Monday, April 11, 2011

J is for Justice

"I SPENT 18 years in prison for robbery and murder, 14 of them on death row. I’ve been free since 2003, exonerated after evidence covered up by prosecutors surfaced just weeks before my execution date."

So begins an op-ed piece in Monday's New York Times. John Thompson had been falsely accused by another man arrested in the same shooting; he was convicted based on eye-witness testimony. The defense attorneys did shoddy work, and the prosecution hid evidence.

A few years ago, Thompson sued the D.A.'s office and won $14 million dollars, but the Supreme Court overturned that ruling. He writes,

I don’t care about the money. I just want to know why the prosecutors who hid evidence, sent me to prison for something I didn’t do and nearly had me killed are not in jail themselves. There were no ethics charges against them, no criminal charges, no one was fired and now, according to the Supreme Court, no one can be sued.

Where's the justice?

3 comments:

george rede said...

Powerful piece. Yet another demonstration of the fallacy that our country pursues equal justice for all.

It's pretty horrible that incompetent or dishonest prosecutors can't be held accountable.

Glad you're doing this alphabet marathon.

Linda Bob Grifins Korbetis Hall said...

insightful post.

Justice is for all to have.
bless you.

Abhishek said...

Hey thanks for this post!!

It is true that the prosecutors must be put into jail if it is proven that they hid the evidence purposefully ... ! Well Whatever!!

with warm regards
CatchyTips for Writers