Criminal defense attorneys don’t merely represent the accused. Defense attorneys hold prosecutors accountable and prevent prosecutors from acting corruptly or overzealously. If you haven’t thought about the dangers of an overzealous prosecutor consider this: Since 1989, The Innocence Project has used DNA evidence to identify and exonerate 223 innocent people in America who were wrongly convicted of crimes they did not commit. 7 of those were right here in Ohio.
· Seventeen people were sentenced to death before DNA proved their innocence and led to their release.
· The average sentence served by DNA exonerees has been 12 years.
· About 70 percent of those exonerated by DNA testing are members of minority groups.
· In almost 40 percent of the cases profiled here, the actual perpetrator has been identified by DNA testing.
· Exonerations have been won in 32 states and Washington, D.C.
There are major problems with convicting innocent people of crimes. The first problem is that convicting innocent people of crimes shocks our conscience. It is immoral and unAmerican. The second problem, often overlooked, is that the true criminal perpetrators of these crimes remain free while the evidence trail against them grows cold.
33 of the first 74 Innocence Project exonerations exposed Prosecutor Misconduct as a cause. The leading prosecutor misconduct was failure to disclose evidence of innocence, knowing use of false testimony, and coerced witness statements.
If the Seneca County prosecutor withholds exculpatory evidence, uses false testimony or coerces witness statements to convict an innocent person in Seneca County, we will all bear the shame, the costs, the potential civil liability and the real criminal will go free. If Mr. Egbert uses the same tactics in court that he has used throughout this political season, then we are at risk.
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[...] View original post here: Mr. Egbert should be held accountable. [...]
And — there was a Judge here in Ohio who sentenced a man to death. Later, the man’s innocence was determined, but no one had the capacity to breathe life back into that lifeless body. The Judge’s emotional health was never restored.
I will add that no prosecutor worth their salt would EVER want to convict an innocent person.
Thank you so much for your guest post.