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azurnoir

(45,850 posts)
Tue Sep 25, 2012, 02:46 AM Sep 2012

Man wrongly convicted can sue LAPD, federal court panel rules

Source: LA Times

A Los Angeles man who spent 19 years in prison for murders he did not commit will be able to sue the LAPD, a panel of the 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled Monday.

Harold C. Hall should be permitted to amend his complaint against the city to allege that officers coerced his confession, which the court said was made as a result of "desperation, fear and fatigue," in possible violation of the 5th Amendment.

The majority in the 2-1 decision said "the extraordinary circumstances" of Hall's conviction justified the court's unusual action "to prevent a woefully unjust result."

Hall's double-murder conviction in 1985 was based on "falsified" documents by a jailhouse informant and a confession Hall made when he was 18, the court said. He agreed to admit guilt only after several hours of interrogation in which he was handcuffed, denied food and never advised of his rights, the court said.

Read more: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-confession-lapd-20120925,0,4210451.story

16 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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cstanleytech

(26,080 posts)
1. Any chance that the officers who violated his rights so badly could have their
Tue Sep 25, 2012, 03:27 AM
Sep 2012

retirement/pension from the police department taken away?

DFW

(54,051 posts)
2. If it turns out they coerced his confession solely because they needed a fall guy
Tue Sep 25, 2012, 05:49 AM
Sep 2012

They need to be jailed for the time he served.

cstanleytech

(26,080 posts)
14. Oh I agree they should serve jail time but has the statute of limitations
Tue Sep 25, 2012, 11:52 PM
Sep 2012

expired?
If so then they might get off from any criminal charges assuming of course the DA has the backbone to actually pursue them.

christx30

(6,241 posts)
4. Hall spent 19 years of his life
Tue Sep 25, 2012, 06:52 AM
Sep 2012

in a cage where he risked rape, beatings and death because his rights were violated by the police. He will never be able to fully recover from that. You can't just expect him to take a pat on the head and walk away after that. If I were in charge, the cops would be lucky if all they lost was their pension. You ruin an innocent person's life, and you deserve anything that happens to you.

 

kooljerk666

(776 posts)
7. Towns/Cities should cancel all Cop insurance...
Tue Sep 25, 2012, 08:22 AM
Sep 2012

and settlements made for police misconduct should come straight out of their pensions.

This would help police to clean up their act. Everytime brutality or perjury occurs & they are caught
it come straight out of there pensions.

I believe this would go a long way to help cops get rid of people that should be locked up in
psychiatric wards.

Here is an Entire Police force engaged in sexual harassment of the only female officer.
I do not understand why they do not dissolve the force & rely on State Police till they create a new one with serious rules.

http://www.montgomerynews.com/articles/2012/09/18/souderton_independent/news/doc5058abd0e46b6010263843.txt

bitchkitty

(7,349 posts)
8. That is insane.
Tue Sep 25, 2012, 09:59 AM
Sep 2012

ALL insurance for ALL police forces? Because of the conduct of the LAPD and police in a few other cities? You must be joking.

Response to kooljerk666 (Reply #7)

azurnoir

(45,850 posts)
12. true enough but what struck me here is that the conditions this guys confession was obtained under
Tue Sep 25, 2012, 12:59 PM
Sep 2012

are remarkably similar to those we read about being used at Gitmo, except he was released and can sue

bemildred

(90,061 posts)
13. Dumb AND violent, yes.
Tue Sep 25, 2012, 02:22 PM
Sep 2012

Anybody who thinks we will not pay for Gitmo one day just has to be more patient, we will, that will never go away.

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