.
If they ever admitted in public to killing even one innocent, it would be on all the media outlets and public opinion would demand the end to capital punishment. Its not enough to know there are innocents killed, its getting the state to admit it, and putting it on record. Once that happens, it could be the end of capital punishment.

Stories like this are not uncommon. Ever since DNA evidence came around we have been finding out folks have been innocent. Capital punishment did not leave then, and will not likely leave for any reason other than the number of appeals are so expensive. Frankly I still think its worth the cost , but thats just me.

Until the government comes out and admits it has happened, many people wont believe it, even with the evidence staring them in the face.
To my knowledge no state nor the federal government has ever admitted its ever happened.

Nor will any government ever do such a thing. They might secretly fire some folks after discrediting them or appropriate more funding for forensic sciences but " I am sorry, we screwed up" will never publicly pass forth from the lips of anyone in government in a position of authority. Well, at least not since Nixon.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/10/01/texas.execution.probe/index.html

It seems lately every time I hear of something related to Governor Perry, I may as well just go grab the Pepto-Bismal. That guy really disgusts me.

Starting to see this played on other news outlets,now that Gov. Perry fired some of the independent panel looking into this. Im sure the Last thing he wants to see, is that he sent an innocent man to his death, that could hurt his chances at getting re-elected.