Maybe Snookie and the Kargashians never heard the story. Otherwise I'm sure they would have been marching.

I don't understand why the prosecutors in cases like this don't end up in jail. There's not downside to pursuing a wrongful conviction.

I thought about the West Memphis 3 while reading this also.

There is quite a difference in the stories, as the WM3 story had the whole satanic, music, children mutilated story line and this has nothing to sensationalize or to rally people behind. The WM3 story had their entire community scared and national stories, while this was the murder of a driver and an exec, not quite as juicy as little kids bound, murdered and mutilated in a satanic ritual.

So, it doesn't matter if you're white, you have to have critical thinking to be able to differentiate and understand why one got full-blown media coverage and the other didn't.

I appreciate efforts by law enforcement to capture rapists, violent criminals, and perpetrators of murder. However when laws were drafted there were no video cameras, DNA tests, etc. I believe we need to upgrade some of those laws from the last century. There are new tools to be factored in to get the perpetrator and NOT an innocent bystander.

One cannot imagine the horror of knowing innocence and being put in prison. Sad and frightening thing is it could happen to any one of us at any time.

I'm so glad for the innocence project (innocenceproject.org) and for better trained and knowledgeable detectives and other staff at various law centers. Now if we can get the prosecutors to quit with the pride and be happy for the release of folks they've sent down the river on a false conviction. I've seen interviews of prosecutors who are just mean people and even WITH DNA evidence staring them in the face want to keep the accused in prison. It's people like that we DON'T need working for us as our public servants in law enforcement.

I still have doubts about the WM3 being innocent. I am glad the 3 men in the above story are free. While I believe lawsuits have gotten out of hand in our country; these men have every right to sue for the time they lost to live their lives. In the very least they could pay for their educational goals.

If you still have doubts about the WM3, then you haven't really looked into it and read/listened to all the info.

And that you still have doubts about the WM3, it shows the person in the first post the sensationalism of it, as they've been released but people still have doubts and don't believe.

The American justice system is sometimes more about convicting someone/anyone than finding the truth, they used to be able to get away with it without issue, but dna and things like the innocence project are turning the tide some.

These guys were just lucky, the prosecutors, law enforcement, and the judges fight tooth and nail to keep innocent people they have convicted behind bars, regardless of the evidence proving they were innocent. They do not want to be seen as having been wrong and would much rather see some poor ass bastard in jail or executed than have a perceived mark against their decisions. Do you really think all those middle class and poor people that are executed each year are guilty? Even if you are rich and innocent, it will take all your wealth to prove your innocence if the state wants you convicted. Things need to change.

Good thing the "hang em high" group didn't control their sentencing.

I agree. When your over-zealous DA and the likes, wrongfully convict, and know, they should be subjected to the same term in prison the sought for their victims.

It is not unusual for them to withhold evidence in order to get their convictions. They are ladder climbers, and only their personal agendas matter. They do so on the backs of citizens. That is why some states have put a moratorium on executions in their state. Imagine in the past how many innocent people have been executed.

The system is severely broken and reeks of corruption.

I am happy for these three that get to go home after 18 years of lost time. Time they can never get back. The world out here has changed for them. I hope they can adjust and put prison life behind them.

Prosecutors have lobbied and won immunity from civil lawsuits if someone they convicted is found later to be innocent. Under this kind of protection it is inevitable that innocent people will be sent to prison, because prosecutors know they will suffer no consequences. Even if they know the person they are convicting is innocent it is to their advantage to obtain a plea bargain or coerce a confession, because it will enhance their career and incur no penalty. Guilt or innocence does not matter for a prosecutor; getting a conviction is their one and only goal.

These men are fortunate they had support and legal assistance. There are many others languishing in prison because a prosecutor chose to hide evidence, or twist the law to put them there.

the prosecutors did not convict these men, the JURY OF THEIR PEERS, convicted these men; i tried to read up on the case, it relied on a eyewitness testimony, very little other evidence; Jury charges should be changed , to cast suspicion on eyewitness testimony only; as for the gang members that really did it, that came at a much later date; I believe New York is one of the states that have a formula for money damages for wrongfully conviction, our system is not perfect, but still the best in the world.

Numerous studies have shown that eyewitness accounts are not reliable. If that's all you've got to go by, you don't really have a case, unless the witness already knew the accused.

stonepipe2

Maybe Snookie and the Kargashians never heard the story. Otherwise I'm sure they would have been marching.

gm stonepipe

Snooki and the Kardashians have gotten more black guys off than Johnny Cochran.

