The Death Penalty
...you know that since 1989, 160 people have been released from prison... ...some awaiting execution on death row... ...because DNA testing has shown them to be innocent. Let me repeat that: One-hundred sixty people who have been sitting on death row awaiting execution... ...sometimes for decades of their life... ...were later shown to be innocent.
It is estimated that more than 20* people have been executed over the years... ...who were later shown to be innocent. The actual number is undoubtedly higher... ...but we tend not to delve into these things after the fact.**
...another person confessed to the crime... ...someone uncovered new evidence, or... ...inadvertent clerical or procedural errors delayed things long enough for new evidence to surface.
...and who has the smarts to understand the science and statistics involved... ...which rules out some juries... ...knows that the possibility of error is next to impossible.
...even when legally requested to do so... ...and even when the original DNA evidence hasn't been destroyed... ...which is has been in many instances.
Better to put innocent people in prison... ...and even execute a few... ...than to find out you were wrong... ..or call into question the politically popular issue of the death penalty.
...told him that it was far easier to win the lottery than to disprove a good DNA test. "I don't believe in any of that scientific hocus-pocus," he said. He's scheduled for jury duty in two weeks. April, 2003 Editor's notes: *The number may be closer to 100, according to more recent estimates. The latter figure is derived from number of people executed since 1976, when capital punishment was reinstated in the United States, divided by the ratio of people we are now finding are innocent through DNA testing, which is one in seven. In August of 2004 it was discovered that one large city in Texas had a long record of major errors in it's testing procedures— errors that have thrown into question thousands of convictions. At the same time Texas has the highest capitol punishment rate in the nation. In England it was recently discovered that a 27 year-old man who had been put to death for rape and murder was actually innocent of the crime.
In some cases judges and DA's have refused to reconsider death sentences, even though major evidence surfaces that seems to clearly show the innocence of the person convicted. A high percentages of convictions are based on a single eyewitness. A recent study found that a very high percentage of eyewitnesses mistakenly identify people, resulting in their conviction. (Los Angeles Times, Sept. 1, 2003.) Does the death penalty reduce homicide rates? FBI figures compiled over the last 20 years show that states that have the death penalty have murder rates from 48 to 101% higher than states that don't. ** A case recently came to the attention to officials in one state; however, even though they have DNA evidence that could prove the person who was executed was innocent, officials refuse to submit the evidence for testing. They reportedly feel that the results could potentially undermine the political popularity of the death sentence in that state.
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