Missouri death sentence case gets another look (Innocent Man Executed?)

[RamboLiberal]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8841547/

Many death row inmates proclaim their innocence, but Roy “Hog” Roberts, a big man, loud and profane, was adamant. He was so adamant that in the waning days before his 1999 execution for the murder of a prison guard, he demanded a polygraph test.

Attorney Bruce Livingston looked at the results and walked into Roberts’ small gray cell at Missouri’s Potosi Correctional Center and told him the news: He passed. The test indicated Roberts was telling the truth when he said he did not hold down guard Tom Jackson while other inmates stabbed him.

Tears rolled down the big man’s cheeks. His voice grew unusually quiet. “When do I get out of here?” he asked.

Livingston remembers the heartbreak of explaining that the polygraph was of no real value unless it swayed the governor. It didn’t. A few days later, Roberts was put to death.

[tocqueville]

1. that's one of the major arguments against death penalty

you can NEVER be sure 100%

and if you are wrong there is noway you can repair it...

[Silverhair]

3. Sometimes you CAN be 100% sure.

There have been several cases where the murder has been videotaped as it happened. Other cases where DNA evidence has been absolutely conclusive. In other cases the murderer has been captured immediately on the scene with the gun still in hand and witnessed by others.

Ted Bundy was a 100% sure case. A few days before the execution he started telling where some of the bodies were and promised to reveal more locations if his execution were stayed. It wasn't.

Then there is the case of Jeffery Dalhmer. That's another 100% case.

Granted, NOT all cases that are currently on death row are 100%, but I am only challenging you statement that you can NEVER be sure. Yes, in some cases you can be 100% sure.

[tocqueville]

5. of course you can be sure in many cases, but not in all

and you cannot apply a law as definitive as death penalty because some cases are "sure". Or the law isn't the same for everybody.

Even with the examples you describe somebody can always say that the video was fake (easy in those digitals days), the DNA inconclusive (OJ Simpson) or swapped, the "smoking gun" put in the guys hand etc...

Besides since the deterrent effect of death penalty is a myth and it's "morality" very discutable, the majority of the world countries have come to the conclusion that it isn't a good solution.

Look at the world list, the US stands together with the worse dictatorships, with a few exceptions.

[Silverhair]

8. Responses

Even with the examples you describe somebody can always say that the video was fake (easy in those digitals days), the DNA inconclusive (OJ Simpson) or swapped, the "smoking gun" put in the guys hand etc...

They can say a lot of things, but the probabilities become vanishingly small.

I notice that you didn't try to claim that Bundy or Dalhmer may have been innocent. If the crime is common (Meaning no important people involved), and the story required to get out of it requires crazy conspiracy theories, then I am satisfied that the real person has been caught.

Sometimes DNA can be inconclusive, and sometimes it CAN be extremely conclusive. EX: A beaten woman is claiming rape by a stranger who also murdered her husband. The DNA from the semen and from skin under her fingernails, is fresh, and is found to match that of a person who is a stranger to her. Very conclusive in that kind of case. When added to other evidence you can reach 100% surety, unless you want to start really reaching and say space aliens were duplicating him.

Of course, there are some people whom you can take outside on a clear day at noon, and they will not be sure that it's daylight. Well, maybe it's all like in the movie "Thurman". Prove to me that this isn't some kind of great conspiracy like in that movie.

[oscarmitre]

7. The level of proof

is still beyond a reasonable doubt and not "beyond any doubt." The possibility of the wrong person being executed is of itself sufficient reason to not have the death penalty. Link that with the level of proof required and it becomes even more potent.

[Rainscents]

2. Wow, they really did killed innocent man in this case.

[icymist]

4. This just goes to show that the death penalty only serves those...

who enjoy seeing surffering and death! In those very few cases where the guilty party is clearly in the wrong, I'm not going to complain. This is different. This is where the zealously have put an Innocent man to death. Did this make you feel good? Did this make you feel like a man? Does the suffering at Abu Grab make you happy? There is a real connection between the suffering we cause abroad and the suffering we cause at home.

[wli]

6. executing innocent men: more Republican family values

[MattSWin]

9. One thing is certain..

If it's ever proven that an innocent person was executed it'll put several nails in the coffin of the death penalty.

Anyone seen the Life of David Gale? Chilling movie.