What do y’all think of this?
link
Hopefully, the guy will have reformed his ways, be grateful for this second chance at life, and refrain from murdering anyone else.
They can still retry him, and given the publicity, I’d imagine they would. But then again, what do I know?
I am the user formerly known as puffington.
Holly,
Your link doesn’t seem to provide any information about a killer going free.
What am I missing?
- Rick
There’s a thread about it in the pit, Bricker.
Technically, he hasn’t “gone free” yet. The judge has ordered him released but no one has done so.
a) Why is everybody so sure the person was guilty of the crime for which he was convicted?
b) From a Washington Post article,
So are the prosecutors at fault? Perhaps they did not have sufficient evidence to think a second trial would be successful? Does anyone have more information?
Isn’t it obvious, Arnold? Why would he have been tried i the first place if he wasn’t guilty?
The best lack all conviction
The worst are full of passionate intensity.
*
Spiritus, you need to have a “sarcasm” disclaimer in your posts!
Oddly enough, I just finished reading the transcript of the Republican debate last night ,where the issue was brought up in connection with a question asked of Dubya.
Evidently, among the reasons that the federal judge ordered the conviction overturned was the fact that the defense lawyer slept through parts of the trial.
This doesn’t strike me as an example of the defendant having access to the process, although Dubya seemed to be insisting that he had.
Even if he really is a killer, and ever if he really does go free, that’s the way our criminal justice system is designed. On purpose.
It’s a justice system – not a vengeance system, and not a make-us-safe-from-criminals system. One of the founding principles of the various states’ criminal justice system is that it’s far, far better if a guilty person goes free than if an innocent person is convicted and sentenced. Most of the people who decried the verdicts from the O.J. Simpson criminal trial and the Rodney King excessive-force trial as “miscarriages of justice” forgot about this.
The criminal justice system will not protect you from someone who really is a killer. It wasn’t designed to do so. We presume that the local police and your own right to defend yourself will keep violent criminals at bay. Criminal prosecution is more of a remedy for non-violent crimes such as theft, where the stolen property or its dollar-value equivalent can be returned to the victim. Throwing somebody in jail is hardly a “remedy” for death or permanent injuries caused by a violent crime.
The truth, as always, is more complicated than that.
He’s not going to be released.
http://cnn.com/2000/US/03/03/texas.inmate/index.html
Sorry for my lame OP; I should never post at 3am.
An interesting point raised by some people is that when the prosecution makes a mistake, a murderer may go free. When the defense makes a mistake, an innocent man may be executed.
Texas executes people right and left, yet the quality of the judicial system here may leave something to be desired. How was this man’s attorney allowed to sleep during the trial?
“The Constitution says that everyone’s entitled to an attorney of their choice. But the Constitution does not say that the lawyer has to be awake.”
– Judge Doug Shaver, Texas District Court
“Shut up! I’m having a rhetorical conversation!”
Sarcasm??
The best lack all conviction
The worst are full of passionate intensity.
*
I don’t believe the Constitution says the lawyer has to be alive either. You’d better hope your lawyer doesn’t get a heart attack if you being tried in Judge Shaver’s court.
(Spiritus, can I borrow a sarcasm disclaimer?)
And can I borrow a 're too? 
Thanks Holly, I found <a href=“http://amarillonet.com/stories/031200/bus_tortillas.shtml”>the tortilla article</a> to be informative.
–Kalél
Common ¢ for all ages…
“Well, there was that thing with the Cheese-Wiz…but I’m feeling much better now!” – John Astin, Night Court
“If ignorance is bliss, you must be orgasmic.”
So much for using HTML…when will I learn?
…and flood control has me waiting 60 seconds to post this too…
tick-tock-tick-tock…
–Kalél
Common ¢ for all ages…
“Well, there was that thing with the Cheese-Wiz…but I’m feeling much better now!” – John Astin, Night Court
“If ignorance is bliss, you must be orgasmic.”