sad state of the american judiciary
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Just read the innocent man....it really makes you dulan towards the judiciary...
Dennis Fritz was an ordinary man living an ordinary life in Ada, Oklahoma. A school teacher whose wife was brutally murdered in 1975, Dennis was raising his young daughter on his own. On the fateful evening of May 8, 1987, Dennis was enveloped by a sudden foreboding sensation. He could not explain the eerie feeling in his gut—the sense that something is about to happen. Two hours later, he was under arrest, handcuffed and on his way to jail on charges of rape and murder.
From the outset the evidence against Dennis and his eccentric friend, Ron Williamson, in the murder of Debbie Sue Carter were non-conclusive. An overzealous prosecutor, intent on winning, relied on flimsy circumstantial data to create the illusion of guilt. Distorted statements, questionable testimony of a jailhouse informant, faulty hair evidence, dream confessions and other bizarre clues completed the prosecutionÂ’s circle of deception.
Dennis was convicted after a swift trial. The vote of a single juror saved him from the death penalty and he was sentenced to life behind bars. His co-defendant, Ronnie Williamson, was sentenced to death.
In prison, Dennis immediately immersed himself in an intense study of the law and wrote hundreds of letters and appellate briefs in his own defense—hoping against hope that someone would take an interest in his case. It was a tortuous journey, but Dennis was relentless. After ten desperate years he discovered the Innocence Project, a non-profit legal organization devoted to exonerate the wrongfully convicted through post-conviction DNA testing. With the aid of Barry Scheck and irrefutable DNA evidence, Dennis and Ron were exonerated. The real killer, who turned out to be one of the prosecution’s key witnesses, was finally brought to justice. On April 15, 1999, after twelve years of wrongful imprisonment, Dennis and Ron were free men. Their long journey toward justice was finally over. -
this one just wound down also ....
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006_Duke_University_lacrosse_team_scandal -
actually he is quite lucky if he is in singapore he would have been hung already. so America judicial system still gd.Originally posted by unclebutcher:Just read the innocent man....it really makes you dulan towards the judiciary...
In prison, Dennis immediately immersed himself in an intense study of the law and wrote hundreds of letters and appellate briefs in his own defense—hoping against hope that someone would take an interest in his case. It was a tortuous journey, but Dennis was relentless. After ten desperate years he discovered the Innocence Project, a non-profit legal organization devoted to exonerate the wrongfully convicted through post-conviction DNA testing. With the aid of Barry Scheck and irrefutable DNA evidence, Dennis and Ron were exonerated. The real killer, who turned out to be one of the prosecution’s key witnesses, was finally brought to justice. On April 15, 1999, after twelve years of wrongful imprisonment, Dennis and Ron were free men. Their long journey toward justice was finally over. -
Definitely.
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So now I understand why there are campaigns to abolish the death penalty.
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1 wrongful death is one too many.Originally posted by googoomuck:So now I understand why there are campaigns to abolish the death penalty. -
And then we once had Chief Justice who always opted for the worse possible punishment for anyone who dared to appeal.....
In the US, there is a lawyer who is crusading against prosecutors who abuse their power. Would we see something like this in Singapore? Perhaps, perhaps not. A cabal of lawyers also launched attacks on the administration for wrongful detention in Cuba.
The US judicial system is flawed, but at least people have the guts and the ability to change it. -
Well, it would be good if we could have a justice system that can meet halfway.Originally posted by Fingolfin_Noldor:And then we once had Chief Justice who always opted for the worse possible punishment for anyone who dared to appeal.....
In the US, there is a lawyer who is crusading against prosecutors who abuse their power. Would we see something like this in Singapore? Perhaps, perhaps not. A cabal of lawyers also launched attacks on the administration for wrongful detention in Cuba.
The US judicial system is flawed, but at least people have the guts and the ability to change it. -
Welcome to America!
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How could the majority of the jurors, decide on a verdict, without knowing anything about the "overzealous prosecutor" , the "prosecution's circle of deception", and the credential of "a prosecutionÂ’s key witnesses, who turned out to be the real killer"? How could they give a guilty verdict with evidence which are non conclusive on the outset? was there no court of appeal? This is the sad state of the american jury.Originally posted by unclebutcher:Just read the innocent man....it really makes you dulan towards the judiciary...
