# Miscarriage of Justice Omnibus Thread **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [June 4, 2021, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miscarriage-of-justice-omnibus-thread/943643 "2021-06-04T20:52:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 15
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2024, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miscarriage-of-justice-omnibus-thread/943643/282 "2024-01-05T12:33:16Z")
“The Necessary” is used in “1776” as I recall ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2024, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miscarriage-of-justice-omnibus-thread/943643/283 "2024-01-12T17:50:29Z")
A non-US case: The UK Post Scandal > **[After 20 years, here’s why the Post Office scandal is special: the cover-up...](https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/jul/18/post-office-scandal-cover-up-justice)** > > People whose lives were destroyed deserve justice. And those responsible are contriving to make sure they don’t get it, says Guardian columnist Marina Hyde > It’s a tale of total corporate psychopathy, a mad Kafka-esque nightmare in which totally innocent subpostmasters, the very backbone of villages and communities, were turned into criminals to cover up the fact that the Post Office’s Horizon computer system didn’t work properly. **Each was told by the Post Office that no one else had any problems with the system.** > Vast sums were effectively looted from them to make up accounting shortfalls, before they were prosecuted anyway. Distraught subpostmasters were imprisoned pregnant, or still in their teens, or on their young child’s birthday, or in their old age, or in high-security jails where they saw and suffered terrible things. At least [60 have died](https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/uk-news/another-post-office-subpostmaster-wrongly-26795108) without seeing [justice or compensation](https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/post-office-scandal-another-postmaster-dies-without-compensation-050lsc2k9); at least four took their own lives. Countless victims were driven into physical and mental problems from which they have never recovered. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2024, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miscarriage-of-justice-omnibus-thread/943643/284 "2024-01-12T18:11:53Z")
And I gather the post office leadership has been seriously dragging it’s feet giving out the ordered compensation, and have been fighting it. Finally, public pressure (and media accounts) are forcing politicians to address this. Of course, the compensation will come from the public purse, and the shitty people who prosecuted the innocent will suffer not one iota of financial or other penalty. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2024, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miscarriage-of-justice-omnibus-thread/943643/285 "2024-01-12T21:04:30Z")
> [@Andy\_L](#): > > A non-US case: The UK Post Scandal Thank you for posting this. I heard about this days ago and thought it was perfect for this thread, then procrastinated in posting anything, then forgot about it. I appreciate someone doing what I was too lazy and/or dumb to do myself. It really does belong here though. It’s insane what happened to those people. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2024, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miscarriage-of-justice-omnibus-thread/943643/286 "2024-01-13T00:28:49Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > And I gather the post office leadership has been seriously dragging it’s feet giving out the ordered compensation, and have been fighting it. Correct. > [@Atamasama](#): > > Thank you for posting this No problem ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2024, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miscarriage-of-justice-omnibus-thread/943643/287 "2024-02-24T23:34:45Z")
> **[Illinois judge who reversed rape conviction removed from bench after panel...](https://apnews.com/article/illinois-judge-removed-bench-reversed-rape-conviction-c821beec0cf87aebb64a36239e45fec6)** > > An Illinois judge who sparked outrage by reversing a man’s rape conviction involving a 16-year-old girl has been removed from the bench after a judicial oversight body found he circumvented the law and engaged in misconduct. ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2024, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miscarriage-of-justice-omnibus-thread/943643/288 "2024-02-25T16:34:24Z")
Good that at least the Illinois Courts Commission were able to carry out their due repsonsibilities - heh, didn’t know they had it in them. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2024, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miscarriage-of-justice-omnibus-thread/943643/289 "2024-02-25T17:52:00Z")
Weather forecaster and judge: the two vocations where you don’t get fired for being completely wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2024, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miscarriage-of-justice-omnibus-thread/943643/290 "2024-02-25T19:55:33Z")
What is it about rapists that makes judges turn stupid? I’m sure everyone remembers Brock Turner’s judge being recalled from the bench. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2024, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miscarriage-of-justice-omnibus-thread/943643/291 "2024-02-25T20:55:47Z")
Maybe they should have a rule that they have to enter the courtroom in their street clothes and put on their robe before sitting on the bench. I’ve heard stories about judges being pantsless under their robes. That _might_ act as a disincentive for guys who like rape to pursue judging as a career. ---
**Author:** ![WolfpackJeep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpackjeep/32/2921_2.png) [@WolfpackJeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WolfpackJeep)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2024, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miscarriage-of-justice-omnibus-thread/943643/292 "2024-02-27T00:20:09Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > I’ve heard stories about judges being pantsless under their robes. I’ve heard worse. 😱 Remember the judge who used a…device…while court was in session? [Amazingly, he was sentenced to prison.](https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna14410634) ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2024, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miscarriage-of-justice-omnibus-thread/943643/293 "2024-02-27T23:51:33Z")
From your discreetly spoilered link: > [@](#): > > Foster told authorities that she saw [Judge] Thompson use the device [penis pump] almost daily during the August 2003 murder trial of a man accused of shaking a toddler to death. A whooshing sound could be heard on Foster’s audiotape of the trial. When jurors asked the judge about the sound, Thompson said he hadn’t heard it but would listen for it. I don’t think the jury was whooshed. And in case there’s doubts about his behaviour… > [@](#): > > Police built a case against the judge after a police officer testifying in a 2003 murder trial saw a piece of plastic tubing disappear under Thompson’s robe. During a lunch break, officers took photographs of the pump under the desk. Investigators later checked the carpet, Thompson’s robes and the chair behind the bench and found semen, according to court records. You’d think semen stench would be a card-tipper. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2024, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miscarriage-of-justice-omnibus-thread/943643/294 "2024-02-28T01:41:05Z")