Carryingconcealed, it's easy to see why your paranoia led you to that moniker. Your legs must be worn out from the conclusion jumping your life is probably loaded with. If you pack long enough you'll probably decide you're the 'good' guy one night in some bar and end up where these guys left. Except you'll be guilty.

Thank the Lord they were not executed! This case is one of the great aguments against capital punishment.

so now will justice be served and the judge get sentence? it should be a crime to jail innocent men just for private prison profits. these men were not only locked up for 18 years but think about the food they had to eat. goverment places have some of the worst foods in the nation such as schools and jails around america.

CarryingConcealed, you are just a paranoid person who is afraid of your own shadow. Your life didn't turn out the way you wanted it to, so yo try to find others to look down upon. The problem is everyone sees you for the loser you are and know that you are really just a scared coward.

Carryingconcealed gets the ridiculous post of the day award, so far, that is. So many things wrong with that thought process, ( and I'm being generous to infer that there was a thought process) that I don't know where to start.

id also like to add when these judges who lock innocent men up to make private prison profits not only make the convicted man a victim, they also leave no justice to man murdered as the real criminal gets away with the crime. the selfish move by jugdes leave a victim with no justice and a victim who is sentenced to the crime. so now justice must be served and jail those who jail others to make money. no1 can be above the law anymore. something must be done.

db2-good one and have a great day!

WM3 was a very different case. The directors of the documentary went down to find out why children kill. It was only after starting the film did they realize that they were innocent. that is why anyone knew about the case.
There was zero evidence against those children. The police force was under investigation. One of the the step fathers was an informant of the corrupt police. Two of the step fathers were very violent, yet both were not considered as possible suspects.

After meeting Jason Baldwin last year at a conference, it amazes me that he survived in prison. The guy is simply not violent, he is a peace person.

I totally agree that there needs to be a HUGE penalty for wrongly convicting someone and not just money! These prosecutors have no fear of stacking the deck against anyone! They always say that your innocent until proven guilty but I have seen it the other way around 99% of the time. They consider you guilty until you can prove you didn't do it! They are professional that can make you look bad, twist words and situations until they get their way. I'm a white republican female and I have never been in prison or jail and no one in my family has ever been but I feel like the system has WAY too much pull on the side of the courts. How can you take 18 years away from a person and not have to suffer something??? We have seen this WAYYY to many times now. I think the system needs and overhaul and I think that EVERYONE in prison needs to have their case looked at by someone with an impartial agenda! Even if you have to let them all out and start over! This is just unreal!!! These poor men and their families!!! I hope they at least make them rich but that's still not enough! This is just unbelievable!!!

This is a prime example of why no civilized society should
still have capital punishment. What if these innocent men were executed? The
system makes mistakes, innocent people are convicted, but thankfully in this
case they were still alive to be set free. Not one innocent life is worth some
misguided sense of justice. It's time our country follows the lead of so many
other developed nations and abolish the death penalty, so stories like this can
continue to be happy ones, and not apologies to the families of innocent people
who have been put to death.

To my conservative brothers and sisters who still support
the death penalty. Think of it as an issue of government power, there is no
larger violation of personal liberty than allowing the government to execute
its citizens. Capital punishment is the greatest overreach any government can
make.

@niece1964

I 100% agree with you!! The prosecutors and detectives while they may be seeking justice and I
applaud them for that, they are also looking to advance their career. Prosecutors
seek convictions and detectives seek to close cases. If they think they have
their man they don't ask questions. And the Judges spend every day working with
the same prosecutors it’s only human nature to develop a personal relationship
which makes objectivity impossible.

GreatJob12, I disagree. Though there probably are innocent people in prison (these guys are a great example!) some people lose the right to live when they do certain crimes. When you knowingly and intently kill an innocent person you lose your personal liberty and the rights this country affords you.

non-par, karl, scott: Given that liberals in general are the dumbest group of smart people I've ever met, and proof positive that an education is in no way indicative of functional intelligence, I'll forgive you and your party's practice of ignoring the reality of the world in which you live.

If you want to bury your naive little heads in the sand right along with your candy-coated rainbows and unicorns that's your prerogative. However, in the meantime the rest of us with an actual shred of common sense will keep our eyes wide open, and continue to call it like it is, not like we wish it was.

Cassandra - did you really put - thank the lord they weren't executed?

Is that the same lord who allowed for these innocent men to spend a collective 54 years locked up, away from their family/friends/loved ones, having to live in prison where who knows what they had to deal with, having their freedoms taken away, etc?

Or was that some other lord and the one you spoke of just got around to these guys?

