Yikes

[Steve James]

How much of the justice system really believes in itself as far as righting its own wrongs, like past mistakes that are obvious because of new technology?

It's not just the technology. People who can't afford lawyers end up with public defenders who often have over a hundred other cases, simultaneously. This leads them to encourage defendants to plead out, which leaves them with records and, nowadays, presence in the dna criminal databases.

[Steve James]

There is always hope.

NEW YORK — A Virginia man who spent a decade in prison after pleading guilty to a New York City slaying over 50 years ago was cleared of the crime Monday.

At the request of a prosecutor, a judge vacated the conviction of 81-year-old Paul Gatling for the 1963 shooting death of Lawrence Rothbort. In doing so, the judge apologized and Gatling hugged his crying ex-wife and a friend.

"There's a lot of water gone under the bridge, but the bridge is still standing," Gatling said after the court proceeding.

The prosecutor asked that the conviction be vacated after Gatling, a retired landscaper, asked the prosecutor's Conviction Review Unit to look into his case.
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"Paul Gatling repeatedly proclaimed his innocence even as he faced the death penalty back in the 60s," Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson said. "He was pressured to plead guilty and, sadly, did not receive a fair trial."
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Gatling, who walked with a cane as he entered the court, said he came from a civic-minded family and "this has stopped me from voting on every level."
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Gatling's attorney and family pressed him to plead guilty to second-degree murder, afraid that he would otherwise face the death penalty if convicted. He agreed, and was sentenced to 30 years to life in prison in October 1964. His sentence was commuted by then-Gov. Nelson Rockefeller at the behest of the Legal Aid Society and he was released in January 1974.

His exoneration marks the 20th time in two years that the prosecutor's Conviction Review Unit has helped clear defendants found guilty in Brooklyn of crimes they did not commit, according to The New York Times, which first reported the story.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/man ... li=BBnb4R7