Quote:
Originally Posted by Motion
Why Are More Blacks Wrongfully Convicted? Any theories for this?
|
Yes. I can speak to this. You have systemic problems, and this is one instance where intervention by the federal government is warranted.
1] reform "qualified immunity." The purpose was to protect the tax-payers vis-a-vis the prosecutors from frivolous lawsuits like, "
The prison laundry starched my underwear and so my rights were violated" (I'm not making that up). However over time jurisprudence resulted in both prosecutors and police having qualified immunity in
bona fide cases of prosecutorial misconduct, police misconduct or prosecutorial prejudice (and no that doesn't have anything to do with race/ethnicity).
Withholding exculpatory evidence is a grievous injustice, and prosecutors or police should be stripped of their positions and any benefits as a minimum penalty.
2] unequal representation. If you look you'll find that public defenders are often paid substantially less than prosecutors in the district attorney's office, and that public defenders often have case-loads that are quintuple those of prosecutors. So while a prosecutor and his/her team is preparing to prosecute 8 cases during a month, a public defender may be defending 40 cases, and they do not have the resources like co-chairs, 2nd chairs, paralegals and such.
3] unequal purse. The State has deep-pockets and can spend enormous sums of money in "pursuit of justice." Most people cannot afford that. Criminal investigations have changed over time with the introduction of technology, which is very costly. The State can present its "expert" to testify, but you are left with the option of cross-examining the State's "expert" or hiring your own "expert" to present rebuttal evidence/testimony. Whatever the States spends at trial, an equal amount should be available to the defense, regardless of their socioeconomic status. The State has an interest in a fair trial and that justice be served and the truth discovered, so why wouldn't the State want to further those ends?
4] plea-bargain reform. The biggest issue with poorer defendants is the inability to mount a defense against even circumstantial evidence. Think about it. You're innocent but circumstantial evidence implicates you and your choice is cop a plea and do 5-12 or try to mount a defense, but if you fail then you do 17-25.
There is one other issue that cannot be addressed by government and that is cultural issues. Blacks are simply loathe to narc on anyone, especially other Blacks. Here's where you have a situation where someone is in possession of stolen goods, but didn't actually commit the burglary/theft, yet they'll do the time for the burglary/theft rather than give up the fence. That also applies to drug offenses. They'll do the time rather than roll on someone.
Criminally...
Mircea
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
