If you are wrongfully convicted, and exonerated later

[Steve James]

For ex, this guy was convicted of rape and served 24 years behind bars, but state law says that he can get .... drumroll .... nada damn thing.
http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/the-pr ... ar-BBhxnPV

In many states, people who are exonerated have to give up their right to sue in order to collect the set payment.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2014/06/ ... states-pay

[Michael]

You can't sue the federal government unless they give you permission, and then they sometimes don't pay when they lose. The US Supreme Court ruled that an illegally renditioned and tortured by the USA and its proxies can not sue the government, that's the same as these state cases. I hope in the future a different US Supreme Court will right that wrong and pay similar to the wrong, then right US Supreme Court decisions about the illegally incarcerated Japanese Americans during WW2. It happens a lot.

[Michael]

Basically, there are laws that say ignorance of the law is no excuse while simultaneously there are laws that say the government doesn't have to follow the laws, such as the Americans with Disabilities Act. Correct the mistakes, give logic to the hypocrisies, show mercy to the prisoners. You could be next.

[Dajenarit]

Well is the prison industry about justice or getting as many bodies in these privately owned facilities as possible? It's seems like a failsafe law to prevent the state from being sued into bankruptcy from the high number of wrongful convictions they know they're gonna eventually have. If hundreds of people being exonerated and released from death row isn't enough to end that practice you pretty much know what the states priorities are by now. The goal is to feed the machine. Collateral be damned.

[Michael]

The simple numbers of people in the USA who are in prison or who were paroled, put on probation, etc., are staggering and outweigh any other country in the world similar to the way our defense spending dwarfs the next four or five largest spenders combined, last time I checked. Priorities need to be changed. The USA has too many good things going for it to have so many people in prison. It's just not necessary in the least.

[chud]

For ex, this guy was convicted of rape and served 24 years behind bars, but state law says that he can get .... drumroll .... nada damn thing.
http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/the-pr ... ar-BBhxnPV

Terrible, all states should pay people who are wrongfully convicted.

If you want to see a good documentary about a similar case where a person who was wrongfully convicted and finally set free after many years (despite the prosecution trying to subvert the truth), check out this documentary about the Michael Morton case.
It's on Netflix, and well worth watching: http://www.anunrealdream.com/

Also, here's the Wikipedia page about the Michael Morton case: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Morton_%28criminal_justice%29

[Steve James]

Actually, I've read about Morton. Check this out http://www.innocenceproject.org/Content ... ctions.php

It's still amazing how some states would prefer to destroy old evidence rather than do new dna testing. I mean; it's not surprising, but it still amazes.

[Michael]

Gotta protect the institution, that's why whistleblowers like Bradley Manning are prosecuted more than the criminals they report, like...I've listed them before.

[Andy_S]

Based on Hollywood movies and Discovery Channel doccos, the thought of ending up in a US jail is an absolute nightmare. But as noted, the chances of ending up there seem pretty damned high - particularly if you hail from a certain racial group.

The Economist had a cover story last week (or a couple of weeks ago) on "What has gone wrong with the US police system." Maybe they need to expand that to the overall judicial and penal systems.

[Michael]

Andy, it's gone for profit. I can't remember the federal conviction rate, but it's over 90%, and most state cases they threaten the defendant with such huge bails and possible sentences that they scare them into accepting plea bargains that make them debtors to the courts for years, and that's not even getting into how the court fees go into judges pockets, nor the privatization of prisons or certain services, such as food or medical.

Simply put, putting people in prison or into the justice system in the USA is a for profit enterprise that is expanding rapidly. The numbers don't lie, either the bottom line or the incarceration rates, especially, as you mentioned, for certain racial groups.

The Arkansas prison system is run on a budget of revenue generated by the inmates' labor, including selling their blood. Louisiana is similar, but without the blood sales, more just blood, sweat and tears. And then there are the supermax's, and did I mention the...?

But don't worry, dear reader, it won't happen to you. Certainly the expansion of the prison system to a capacity over 2 million will never be used to wrongfully convict you of tax mistakes or downloading Disney. Never happen. Not in 'murica.

[Finny]

Andy, it's gone for profit. I can't remember the federal conviction rate, but it's over 90%, and most state cases they threaten the defendant with such huge bails and possible sentences that they scare them into accepting plea bargains that make them debtors to the courts for years, and that's not even getting into how the court fees go into judges pockets, nor the privatization of prisons or certain services, such as food or medical.

Simply put, putting people in prison or into the justice system in the USA is a for profit enterprise that is expanding rapidly. The numbers don't lie, either the bottom line or the incarceration rates, especially, as you mentioned, for certain racial groups.

The Arkansas prison system is run on a budget of revenue generated by the inmates' labor, including selling their blood. Louisiana is similar, but without the blood sales, more just blood, sweat and tears. And then there are the supermax's, and did I mention the...?

But don't worry, dear reader, it won't happen to you. Certainly the expansion of the prison system to a capacity over 2 million will never be used to wrongfully convict you of tax mistakes or downloading Disney. Never happen. Not in 'murica.

How could it? 'Mericans right to protect themselves from this type of abuse is guaranteed by the second amendment?

[Michael]

Problem? Solution.

Obviously.

[Dajenarit]

Andy, it's gone for profit. I can't remember the federal conviction rate, but it's over 90%, and most state cases they threaten the defendant with such huge bails and possible sentences that they scare them into accepting plea bargains that make them debtors to the courts for years, and that's not even getting into how the court fees go into judges pockets, nor the privatization of prisons or certain services, such as food or medical.

Simply put, putting people in prison or into the justice system in the USA is a for profit enterprise that is expanding rapidly. The numbers don't lie, either the bottom line or the incarceration rates, especially, as you mentioned, for certain racial groups.

The Arkansas prison system is run on a budget of revenue generated by the inmates' labor, including selling their blood. Louisiana is similar, but without the blood sales, more just blood, sweat and tears. And then there are the supermax's, and did I mention the...?

But don't worry, dear reader, it won't happen to you. Certainly the expansion of the prison system to a capacity over 2 million will never be used to wrongfully convict you of tax mistakes or downloading Disney. Never happen. Not in 'murica.

How could it? 'Mericans right to protect themselves from this type of abuse is guaranteed by the second amendment?

The second amendment doesn't apply to everyone.

[Andy_S]

Well, dang. Thank Sweet Jesus that every Merkin home comes equipped with a full armoury of gats (next to the Apple Pie dispenser, I believe...?), granting you freedom-lovin' folks the firepower necessary to defend your good selves against the demonic, awesome and diabolical tyranny of the Federal Government.

[Dajenarit]

Well ain't this the Wild West?

I do wonder what people mean when they say "well you Merkins love your guns and your second amendment so why you let the gubmint roll all over you?" Which is basically implying that we should violently revolt against our government.