Dennis Fritz was an ordinary man living an ordinary life in Ada, Oklahoma. A school teacher whose wife was brutally murdered in 1975, Dennis was raising his young daughter on his own. On the fateful evening of May 8, 1987, Dennis was enveloped by a sudden foreboding sensation. He could not explain the eerie feeling in his gut—the sense that something is about to happen. Two hours later, he was under arrest, handcuffed and on his way to jail on charges of rape and murder.
From the outset the evidence against Dennis and his eccentric friend, Ron Williamson, in the murder of Debbie Sue Carter were non-conclusive. An overzealous prosecutor, intent on winning, relied on flimsy circumstantial data to create the illusion of guilt. Distorted statements, questionable testimony of a jailhouse informant, faulty hair evidence, dream confessions and other bizarre clues completed the prosecutionÂ’s circle of deception.
Dennis was convicted after a swift trial. The vote of a single juror saved him from the death penalty and he was sentenced to life behind bars. His co-defendant, Ronnie Williamson, was sentenced to death.
In prison, Dennis immediately immersed himself in an intense study of the law and wrote hundreds of letters and appellate briefs in his own defense—hoping against hope that someone would take an interest in his case. It was a tortuous journey, but Dennis was relentless. After ten desperate years he discovered the Innocence Project, a non-profit legal organization devoted to exonerate the wrongfully convicted through post-conviction DNA testing. With the aid of Barry Scheck and irrefutable DNA evidence, Dennis and Ron were exonerated. The real killer, who turned out to be one of the prosecution’s key witnesses, was finally brought to justice. On April 15, 1999, after twelve years of wrongful imprisonment, Dennis and Ron were free men. Their long journey toward justice was finally over.
It was not the absence of death sentence that save him, it was the single juror. Lucky him. The juridicial process through which a suspect is investigated, prosecuted, trial and sentence is the main issue, not the punishment after sentence.
In Singapore, not sure if Dennis would be found guilty, but is unlikely to be sentenced to death, since there is indeed little evidence against him, and he would have the chance of appeals.
But it is true that if he were sentenced to imprisonment here, there is no Innocence Project, or any non-profit legal organization devoted to exonerate the wrongfully convicted through post-conviction DNA testing. If any such organisation exists, their help would have to be sought during the trial period, before guilty as charged.
May be such organisations exist in america because have are always wrong verdicts given by their courts. This is truely the sad state of american judiciary system. -
think la. in singapore the circumstantial and untrue evidence would never have been admissible. so your statement is wrong from the outset.Originally posted by crazy monkey:actually he is quite lucky if he is in singapore he would have been hung already. so America judicial system still gd. -
Death penalty has never been shown to deter crime more effectively than other punishments like jail terms without possibilty of parole.Originally posted by LazerLordz:1 wrongful death is one too many.
Death penalty once carried out on an innocent victim, is irrevocable.
Derek Bentley's hanging led to the abolishment of death penalty in UK.
And it took his sister and niece 46 long years of crusade to clear his name. He was finally buried alongside his parents and sister. -
hmm..
if by human error additional strokes of the cane was erroneously administered as is in recent local case, what's there to prevent an innocent neck being hung? Especially with an over-confident government... who thinks highly of its judicial system...
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And more people start to see the light.Originally posted by HyperFocal:hmm..
if by human error additional strokes of the cane was erroneously administered as is in recent local case, what's there to prevent an innocent neck being hung? Especially with an over-confident government... who thinks highly of its judicial system...
Death is irrevocable. If a man can be hung for procedure and through legislative compulsion without final judicial oversight that cannot be overruled by the Cabinet, something is wrong isn't it? -
It reveals the weakness of the jury system and their forensic investigations. Educated judges are better placed to pass verdicts. Unfortunately the lawyers are smarter than judges in America, given the huge disparity in salaries.
As for the death penalty, it stays! Majority of Singaporeans still support it. -
Frankly lah..
.. I just see that all the gov here is doing, is just keeping the peace, harmony, and economic stability to make money for themselves.. whther people are struggling along or falling behind and dying, aren't of much concern to them...
