Death Row Inmate Acquitted a Decade Later - NC

[AmyStrange]

Death Row Inmate Acquitted a Decade Later
By ESTES THOMPSON, Associated Press Writer
FEB-18-2004 16:22 EST

FROM: http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20040218/ap_on_re_us/death_row_acquittal_2
WINDSOR, N.C. - A prisoner taken off death row after a judge ruled prosecutors withheld key evidence in his murder trial was found not guilty Wednesday in a second trial.

Alan Gell, 28, has spent a decade behind bars in the 1995 murder of retired truck driver Allen Ray Jenkins, who was shot twice during a robbery. After the verdict, Gell hugged his attorneys and his mother wept in the courtroom.

He was immediately allowed to go free. When asked what he was going to do, he responded: "Go home, where I should have been years ago."

The case has led to calls for North Carolina to impose a moratorium on executions, and the verdict likely will fuel the debate.

<SNIP>

To Read the Rest:
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20040218/ap_on_re_us/death_row_acquittal_2

Dave (AmyStrange.com) Ayotte
Please, regularly check the One Missing Person (is one person too many) searchable website for the latest (and archived) missing person news stories:

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[KissMyAsscroft]

1. Reason number 6 billion to oppose the death penalty

nt

[wysi]

4. We have to keep it....

... just long enough to conclude the trials for treason of the members of the current administration.

[Lori Price CLG]

9. wysi, I couldn't agree more.

Bush-Cheney-Rumsfeld-Rove need to be tried for treason, with all penalties on the plate.

:)-Lori Price

[bluestateguy]

2. idea

Keep the death penalty, but say that if a jury wrongly sentences someone to death they can be personally sued for damages. That should make jurors be more careful about sentencing someone to death. Also, prosecutors or judges should be subject to criminal charges.

[prolesunited]

5. And I'm sure people would be

even more open to being seated on juries. Would you really want to sit on a jury if you know you could be held personally liable?

However, I do agree that people who intentionally manipulate the criminal justice system in order to boost their stats should be held accountable.

As the first poster mentioned, another case in point for why the death penalty should be abolished. What if he had been executed before this was discovered. It's not like you can undo the mistake after he's dead.

And for all those who argue that this is the price we must pay, just imagine yourself or loved one being murdered by the state for a crime you didn't commit.

[Sandpiper]

6. Jury trials are one of the good

Things about our legal system, not one of the bad. I don't see what would be accomplished by seeking to intimidate jurors. Not to mention, how in the world was this the jury's fault? The prosecutors withheld evidence.

[reprobate]

3. Our justice system is intrinsicly unfair.

The prosecution always has more resources than the defense, unless the defense is extremely wealthy.

Juries tend to believe the authority figure of the prosecution over the defense.

Many, many capital cases are defended by public defenders. Not to disrespect public defenders, they do a yoemans job. But they are overworked and underpaid, and many just don't give a damn.

One possible solution is the Brit system (and I know little about it, only what I've seen on tv) where there is no department of prosecution as such, but baristers are chosen for a case, and any one may represent either the crown or the defense.

Could anyone over there across the pond explain the system better than I?

[Sandpiper]

7. I disagree regarding PDs

and many just don't give a damn.

Most Public Defenders very much give a damn. The problem is that the state needs to spend as much money on Public Defenders' Offices as it does on District Attorneys. Therein lies the fundamental problem.

[AmyStrange]

8. Plus...

>The problem is that the state needs to spend as much money on Public >Defenders' Offices as it does on District Attorneys.
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

Public Defenders should also have access to the same LE tools and agencies that the DA has access to... like forensics etc,



Dave (AmyStrange.com) Ayotte
Please, regularly check the One Missing Person (is one person too many) searchable website for the latest (and archived) missing person news stories:

http://NEWS.OneMissingPerson.org/




Serious Serial Killer discussion:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SK-Cafe/

[reprobate]

10. Sandpiper, I did not mean that many don't care.

But in any group there are some that just go thru the motions. In the case of a capital crime that just about always equals a conviction and a ruined life.

The problem we face, really, is that the justice system has little to do with justice and everything to do with winning. For the prosecutor winning means increased political power. And that should never enter the equation in the case of the law.

If the american justice system is ever to be fair, we must find a way to assure that the state and the accused have the same chance. That's why I suggested the English system. That way there is no ego involved, only the law.

[wysi]

11. Actually...

... I think the use of the adversarial system (which is used the US and is based on the British model) tends to promote the win mentality. This is made worse by the DA's office being an elected office, ensuring that those who are 'tough on criminals' by getting death penalty convictions are those who get to keep their jobs (exploiting the fear of crime).