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Originally Posted by punkgrrrlie10
not only that, but what about the ones that sit on death row under those conditions which are innocents? They deserve those conditions too right?
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Funny you should bring that up. NPR, or more precisely, the show "This American Life" just aired an episode in which the subject matter was wrongfully convicted criminals. The first bit of the show discussed the Rossetti case in which four black youths were incarcerated for 15 years until the verdict was reversed and they were released in 2001 due to DNA evidence (it was a murder/rape case ... you probably already knew that). Anyway, the narrator made the interesting point that cases that CAN and ARE being reversed due to DNA evidence have caused the legal system to re-examine itself and the cases that CANNOT be reversed on DNA evidence. In other words, what other kinds of definciencies and/or problems are there in the arrest/conviction process (ex: coercion of testimony, false testimony, false evidence, ect.). I figure that you, being a legal student, can shed some light on just how often this sort of thing (wrongful convictions) happens.