Monday, March 14, 2005
Wrongful convictions by the truckload
This is an issue that has been simmering in the back of my head for a while now. Wrongful convictions are a large drain on society. Not only do you have an innocent person in jail, who will sue if vindicated, but you also have a criminal go free. A double cost to society. It is also coupled with the problem that legal representation has become a weapon of the wealthy. If you can't afford a lawyer, you are in effect a second class citizen because you can not draw upon the full rights of a member of society.
Jax
AP - Thousands of suspects unable to afford lawyers are wrongly convicted each year because they are pressured to accept guilty pleas or have incompetent attorneys, the American Bar Association says in a report. The study by a committee of the nation's largest lawyers' group says that legal representation of indigents is in "a state of crisis." These defendants are at constant risk of wrongful conviction and unjust punishment, including the death penalty, according to the study. . . More than 150 people who were convicted in 31 states and the District of Columbia served a total of 1,800 years (more).
Jax
AP - Thousands of suspects unable to afford lawyers are wrongly convicted each year because they are pressured to accept guilty pleas or have incompetent attorneys, the American Bar Association says in a report. The study by a committee of the nation's largest lawyers' group says that legal representation of indigents is in "a state of crisis." These defendants are at constant risk of wrongful conviction and unjust punishment, including the death penalty, according to the study. . . More than 150 people who were convicted in 31 states and the District of Columbia served a total of 1,800 years (more).
