There are few things that cut me to the core than the thought of someone being falsely imprisoned. Freedom is one of the fundamentals to me, and having it taken away is one thing. Having it taken away and you are innocent is something so hideous, it's hard to put into words. It is the ultimate perversion of anything you might consider ' Justice'. I'm from a state that freed THIRTEEN MEN from DEATH ROW because they were INNOCENT. NOT on some technicality, but because they were INNOCENT. And, what upsets me most is that these men have to fight to get ANY sort of compensation. It's just not right. The Government falsely imprisons someone for YEARS, and then doesn't have to automatically compensate the victim when the truth is finally revealed? That's just injustice piled upon injustice.
The NYTimes did a couple of pieces about this subject today.
In,Vindicated by DNA, but a Lost Man on the Outside, they follow Jeffrey Deskovic, who was released from prison after 16 years in prison. This is a typical story of former falsely imprisoned people. And, reading these stories, it seems like the injustice just keeps on rolling.
In A Long Road Back After Exoneration, and Justice Is Slow to Make Amends, the Times gives and outline sketch of the group of former inmates that they interviewed. Also attached is an interactive feature with a description of all the inmates that they interviewed. You will alternate between rage and heartache reading the stories of these former inmates who literally had their lives stolen from them.
Saturday, November 24, 2007
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3 comments:
My Friend Rikyrah:
Do you ever think about the two MUCH, MUCH larger populations of INNOCENT people than the "Falsely Imprisoned"?
What about the VICTIMS who's assailant is never caught? Certainly there are far more individuals who were minding their own business and an attacker violated their civil rights. As it stands today - when their assailant is on the loose it is simply "Tough Luck" and "Get over it". This is especially the case when "Stop Snitching" is in effect.
Secondly - once a person who had been falsely convicted of a crime is released ....the DEAD BODY still points to the fact that SOMEONE KILLED the "now dead" person. Can someone claim to be all about "justice" when they ONLY focus on freeing the falsely accused? Don't they have an obligation to find the real killer? Or are we to be pacified by these words just as when OJ said them?
You have a great blog. Thank you for these articles. Nice post.
Freeing someone who's gone to prison for 16 years is just a little bit more important than avenging a mugging or assault. Duh
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