@Waynebo

I can accept your contention that people who take a life
should also lose their life, but how can you be sure that the person you are
executing is not innocent? These men were convicted of murder, so from your
perspective they should have been executed right? But they were innocent, so
then should the people who executed them then be executed for killing innocent
people? You get where I'm coming from? I can accept the argument that you believe
in an eye for an eye, however if you can't be certain someone is guilty (see
this case for example) then you can't execute them because you risk murdering
an innocent person yourself. Life in prison without parole is sufficient, and
it actually cost tax payers less money in the long run.

Eighteen years in a cage for nothing is a long time. They should get a good pay out when it comes down to it.

@Carryingconcealed...so because you live and grow up in poverty around people who commit crimes and as a teenager (these men were around 17 to 18) don't have the means to get out of that environment, its JUSTIFIED to be wrongly ACCUSED of a crime you didn't commit...contrary to your name you should not be allowed to carry a firearm OR vote until you have had some type of education because you CLEARLY are void of either book or common sense...

Carryingconcealed -- You're ignorant to believe that they deserve 18yrs for a crime they didn't commit because of a lifestyle you assume they lived. No one should endure 18yrs of a very hard life in prison on trumped up charges from a DA that will stack false evidence to build a conviction rate for personal gain -- Not even you. That's like me presuming you're a racist for grouping 3 ethnic men that you don't know into a category of hooligans. Unless you know them personally, you should refrain from such judgements because it makes you even less integral than selfish DA's out for personal gain. I'd like to see you locked up for 18yrs for an alleged hate crime you probably would/have committed. Let's see how you'd feel then.

Who would come to your defense?

@Carryingconcealed

I would actually contend that you are ignorant and blind to
the world around you if you think it is not possible to be accused of a serious
crime unless you are a criminal. The article made no mention of these men
having any criminal background; did you just make that assumption because they
are three black guys from New York? I think you have proved the extent of your
ignorance all on your own so I’ll just leave it at that.

Guns, turning pussies into tough guys since the 12th century...

fyte 4 justice:

You're correct. There's a difference between malicious prosecution and a mistake. Prosecutors should not be allowed to hide behind immunity because we all know the difference between a prosecuting mistake and prosecuting maliciously in order to enhance ones career.

As for all those in favor of the death penalty, this is the reason I am against any killing, even by the state.

now sue the balls off of NYC &NYS for all the time served ,wipe them libturd butts real hard !!

MARK S-971793

now sue the balls off of NYC &NYS for all the time served ,wipe them libturd butts real hard !!

Good thing this happend in a liberal state and they are still alive to sue. If this was Texas they would already be dead

This case only strengthened my points in a debate I had in College. While studying Criminal Justice I asked my instructor (A Defense Attorney) Why this type of thing happens. He said the system was not perfect, which set me off. I loudly stated that in a so-called free society it is unacceptable for every citizen to have to have a verifiable alibi for every waking moment of every day.

If you don't believe that then get accused of something that has to involve the police and see how fast you can recall everything you did from the last month. What's scary is:

Overzealous D.A.'s with an agenda

Lying witnesses

Lying Police Officers

Rabid media (With agendas)

Mix those four together with a general public that is populated with those that tend to believe everything they read/hear, and has a "Guilty until proven innocent beyond reasonable doubt" mentality, and you have exactly why this keeps happening.

Mom, it's idiots like you that are the reason innocent people get convicted. Despite all the overwhelming, irrefutable evidence, you arent "convinced".

Maybe the problem is your brain wanting to believe your children actually face the threats you cook up in your brain. You probably call the police if a car drives past your house more than once or stops and asks for directions.

State of New York is going to be writing some heafty checks soon enough...

All involved in putting them in jail should each recieve 18 years, they play so zelously with peoples without a care not even caring if they get the right person as long as they get a conviction, also they should be able to have a couple hours alone in a room with them as well , come to think of it maybe double the time might be justice

Wrongful convictions pay $50k a year in FL, from what I remember, so $900k will go toward apologizing if they pay the same.

i also got wrongfully arrested back in 1994 after helping to put out a fire ,it was a burning jeep ,a dirty cop arrested me instead then stole $1400.00 from me ,good thing the DA seen my money at the scene as well as the cop that got told to arrest me , it all got tossed out and the dirty cop who stole my money got canned,well they just forced him into"early retirement" as they protect eachother ,meanwhile i got stuck with thousands in legal bills. there is tons of dirty or even lazy cops out there who dont care or dont do their jobs , the cop who tried to frame me and stole the money actually contamanated the evidence in the jeep that i saved from the fire ,he put the stupid "get away mask"on his head&handle the gloves ,WTF that contains DNA ,they got that off the snapple bottles they drank from ,but it was very unprofessional of a cop to miss handle evidence and to randomly accuse someone of wrongdoing ,ironically my witnesses were also cops & a security tape

Carryingconcealed - your post shows you don't have a clue but you eagerly post nonsense.

