The Central Park Five were Innocent in Prison
Via Nation of Change
It is nearly impossible to know how many people are behind bars for crimes they did not commit because of the sprawling criminal justice system in the United States. “We don’t even have a denominator,” states University of Virginia law professor Brandon Garrett. “But the wrongful convictions we do know about suggest that there’s a big problem.” Hypothesizing from the 281 known DNA exonerations in the US since the late 1980s, a conservative prediction is that 1 percent of the US prison population are falsely convicted. In fact, since the late 1980s there have been as many as 850 exonerations nationwide, according to University of Michigan law professor Samuel Gross, a leading researcher in the field.
The Central Park Five – Then
Comments
Hah! what a joke. Everyone in prison’s innocent.
The real question should reflect recidivism. (The chance to re-offend)
The problem is “should prison’s be the new slavery 2.0” instead of a Gladiatorial Area, or should we recognize liberal values here instead.
Hey I Like liberal values!!!!!
The Central Park Five – Now
I would argue that the “experts” are wrong. 99% of all civil and criminal cases in the courts of the U.S. never go to trial. This is particularly insidious in criminal matters. Over 99% of all criminal cases are disposed of through coerced plea agreements. By design, the so-called “court appointed” lawyers assigned to indigent people accused of a felony, in Washington state, will engineer delay of trial so the weight of pending trial; being in jail, and the fact his/her lawyer will ignore them until he/she comes to the accused with a predetermined plea deal if he/she will plead to a lesser charge. In Washington state, the plea of guilty requires the accused (now convicted) person to pay back the “state” for the costs of his/her defense which was not a defense at all, but an insidious and criminal game all its own. I would say the number of “innocent” people sitting in American jails is more like 20%.
There are numerous people in prion who have been wrongly convicted for various reason. Black, White or otherwise, a wrongful conviction is an injustice. Once the injustice has been corrected, the victims need to be compensated. The Central Park Five should not have to wait another day to get paid.
Check out the interview on the Prisonworld Radio Hour.