.. they are just inrerested in their revenues and incomes... not ours... -
I think America is really simply too huge...Originally posted by oxford mushroom:It reveals the weakness of the jury system and their forensic investigations. Educated judges are better placed to pass verdicts. Unfortunately the lawyers are smarter than judges in America, given the huge disparity in salaries.
As for the death penalty, it stays! Majority of Singaporeans still support it.
As for Singapore, I would say that we can't really do without the death penalty, and at the same time, we can't live very well with it either...
.. with it in place, people are still gutsy enough to meddle in drug trafficking.. without it, I think it would proliferate into an industry of its own, and along with it, comes crimes committed by drug addicts...as is evidently rampant up North...
It's a "Can't Live With our Without It" kind of thing ... -
what if a person lock up for 50 yrs then found out to be innocent ? is the lost years of the person's youth revocable. even if a person is truly guilty, life imprisonment would probably a greater torture than death penalty.Originally posted by googoomuck:Death penalty has never been shown to deter crime more effectively than other punishments like jail terms without possibilty of parole.Death penalty once carried out on an innocent victim, is irrevocable.
Derek Bentley's hanging led to the abolishment of death penalty in UK.
And it took his sister and niece 46 long years of crusade to clear his name. He was finally buried alongside his parents and sister. -
Ths US judicial system may be flawed, but in the event that such cases come to light, the wronged plaintiffs would have no problems bringing their cases against their local state/federal (dependent on the conviction and where it's filed) government and be compensated for having been wrongfully imprisoned, in addition to having a public apology issued for the state's oversight in the initial judgment (of course, whether the compensation would adequately commensurate with the indicted's ordeal is another matter and open to debate). Now, if a similar case were to happen here, would anyone be equally confident of successfully bringing the case against this regime and expect those multi million-dollar thugs - who hardly ever takes responsibilities for errors that arise under their watch - to concede the failings of this regime's judiciary in public?Originally posted by Fingolfin_Noldor:The US judicial system is flawed, but at least people have the guts and the ability to change it.
Then again, with a press that is ranked 154th in the world for press freedom, it'd be a miracle if such cases even came to light, isn't it? It's indeed ironic how much scrutiny is placed on the failings of the world's most liberal nations where press freedom is an integral feature of society, while little attention is given to rogue regimes which seem to be such utopia given their seemingly lack of negative press coverage due to the absence of a credible press.
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And then there are some *cough cough* who has the cheek to quote their 'evidence' from the 154th as if they are the Bible or the Quran.Originally posted by walesa:Then again, with a press that is ranked 154th in the world for press freedom, it'd be a miracle if such cases even came to light, isn't it? It's indeed ironic how much scrutiny is placed on the failings of the world's most liberal nations where press freedom is an integral feature of society, while little attention is given to rogue regimes which seem to be such utopia given their seemingly lack of negative press coverage due to the absence of a credible press. -
Precisely why Singapore is better off ruled from Canberra.Originally posted by oxford mushroom:As for the death penalty, it stays! Majority of Singaporeans still support it. -
HAHAHAHA that is why i always question the criminal justice system and deem it as ineffective.
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It is defective all over the world. Just that in some countries, the cracks are larger.Originally posted by boka:HAHAHAHA that is why i always question the criminal justice system and deem it as ineffective. -
Exactly.Originally posted by iveco:It is defective all over the world. Just that in some countries, the cracks are larger.
That is why there should be an global organisation that is set up without the interference of any government bodies ,so as to handle all court proceedings and punishment at any level to deter future crimes. -
Everyone dislikes to have his freedom curtailed.Originally posted by crazy monkey:what if a person lock up for 50 yrs then found out to be innocent ? is the lost years of the person's youth revocable. even if a person is truly guilty, life imprisonment would probably a greater torture than death penalty.
The period of a jail term must be appropriately based on the type of offence committed.
A long jail term will be much feared by criminals. A jail term without parole is only to be reserved for hardcore criminals or multiple murderers, for example.
If an innocent man is convicted, he or his friends or relatives should be allowed to seek redress.
If the judiciary system has made an honest mistake, somebody will have to compensate dearly for his lost years. Remember recent case of a prisoner who was given an additional three strokes of the rotan.