By gerard, January 8 at 9:07 pm Link to this comment

1.  No culture has abolished racism which exists even within racial groups.  If
you want to hold your breath in anticipation of its disappearance then be my
guest.  Your choice between understanding this and giving up on trying to
change it is simply a false choice.

2. The number of black judges in the US is indeed quite healthy.  As early as
the 1980s their proportion had increased dramatically and has continued to do
so.  If you’d like to dispute this claim with numbers then i’m all ears.  Here’s an
old article that addresses this subject:

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,877263,00.html

3. I didn’t ignore possible societal issues associated with black crime rates:
that’s why I said “You may believe that society is to blame” because my point
wasn’t about the reasons, just the fact.

4. My point still stands that the numbers cited by the article’s author don’t
support racism as a cause for the large number of blacks exonerated by DNA.

Something I never see mentioned in coverage of these miscarriages of justice is that every person unjustly convicted is mirrored by a real perpetrator still out there, free to rape or rob or murder again. I wonder why this threat never seems to occur to the politicians and other officials who categorically refuse to reexamine these cases, thereby giving countless numbers of real criminals a free pass.

Regarding race and crime, Marshall’s comment is widely believed:  “And while I’m sure there will always be some element of racisim in our judicial
system, the system itself is quite diverse - many black judges, layers, etc…  You may believe that society is to blame but the fact is that crime rates are much higher among blacks than among other races; thus higher black prison population.  So without clarifying the racial makeup of the cases reconsidered, this article’s evidence for racism is undisclosed.”
1.  “While I am sure there will always be some element of racism etc….”  (How and why is he “sure”
that there will “always be” ..?  (under-meaning: No use to change, no need to change, it’s inevitable, understandable, accept it.)
2. The sheer “number of black judges and lawyers” indicates lack of racism. The statement implies an equality that doesn’t exist. Comparatively few blacks have or can raise the money to go to law school.
3.“Crime rates are much higher among blacks than among other races.”  Ignores conditions of poverty, lack of education and incentive, repressive psychological pressures of persistent prejudice in the general population, subtle and overt. Ignores (on top of that) prejudices existing everywhere in the “justice” system from street cops to Federal judges especially in those States ignoring or promoting prejudice, consciously and unconsciously.
4. Above all, ignores “white collar crime” which amounts to billions of dollars literally stolen from ordinary people through high-stakes Market gambling and bank and corporate cheating, by people who are never arrested and tried, but on the other hand are almost always free to buy their way out of any legal challenge.
5. As to the word “undisclosed”—if one’s eyes are closed, no evidence contrary to personal belief can be recognized. Take the blinders off, look around any inner city streets and outer city slums and homeless shelters, under bridges, behind fences, on the other side of Whitesville.  Evidence stares you in the face, and Whitesville is to blame for it all.  Every bit.  They have the money, the clout, the power to bring about equality or a reasonable facsimile of equality.  Most of them just don’t want to.  Why should they?  Many of them are having a hard time themselves.  Divide and conquer.

felicity; would you care to explain your slur?

DNA profiling was first reported around 1984 and genetic fingerprinting was made commercially available in 1987.
Why, in God’s name, has it taken so long to prove this man’s innocence? How many more people are in prison for crimes that they did not commit?
In the UK, it brings back memories, nightmares for those involved, of Lord Denning, then Master of the Rolls, who casually stated that had the Birmingham six been hanged, any furore about them would never have taken place.
He also upheld an appeal by the West Midlands police, against which the Birmingham 6 had brought a civil action for injuries received at their hands whilst in police custody, and followed up this decision with the following comments: “to accept that the police were lying would open up an appalling vista…..”; eleven years later, he admitted he was wrong and that the West Midlands detectives had ‘let us all down’.
It would appear that no-one, in any position of authority, likes to admit being in the wrong, even if it means innocent people languishing behind bars for years.
We need to urgently address a system that permits such outrageous behaviour, by people who think that appearance is more important that justice; they should really know better, and we need to do something about it, sooner rather than later.

“While I don’t totally dosagree with your post, I don’t think Madoff and Skilling
(both in jail) would agree that they’re “living the american dream” nor would most
say they got a slap on the wrist.”

It is an understandably difficult task Marshall has chosen for himself; the defense of the indefensible, this particular line of illogic is totally inadequate.

That two crooks, out of a pool of hundreds, perhaps thousands, were scapegoated while the rest continue to commit crimes against our economic best interests solely for personal gain is such an obvious fact that the mention of them in a silly defense of a system become so rancid with greed collapses his whole argument.

Crackerland is one dimensional, narrow minded, inept and dangerous. Vindication of their fear and prejudice is their intent. Truth is the last thing its ihabitants are interested in. Small town Texas D.A.‘s are notorious for the trumped up mass prosecutions of minorities as a revenue source for City coffers and the local prison industry.Manufactured evidence and the jailhouse junky snitch are their Hallmarks. Many small towns across America are one step removed from Salem. These are the poor folk the Necromancer Rove, the thug Boehner and the Telesatan Hagee use and abandon without conscience.