And people say **lawyers** are jerks. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2024, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miscarriage-of-justice-omnibus-thread/943643/295 "2024-02-28T04:52:19Z")
Judges are usually lawyers before they get promoted. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2024, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miscarriage-of-justice-omnibus-thread/943643/296 "2024-03-01T20:37:12Z")
> **[Death-sentenced Philadelphia Prisoner Daniel Gwynn Exonerated After Nearly 30...](https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/news/death-sentenced-philadelphia-prisoner-daniel-gwynn-exonerated-after-nearly-30-years)** > > On February 27, 2024, Common Pleas Court Judge Barbara A. McDermott approved a motion from the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office to dismiss… ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2024, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miscarriage-of-justice-omnibus-thread/943643/297 "2024-03-02T04:51:23Z")
> **[The Missouri governor shortens the DWI prison sentence of former Chiefs...](https://apnews.com/article/kansas-city-chiefs-britt-reid-commutation-parson-17630ef04030c056270b7993814e6aed)** > > Missouri Gov. Mike Parson has shortened the prison sentence of former Kansas City Chiefs assistant coach Britt Reid for a drunken driving crash that seriously injured a girl. Well surely everyone understands that with the Chiefs winning the Super Bowl [Parson is a longtime Chiefs season ticket-holder holder who celebrated with the team at its recent Super Bowl victory parade in Kansas City], what’s a _minor_ traffic offense? > Prosecutors said Reid [son of Chiefs Coach Andy Reid] [was intoxicated and driving about 84 mph](https://apnews.com/article/nfl-kansas-football-kansas-city-kansas-city-chiefs-d43b085c56ac1d0ec8445f30faa6a4d0) (135 kph) in a 65 mph zone when his Dodge truck hit the cars on an entrance ramp to Interstate 435 near Arrowhead Stadium on Feb. 4, 2021. > > A girl inside one of the cars, Ariel Young, suffered a traumatic brain injury. A total of six people, including Reid, were injured. One of the vehicles he hit had stalled because of a dead battery, and the second was owned by Ariel’s mother, who had arrived to help. > > Reid had a blood-alcohol level of 0.113% two hours after the crash, police said. The legal limit is 0.08%. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2024, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miscarriage-of-justice-omnibus-thread/943643/298 "2024-04-17T11:56:47Z")
> Five of Lucio’s children who were interviewed immediately after the young girl’s death told a Child Protective Services investigator that their mother was not abusive toward them or Mariah, according to court filings. One of her children told the investigator that they witnessed Mariah fall down the flight of stairs in their Harlingen apartment and corroborated Lucio’s account of her daughter’s injuries and declining health in the days after the incident. > > But prosecutors did not share those interviews in full with the defense during the trial, which Lucio’s lawyers and the Cameron County district attorney now say was a violation of her constitutional due process rights. > **[State district judge recommends overturning Melissa Lucio’s death sentence](https://www.texastribune.org/2024/04/15/melissa-lucio-death-penalty-judge-overturn/)** > > In a rare joint statement, the district attorney and the defense agreed that prosecutors withheld evidence that could point to a Rio Grande Valley woman’s innocence in the death of her toddler. ---
**Author:** ![Turek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/turek/32/18782_2.png) [@Turek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turek)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2024, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miscarriage-of-justice-omnibus-thread/943643/299 "2024-04-18T19:23:34Z")
I haven’t heard a lot about this, but if this ruling stands, it sets a chilling precedent (I’m unclear if this is now considered a “decided” matter.) [https://www.cnn.com/2024/04/17/opinions/mckesson-supreme-court-counterman-filipovic/index.html](https://www.cnn.com/2024/04/17/opinions/mckesson-supreme-court-counterman-filipovic/index.html) > On Monday, the court declined to hear Mckesson v. Doe, a case in which Black Lives Matter organizer DeRay Mckesson was sued after someone at a protest he organized in Baton Rouge, Louisiana – importantly, not Mckesson himself – threw a rock at a police officer, seriously injuring the officer in the face. > > That assault was horrible, tragic and criminal. But it’s not the actual perpetrator — who remains unidentified — who was held accountable. It was Mckesson. That’s who the anonymous Officer Doe sued under the theory that Mckesson knew or should have known that violence at the protests would occur, and should therefore be held liable for his negligence. Anyone could go to a protest for a cause they don’t like, commit violence, and the organizers of the protest could be held liable even though they had nothing to do with violence. > Mckesson or any other protest organizer, they ruled, could be held liable under a negligence theory for the actions of third parties at their protests, even if those third parties did not act at their direction and even if they had no intention of fomenting violence. Mckesson, the Fifth Circuit ruled, can be held liable even though he did not intend for violence to occur, did not instigate or promote violence and by no account behaved violently himself. ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2024, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miscarriage-of-justice-omnibus-thread/943643/300 "2024-04-18T21:47:50Z")
Fifth Circuit, eh? Doesn’t surprise me they’d twist legal logic to support punishing a BLM adherent. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2024, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miscarriage-of-justice-omnibus-thread/943643/301 "2024-04-18T22:40:58Z")
I’m confused… It says that the police officer was suing McKesson, and that the court declined to hear the case. Wouldn’t that be a win for McKesson? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miscarriage-of-justice-omnibus-thread/943643.md?page=14) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miscarriage-of-justice-omnibus-thread/943643.md?page=16)