My heart goes out to Timmy Cole and his family, as I read that he was finally exonerated of a 1985 rape he did not commit.Unfortunately, this fine man died in prison 10 years ago... and it is yet another testament to America's imperfect justice system.
His family is extremely strong for not having ill feelings toward the rape victim for inaccurately singling him out in a lineup. I understand that she was traumatized -- but the right thing to do is simply be honest and say that you aren't sure.
Yet, the most compelling part about this story is that Mr. Cole did not sell out his innocence just to be paroled early. He stayed true to himself, and his legacy is now worthy of the most revered legends.
As we speak, here in my home county, they are combing through cases and using DNA to exonerate dozens of inmates. Meanwhile, I wonder how many innocent people have been put to death. I wonder how much blood is on America's hand, and for those who religiously say "an eye-for-an-eye"... where is the eye coming from in payment for the blinded innocent that we've buried 6 feet under?
This is precsiely just one of the myraid reasons I am ardently anti-death penalty.
ReplyDeleteThe idea that "We The People" can put someone to death--and let's be real, it is US not the U.S.A. that does it, for in every state, it's The People Of The Sate Of (insert name here) Do Decree.......--is abhorent.
And to find out even one person was put to death for a crime they did not commit is unconscionable.
Even worse in some ways are the ones who are imprisoned wrongly, and then upon release still live with the stigma of being a convict.
Disgusting.
Yeah, I'm ardently against the death penalty as well, Bob. Plus, from what I hear, it actually costs MORE to put someone to death than to keep them in prison due to legal fees and other inherent costs. Most importantly, I agree with you in that even if someone serves their time, they still have to carry that stigma with them for the rest of their lives.
ReplyDeleteWhen I lived in California, I went to many anti-death penalty protests at San Quentin, and I learned it is more costly to put someone to death versus life in prison. The prisoners are allowed all due appeals and the state picks up the tab; these appeals run on for years.
ReplyDeleteWell, the system certainly does fail people on all sides... the person who was victimized, the people who spend time in prison or on death row for crimes they don't commit, and citizens such as former President Bush who believe that no innocent people have been put to death... a belief that he honestly cannot be 100% sure about. My heart goes out to all sides on issues like this post -- and I just hope that we can make improvements quickly.
ReplyDeleteThis is why I am against the death penalty, too, and will be until we have a perfect judicial system. Since that won't happen, we need to abolish it the way other industrialized countries have done. Capital cases cost much more to try, too.
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