Thursday, January 12, 2006

You know prosecutors are relying on credible snitches when ...

the jailhouse informant who is the sole witness in a capital murder case is stabbed to death while committing a house burglary and the "mentally limited" defendant walks free.

A classic snitch story: the home burglar is cut loose in exchange for promised testimony and continues to commit crimes, while prosecutors apparently consider his word sufficiently credible to justify a death penalty case. Only the snitch's killing by a homeowner in defense of his property prevented that Faustian deal from being consummated in an actual death sentence. The supposd jailhouse "confession" could have just been made up. The defendant's public defender declared,
"I am personally convinced he did not kill anyone."

If you've ever wondered how innocent people wind up on death row, this story shows how easily it could happen.

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