Carryinconcealed -

Whatever...just chalk up the eighteen years as justice served for the numerous other crimes they committed and were never tried and convicted for.

You don't get wrongly convicted of capital crimes unless you're immersed in a lifestyle populated with retards who commit these types of crimes, and if that's the lifestyle you choose and you end up going down for a crime you didn't actually commit (this time), then oh well.

It's guys like you with your mentality that gives gun owners bad names and fuels Liberals desire to disarm America. Do all of us gun owners a favor and change your screen name if you're going to post crap like this.

Apparently I missed something. Can someone explain why 2 other people convicted for this crime were released in October 2012 and these people had to wait an additional 90 days to be released? Why was that?

Our justice system is woefully broken if the prosecutors cannot get their facts straight and are so slow to right a wrong. And yes, like other posters here, I am tired of the rush to jail people of color before the facts are in. What is it going to take to get people to think before they act, especially when their actions ruin people's lives?

On the plus side, when these guys sue for wrongful convictions, they will get a HUGE payout. Not that it makes up for wasting 18 years of their lives, but at least they will get something. As taxpayers and citizens, we should be outraged at the waste of what could have been productive lives and tax dollars that will be wasted on reparation payments because the police and legal system FAILED to do their jobs 18+ years ago. It is frustrating to keep reading these same stories over and over again. When will the members of the legal system wake up and realize they are playing with people's lives? Maybe the attorneys on these cases should be made to pay the reparations to the wrongly convicted. Now there's food for thought - actually holding people accountable for their actions.

However, in the meantime the rest of us with an actual shred of common sense will keep our eyes wide open, and continue to call it like it is, not like we wish it was.

Yes, we get it. You're afraid of black people and think they are all criminals.

They had of committed some kind of crime in the past because they are black, correct? That is your line of thinking, is it not?

What you are calling common sense, is nothing more than stereotypical racially motivated fear.

18 years....day in, day out....18 years.....locked in a cage like an animal.....18 years, and on any given day their life could have been taken at any moment. 18 years locked away when you are innocent. I don't know how people hold onto their sanity and their humanity in these instances. How do you begin to repay years lost from LIFE? There is no satisfactory sum but all who have been proven innocent after such an ordeal should receive enough to let them have no financial concerns or worries. Also, prosecutors (the state) should be held financially responsible in these particular cases. If they are made to pay a prohibitive sum for these types of cases, I think they would be more careful and more diligent with their prosecutions. I wish I knew how many of these cases have come about, the ones where people have spent a significant portion of their lives in jail only to be found innocent. I know that personally, I have read so many of these stories. And the Innocence Project has quite the backlog. Clearly our system of "justice" has totally come off the track. I feel terrible for anyone who has experienced this type of torture. How does one makeup for all that time. These men lost their freedom, their youth and whom shall be held accountable for that?

Prosecution immunity allows prosecutors to go after citizens any way they choose and they also have the deep pockets of the public.

I watched all three WM3 documentaries. I wonder how much attention the case would have if there were no documentaries about them. I think there would be little if any at all, and that they would still be in prison (with Damien Echols possibly dead from lethal injection). No county or state wants to admit they have wrongfully convicted someone.

They were in prison for many years before they agreed to take the Alford plea (in which they have to admit guilt with time served). That plea deal does not allow them to seek damages in civil court, if I understand it correctly. But they will make lots of money off the movie deal and book deals, appearances, etc.

The WM3 are white but it took about the same amount of time for them to get out of prison as it did these 3. So not sure your statement about black and white holds water, at least in comparing it to the WM3.

Makes one wonder just how many innocent folks are in prison.

Where are the celebrities in this story screaming about the injustice? Where are the huge gathering of people declaring their innocence?

There were, years ago, but the supporters gave up when it appeared that the men would die in prison.

Prosecuters want convictions to show the people that elect them they are doing the job. So if they can manipulate evidence or witnesses they will. The bigger the case, the more they will do this because they are lawyer politicians and they want to progress through the system, maybe get a judgeship or they are going to try and go farther in politics. Here in northwest Missouri, there is a case that the prosecution was in the attorney general office to help a small town prosecutor the a.g. wanted to become governor so he was a hot prosecuter. He prosecuted a 15 year old kid for murder, that was about 18 years ago and it came out that evidence was withheld from the defense lawyers and the judge that might have shed some light on the verdict to make it not guilty if known. A judge has overturned it but they still have him in prison because they are thinking of retrying him. They are just afraid to show that they can make a mistake and are afraid of getting their tails sued. My sentiments are if u have ever been a prosecutor u should not be able to go higher in politics and maybe concentrate on justice and not your shoddy conviction record.

