Texan who died in prison cleared of rape conviction

CNN ^ | 6 Feb, 2009 | Ed Lavendera

[LuxMaker]

And the injustice system goes rolling along.

[humblegunner]

Texan who died in prison cleared of rape conviction

He never was worth a damn.

[deport]

From the article:
Johnson did not know Cole had died. In fact, according to the Avalanche-Journal, he had been writing to court officials for years to confess to the rape, but got nowhere.
.....

We don't know what if anything the justice system did to find the truth of these letters written by Johnson but if they did nothing it's a travesty.

[Squantos]

So throw the woman in jail who falsely accused him.....

[LuxMaker]

Unfortunately, eyewitness testimony is highly unreliable across the board. Only in cases where someone is trained to recognize the details, especially during high tension situations, does the accuracy go way up.

[Mark was here]

So throw the woman in jail who falsely accused him.....

Sounds harsh, but fair. She really belongs in jail, if she testified she was absolutely certain he was the man, knowing that she was not telling the truth.

[hunter112]

DNA evidence is clearing people, much like fingerprint evidence probably did when it was first used. But on the other hand, DNA is absolutely damning to those who it catches (OJ excepted, of course), and provides greater certainty when we go to execute the heinously guilty.

I've seen a lot of liberals who didn't think of it that way when I presented the above corollary to them.

[FlingWingFlyer]

So throw the woman in jail who falsely accused him.....

I agree 100%!

[WaterBoard]

The woman who falsely accused this man should be put in prison for the same amount of time.

This just reinforces FBI stats on false rape claims. Nearly 1/2 of all rape claims are fraudulent.

[marshmallow]

Wonder how many innocent “murderers” we’ve offed over the years?

[LuxAerterna]

So throw the woman in jail who falsely accused him.....

It's really more complicated then the woman making a false accusation. My guesss is that Cole looked like the real rapist and the police and/or prosecutors, after convincing themselves for some reason that Cole was their man, furthermore coached and pressurized this woman until she was "certain" that he was the culprit. Police and prosecutor misconduct is frequently (or even mostly) a root cause of false convictions.

[Squantos]

Only way to stop such IMO......you can’t guess at such when lives on all sides of the issue are at stake. A false accusation is as bad IMO as the crime itself.

[ga medic]

Her claim of rape wasn’t false, she just incorrectly identified her attacker. Clearly the woman was raped, or they would not have the DNA evidence used to clear him.

This is very sad.

[ga medic]

“Police and prosecutor misconduct is frequently (or even mostly) a root cause of false convictions. “

AMEN

[Twinkie]

Ugh. I have jury duty and am very worried about it; have never been called up before. Dread it.

[ktscarlett66]

She picked him out of photos and a lineup. She has now been assisting the family in trying to clear his name, as she says she went on what she knew at the time. However, she did tell the investigators that the perp was a heavy smoker, even smoking during the attack, and the oonvicted was an asthmatic that never smoked a day in his life.

[Repeal 16-17]

Texas - Oops, our bad.

Seriously though, can this guy's family get any monetary compensation? If not, this is an empty gesture.

[JNL]

If a DNA test is possible then it should be given. IMHO this would speed up the appeal process on Death Row.

What gets me angry are the Prosecutors who fight against DNA testing. I figure if the DNA does not fit you must acquit

Bet you saw that coming LOL.

[LuxMaker]

Unfortunately, taking DNA and planting it at the crime scene is all the rage these days. You seem to forget that the human body is constantly shedding this stuff.

[ga medic]

Probably no need to worry. Mostly you just sit around and wait. Then they send you home. I have served several times and only ended up in a trial once. It was a property dispute, and I thought I was going to die of boredom. The lawyers in real life are much more boring than the ones on TV.