    A D.A. who stands in the way of tests that would provide decisive evidence about the guilt or innocence of an imate is posterfiend for the Slaver Mentality that Washington Corporate Fascism represents. A recent FRONTLINE documentary showed the gutless wonder Texas Rethuglican Govenor Rick Perry justifying the Execution of a man whom he denied a stay after being presented with clear evidence of innocence. Later Perry fired the Chief Investigator and replaced him with a political hack. To say our “so called” political leadership is morally bankrupt is an understatement. The Cheney/Bush Presidency made deals with the Devil that may kill us all.

    In a State of War there are no non-combatants. Everyone is expendable. The very worst elements of the American Psyche not only carry us backward but are ushering us to total Social/Financial doom. Act or perish.

By TheHandyman, January 8 at 12:47 am Link to this comment

While I don’t totally dosagree with your post, I don’t think Madoff and Skilling
(both in jail) would agree that they’re “living the american dream” nor would most
say they got a slap on the wrist.

And while I’m sure there will always be some element of racisim in our judicial
system, the system itself is quite diverse - many black judges, layers, etc…  You
may believe that society is to blame but the fact is that crime rates are much
higher among blacks than among other races; thus higher black prison
population.  So without clarifying the racial makeup of the cases reconsidered, this
article’s evidence for racism is undisclosed.

There will always be the people like Marshall who is either undereducated or just refuses to believe what they read because it doesn’t jive with what they believe, as if reality and facts weren’t a good as a belief, however erroneous it might be. It never occurs to people like Marshall that the reason there is a disproportionate number of blacks in prison is because of racism primarily but poverty plays an important part. Our society has always provided through the media the desire for the American way of life but society doesn’t provide the means to achieve it. Better education, better jobs, lack of discrimination, all of these go hand in hand. When there is no legitimate way to achieve survival let alone the image of the successful American as portrayed by Madison Ave and Wall Street then other means must be used to acquire the American Dream. The irony is that people like Madoff, Abramoff, Delay, Skilling, and others of the upper crust who are supposedly living the American dream have also attained that lifestyle through crimes. But they are crimes of the White Collar nature where a fine less than what they stole and a slap on the wrist, because they are White, is more than sufficient for prosecutors to pat themselves on the back and say “well done, Justice triumphs again.” But it hasn’t, not really!

in a region with 1k ethnicities, deescalating in importance,
innocent people of lower class or ethnos do get convincted.

it if u belong to the top people or peoples like wasps and
‘jews’, u can beat sure guilt.
that’s the nature of region, but is not of the homogeneous
countries like many eurolands.tnx

gerard - “Privatization of prisons is a crime in
itself” gets a bravo. Even a cursory examination of the
offenses that are sending people to jail and keeping
them there for years supports your statement in spades.

Marshall - read the article again.

One super-serious problem we have now concerning
“crime and punishment” is being largely ignored:  The fact that under privatized management, prisons must be kept as full as possible in order for as much profit as possible can accrue to whatever private company owns and manages them.
  This is recipe for injustice.  It presents a constant incentive for sloppy defense of suspects and a failure to demand DNA-based evidence, or even in some cases, trustworthy evidence of any kind. Those with the least amount of money (or clout) to hire top defense attorneys hold the short end of the stick, which is the very opposite of justice, from beginning to end of the trial process.
  Privatization of prisons is a crime in itself.

Rare as hens’ teeth:  a prosecutor who sees his job as finding TRUTH, even if it means the accused goes free, rather than the vast majority who see their job as to get convictions and then prevent those convictions from being re-examined.

Racism? In America? In a Southern state? Unthinkable! (but only if you are unable to think)

Perhaps, not to diminish the racism that is still a part of our cultural fabric, we should also consider that economic status plays a part in this injustice as well. In most cases, the wealthy do not get convicted or, if they do, they are sentenced to far less time than their poorer counterparts. Thus DA’s must pad conviction records amomg those who cannot afford high priced legal counsel and settle, in many cases, for disinterested pro bono attorneys.

There’s a better angle on this story with less hyperbole about race and so on at this link:

http://harpers.org/archive/2011/01/hbc-90007895

... and if you just want to be overall better informed with problems with our system of justice and in the US Justice Department specifically… then I suggest you follow Scott Horton more closely that ER.

Robinson is correct in pointing out this miscarriage of justice. And Texas is a place where race could and surely does play a part in politics and more.. but Horton stays on point about the origins of prosecutor abuse and error and needed systemic reform and oversight.. The things that would lessen or eliminate the role of prejudice in the courtroom.

Adios

Has it occurred to the author that the large proportion of blacks exonerated might
just reflect the large proportion of blacks in jail to begin with?  Nor did he disclose
the racial makeup of the cases reevaluated so far.  Without this information, the
article makes no actual case for racism - just an unsupported accusation.