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View Full Version : Something Hopeful, and something Very, Very Depressing



Wrathek
6 Nov 2009, 07:21am
http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/11/04/florida.jail.attack/index.html


Moon, 64, was no match for Douglas Burden, 24, in custody on various drug charges. With Moon still in his chair, Burden put him in a choke hold and pulled tight.

And then, surveillance video of the Monday attack showed, other inmates jumped into the fray.

But the other inmates joined the fight on the guard's side, pulling Burden away from Moon and punching him in the head. One inmate grabbed Moon's radio and called for back-up. The inmates held Burden down until other guards arrived as one of them extended a hand to help Moon up, according to the video.

Some people with morals good enough to do the right thing to people who respect them reside even in detention centers. (Note that half of the men imprisoned there are being held before court on charges of assault and battery).

Now, the depressing

http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1934836,00.html


In July 1977, retired police captain John Schweer was shot and killed while working as a night watchman at an Oldsmobile dealership in Council Bluffs, Iowa. Two teenagers, Curtis McGhee and Terry Harrington, were convicted of the murder based on evidence they allege was knowingly fabricated by prosecutors.

...prosecutors David Richter and Joseph Hrvol presented a case that rested almost entirely on the testimony of a 16-year-old kid who was caught stealing cars and offered a $5,000 reward if he provided information about the murder. The witness misidentified the murder weapon, changed his story multiple times and fingered two other men before naming McGhee and Harrington in the crime. He even had to be coached by prosecutors about what to say during the trial so that his story matched the evidence. Richter and Hrvol revealed none of this at trial, nor the fact that they had previously suspected another man — one who had been positively identified by an eyewitness and had failed a polygraph test.

In 2003, Iowa's supreme court overturned Harrington's conviction, while McGhee pled guilty to lesser charges and was released. Now both men are suing the Pottawattamie County prosecutors, claiming they coerced and coached witnesses, fabricated evidence and arrested them without probable cause. But according to federal law supported by numerous legal precedents, prosecutors have immunity for anything they do during a trial. Richter and Hrvol say they were just doing their job.

Sanders says his clients have not admitted to any wrongdoing. They haven't admitted or denied that they framed two men for murder. Instead, they are claiming that their guilt doesn't matter, that it was legal either way.

Seems pretty fucked up to me. Discuss. Deeply awaiting your input, Legal.

Metal
6 Nov 2009, 11:57am
I saw the video

http://us.cnn.com/video/?/video/crime/2009/11/04/germaise.fl.jail.house.attack.wfts

It seems this is good and bad.
The things they did to make them go to jail is bad, dont get me wrong but
doesn't mean they are bad men. this shows that all people have a way to show they can repent.

MelissaNJ
8 Nov 2009, 05:32pm
I think even though the prosecutors are said to have immunity they won't. it's more then the prosecutors too. If they were arrested without probable cause that would go to the law enforcement am i right? Prosecutors are lawyers not police officers who determine who needs to be arrested. Suing both the prosecutors and the law enforcement responsible for their arrest and divulging facts about the case to the witness would be the better thing to do. Before the prosecutors were hired that witness had to be told information by the police officers working on the case. They will probably both win the case, i was watching a documentary about a case similar to this the other day except the police officers were being sued.

NLS CEL
6 Dec 2009, 09:52pm
Just doing their job eh? I guess thats true since its their job to win the case, oh course its the whole win/lose attitude that pisses me off. This is why im against the death sentance. I don't trust fucks like these with the task of ending someone life.


note - i didnt watch the video

Hazzard
9 Dec 2009, 09:45pm
Just doing their job eh? I guess thats true since its their job to win the case, oh course its the whole win/lose attitude that pisses me off. This is why im against the death sentance. I don't trust fucks like these with the task of ending someone life.


Its how the justice system works. People will get screwed over. In the movie "Law abiding citizen" the Father shows how the justice system can fail with setting peoples bail.

And for the death system, everyone wants remorse. I truly believe that people do not care who is put to death, but is someone put to death. That really does not make sense but it works for me.

Kuro
13 Dec 2009, 10:17pm
ya its pretty fucked up and i think prosecutors should be held at a higher standard then that. Theres just so much shit in our legal system it drives me nuts. while i would agree most in prison deserve it, i acknowledge there's a lot that don't.

Tomathon
5 Jan 2010, 07:48am
WOW the top story is amazing!

Jaffa
5 Jan 2010, 08:19am
Can they seek immunity for their actions if such actions were not brought up in the courtroom as part of the case?

Bob Loblaw
5 Jan 2010, 11:36am
The first story was realllyyy interesting. Very good to see and I think whoever helped him truly deserves at least a lesser sentence if they get convicted, because realistically, they didn't have to do anything and they couldn't have really gotten in trouble.

The second is just f***ing ridiculous. That logic seems to me to be saying they could kill people, but if it was during the trial it doesn't matter. No, what they did was illegal, how the hell can it be legal because it happened during a trial. F that.
Looking forward to Legal's response too, because he's an actual lawyer. (I know right!)

Om nom nom!
6 Jan 2010, 06:25pm
For the top story, I have to say, that's just amazing. I never would have thought that those inmates would have helped a prison guard.

The second one is just... Wow. It's just another one of those insane court stories that the US seems to create all the time.

Focus_
18 Aug 2010, 07:35pm
I find it interesting that Richter and Hrvol claim that they were "just doing their jobs"... that seems like something a Nazi would say at the Nuremberg trials. >.>

Sniper
18 Aug 2010, 07:43pm
For the second story, couldn't the prosecutors get in trouble for lying in the courtroom? They were under oath.

Harry
18 Aug 2010, 08:33pm
Nice bump, freekillers.

PotshotPolka
18 Aug 2010, 09:06pm
What in the flying fuck? This is a 8 month old thread.

Kuro
18 Aug 2010, 11:40pm
can we just .... stop this shit?

Wrathek
19 Aug 2010, 09:36am
god damnit.. this crosses the line. you bump an ancient thread i made?! this is war. you will pay.