Wrongful convictions in the US

[OneEyedDiva]

NYT - "The city [NYC] settled 953 cases in 2024, and the highest payouts included five settlements that cost at least $15 million each. Two were from the wrongful convictions of James Irons and Thomas Malik, who in 1995 were charged with the murder of a subway clerk.

After spending three decades behind bars, Mr. Irons and Mr. Malik were exonerated by a judge who found that the police had elicited false confessions from them. Both were awarded about $16.3 million last year.
Image

Thomas Malik, left, and James Irons were freed after years behind bars. Police investigators had elicited false confessions from them.

The Police Department noted that around 64 percent of the cases settled in 2024 were wrongful convictions and at least half of those were around two decades old."

I'm glad to see that those wrongfully convicted are being released and compensated. But, I still think they should get one million for each year they were incarcerated. I had no idea there had been so many wrongful convictions (acknowledged ones at least)! I have no doubt, however that many confessions are coerced or forced.

 

[againstthegrain]

I'm glad to see that those wrongfully convicted are being released and compensated. But, I still think they should get one million for each year they were incarcerated. I had no idea there had been so many wrongful convictions! I have no doubt, however that many confessions are coerced or forced.

Perhaps they should get more, but some punishment for the wrongdoers would also be appropriate. The wrong doers should have their qualified immunity removed so they could be sued and jailed as well as lose their pensions. A penalty of twice as much time in prison as those they wrongfully convicted would not be unjust.

 

[againstthegrain]

Edward T Blake Forensic expert

NYT -"As the first forensic scientist to use polymerase chain reaction testing on crime-scene DNA, he was able to wring answers from evidence samples that were old, minuscule or severely degraded.

His use of PCR, as the test is commonly known, sparked a movement that has freed thousands of wrongfully convicted people. Dr. Blake’s testing alone helped to exonerate more than 50, including several sentenced to death.

Peter Neufeld, the co-founder of the Innocence Project, told The New Yorker in 2000 that in forensic science “there are a bunch of .300 hitters, and then there’s Ted Williams,” referring to the batter considered to be the best in baseball history.

“Ed Blake,” he went on, “is Ted Williams.”

Dr. Blake died on Aug. 6 at his home in Sonoma, Calif., his wife, Barbara Siegel, said. He was 80. His death, from pancreatic cancer, was not widely reported at the time."


This is a gift article that gets past the paywall, pls let me know if you're having issues.