Danny_C

Careful what you say, Kman.

My sister was brutally murdered. She was kidnapped from right in front of our house, sexually assaulted, strangled with a rope, and finally had her face crushed with a large rock. She was an extremely innocent girl who did not deserve any of that.

Another person who was very close to me (immediate family, but the person is staying anonymous for obvious reasons) was falsely accused. At the time that it happened, she was the 6th young girl murdered in a short period of time in Santa Fe, and the District Attorney was up for reelection. The people wanted somebody behind bars. So he paid an "expert" to examine some bite marks on her neck. This "expert" gave a positive match, and the wrong person was arrested.

He was tried for her rape and murder, and the prosecution asked for the death penalty. My entire family was in shock, and felt helpless. We knew he was innocent, but nobody was listening.

Finally, our attorney called in another expert who was independent, rather than working for the DA. He found that the "bite marks" that matched the defendent's teeth, besides being far from a match of any sort, weren't even bite marks. They were rope marks.

Since that was the only piece of evidence they had, he was finally released after 6 months in jail for killing his own family member. It was, in fact, proven, through DNA, semen found in her (he's sterile), pubic hairs, and other means, that he was innocent. I want to point that out so people are clear: he was not released for insufficient evidence; he was PROVEN innocent beyond a shadow of a doubt.

But here's the thing: we had a damn good lawyer. If we had been poor, and had to settle for a public defender (which most poor people have to do), we would have been shuffled right through the justice system, and he would have been executed.

Now, where's the justice in taking another family member from a family who has already suffered a severe loss? Tell me that.

Then, I read up on the statistics, and I learn of just how many cases there are like this. District Attorneys MUST put people behind bars to get reelected, and they will go to any extreme just to make sure SOMEBODY goes to jail.

I just read some more interesting justice system stories the other day in Crashing the Party. I've suggested that book before, and I'll suggest it again. Ralph Nader, whether you agree with him or not, is a library of knowledge and history.

Sorry to have gotten personal... this is a story I've actually only talked about with people who are close to me... and it was sort of hard to write it. But maybe I can change a couple of minds, and if I do, I think it's worth it.