Texas killed an innocent man - What should it do about it?

You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to rocketsjudoka again.

Succinctly stated.

 

If you're saying that you could sue a prosecutor for good-faith mistakes, you're mistaken.

 

That depends what is considered "good-faith". I'm not a lawyer but I recall that you can sue prosecutors for negligence.

 

Not when they're acting in the scope of their job in the courtroom, you can't. There's prosecutorial (and, for that matter, judicial) immunity in those matters.

 

The death penalty is wrong because it is far easier to frame someone using technology than it used to be. It was wrong in the past as well, but because it was harder to obtain the right evidence (DNA). Most of our elected officials and jurors are idiots and they should not be trusted with a person's life.

 

I'm going to defer to you since from what I recall you work or have worked in the Justice system. That said since there have been civil suits taken against prosecutors what grounds those are on?

 

Based on others issues and creative pleading. For example, I read about a suit based on the office policies generated by the elected DA.

If prosecutors were subject to civil suit by every inmate that we helped send to prison, we'd have time for nothing but responding to those.

 

this case seems to be the perfect argument against the death penalty. better technology has brung better investigative science that proved this guy wasn't guilty or at least that it there was nothing to prove he was.

 

In answer to the thread title question... first thing would be to impeach the governor...

Texas: Governor Fires Chairman of Forensic Science Committee
By JAMES C. MCKINLEY Jr.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/01/u...20016-naIKp4Qd rZHruSfbeMqDA&pagewanted=print

Gov. Rick Perry replaced the chairman and two members of the state’s Forensic Science Commission, two days before the commission was to hear evidence that Texas executed an innocent man. The new chairman canceled the hearing, at which an arson expert was to present a report critical of the arson analysis that led to the conviction of the man, Cameron T. Willingham. Mr. Willingham, above, was executed in 2004 after being convicted of setting a 1991 fire in which his three children died. Governor Perry, who was in office at the time of the execution, has expressed confidence in Mr. Willingham’s guilt. “This is like the Saturday night massacre,” said Barry Scheck, co-director of the Innocence Project, which has been working on the case. “It’s like Nixon firing Archibald Cox to avoid turning over the Watergate tapes.” But a spokesman for the governor, Chris Cutrone, said the governor’s decision was “business as usual.” “Some people’s terms expired,” Mr. Cutrone said, “and we reappointed new people.”

 

Well that's incredibly ****ty.

 

Rick Perry is a Grade-A moron.

 

Since he'll probably get away with it, I'm not so sure.

 

i'd go with *******.

 

texas is the third world. seriously.

 

fixed.

 

this nonsense doesn't happen so much outside of the south though. vermont and wisconsin and massachusetts don't do this. in general.

 

I was referring more to our lack of moral integrity and preponderance to corruption, coupled with greed-induced apathy. None of which is supposed to be addressed lest you be seen discourteous to our social and political heritage.

The effects may have regional biases, but the cause is the same.

 

Starting to gain a little traction...