The case of Robert Hill, convicted of murder in 1988 on the eyewitness accounts of some high crackheads, brings the Catch-22 of parole to the fore. Thinking it would get him paroled, Hill expressed remorse for a crime he says he did not commit. It’s a perennial problem for attorneys appealing false convictions.
It has long been said, in varying language, that a lie travels halfway around the world before the truth can get its boots on. You do not have to reach back 200 years to Scotland to find enduring wisdom in that adage. You need return only to the 1980s and to the subject of this week’s Retro Report documentary video, part of a series re-examining news stories from the past. This week’s subject is the notorious McMartin Preschool abuse trial.
NCRJ President Mike Snedeker is interviewed for The Atlantic.
http://69.195.124.104/~ncrjorg/in-texas-a-new-law-lets-defendants-fight-bad-science/
By Mark Godsey
Director, Center for the Global Study of Wrongful Conviction;
Director, Rosenthal Institute for Justice/Ohio Innocence Project
http://wrongfulconvictionsblog.org/2014/02/13/woody-allen-and-the-virtual-lynch-mob/
“While I, of course, cannot be certain about what happened any more than those who would condemn Allen on the spot, I can say this: Some of the earmarks of a false allegation can be seen in this case. There are reasons to be concerned, just as many of the investigators and child psychologists were so gravely concerned when they closely interviewed the seven-year-old Dylan Farrow back in 1992 and told the authorities they believed the allegations were false.”
http://wrongfulconvictionsblog.org/2014/02/13/woody-allen-and-the-virtual-lynch-mob/
The writer, Mark Godsey, heads the Ohio Innocence Project.
Sharon Krause was also instrumental in sending an innocent mother, Lynn Malcom, to prison. The NCRJ has long sponsored Lynn’s case.
“Justice was served — even though it took 30 years,” Zellner said. “We were able to prove they framed him. We’ve proven the evidence was fabricated. And, after 30 years, that’s remarkable. Justice is alive and well in Washington.”
http://www.columbian.com/news/2014/feb/03/jury-awards-9-million-spencer/
This editorial says what needs to be said about Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley, who — unfortunately — is now the leading candidate to become the next governor of the commonwealth.
“I see two moral or ethical lessons from this tragic case. The first is the continuing inability of the political ambitious and powerful to admit to a mistake. We do live in difficult media age where politicians are instantaneously crucified on Facebook, Twitter, political blogs, entertainment channels, and the 24/7 cable TV media. Underneath the criticisms, I do believe people are forgiving and would appreciate political honesty. Well, hopeful, anyhow.
“Secondly, the more frightening aspect of this tale is wholesale power we entrust to any one individual, especially when it comes to criminal prosecution, providing almost unlimited taxpayer-funded resources and authority shielded behind an elective office. The individual thus comes to symbolize or becomesthe state apparatus. True, nationally and in every state, this particular case that is such an egregious example.”
http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/article/20140201/OPINION/140209771/11609/OPINION
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