Armed Wombat, No it's mean people like you that go to name calling because someone doesn't agree with you. The poster that said I haven't read all or heard all the information about the WM3 is correct. I haven't been convinced because I don't know all the facts in the case. Why don't you learn to be nice? Why bring my children into this? Why make it personal? What threats are you referring too that pertain to my children? I am not an over protective parent, I am a realistic parent that arms my children with the information they need when it is age appropriate. As for calling the police for people driving by my house or asking for directions.... that couldn't be further from the truth. Why to you assume to know someone based on a few sentences?

Carryingconcealed-I hope that you never find yourself in this kind of situation with the people you are forced to rely in saying you probably did something else so should stay in prison innocent. I strongly doubt that your faith would carry you through.

This is exactly why I am against the death penalty. These men may have 18 years of lost time but they still are alive. How horrible for this to happen. I can't imagine losong 18 years of my life.

Terry is right about prosecutors and our justice system on how they will fight tooth and nail to keep someone behind bars, whether they believe that person is innocent or guilty. The fact is, they face the reality that if people are found wrongfully convicted, then they have a huge lawsuit on their hands, as well as their jobs and well being are on the line. Our justice system is bent on putting the blame on someone, no matter who it is, someone is going down.

Now don't get me wrong, there are also many aspects of our justice system that lack the ability to prosecute or keep the actual criminals locked up. The one thing that always comes to my mind when I'm thinking about this topic is how crazy it is that some people get locked up right next to murderers and rapists, for doing things that are nowhere near that level of evil. For example, young people are getting locked up for 15+ years for growing some plants, right next to repeat felons who are in there for molestation or some other sickoning offense, just doesn't make sense. They release murderers after less than 10 years in prison if they behave themselves, only to get out and do it again. But hey, make sure that pot head is locked up for life right ?

Getting back to the story at hand, these guys should now have the rest of their lives provided for them by the government. These three guys will have a very tough time trying to have any kind of normal life out in the world, and that is all due to the fact that our justice system failed them, so now it is time for our justice system to take care of them, for at least the next 18 years and more.

stonepipe2

Maybe Snookie and the Kargashians never heard the story. Otherwise I'm sure they would have been marching.

gm stonepipe

Snooki and the Kardashians have gotten more black guys off than Johnny Cochran.

Funny you mention that. Mr. Kardashian and Johnny Cochran got OJ off. I love when things come full circle.

Well, I hope the justice department got it right, this time.

Mom

Why to you assume to know someone based on a few sentences?

This is a nasty habit that runs rampant here.

its very very sad...but innocent people get convicted all the time and guilty people go free all the time...

your chances of getting found guilty doubles if your black

Carryingconcealed: You're an absolute idiot. Personally, I hope they convict your ass for something you didn't do.

Greatjob12 - I promise if you and I met in person, armed or not, you wouldn't have the balls to call me a pussy to my face, and if you did you'd pay a much higher consequence than you'd prepared for. Funny how the Internet makes everyone a tough-guy, huh?

Kind of like Dale calling me an idiot simply because he/she/it doesn't agree with my point of view. Another Internet tough guy.

Listen, libtards (I assume I can say that since the libs on here like to use adjectives like idiot, teabagger, a$$hole, repugs, etc. on a fairly regular basis as soon as they feel slighted). You weirdos love to scream racism every time someone says anything that could be construed as something other than unconditional love for all people everywhere, but here's the thing you don't seem to get:

If it's a fact, it isn't racism.

For instance, if I say that blacks are many times more likely to commit violent crime than whites, even though you know that is a stone-cold, indisputable fact, to you that's racist simply because I said it out loud. So does that make you naive and ignorant, or are your heads truly so far up your arse that you are as clueless about the reality of the world you live in as it would appear?

By the way, if I said that white people from Alabama are a bunch of toothless, trailer-park dwelling hillbillies, you wouldn't even care, and that right there speaks volumes about your true character, ya bunch of self-loathing, entitled, white America-hating hypocrites.

america's justice system -- it's not that the right person goes to jail, but that someone goes to jail. this is what you get when our justice system is represented by arrogant, high-minded idiots who think they know it all; who push for a conviction even when the evidence are lacking and, in some cases, non-existent.

Is there any way these three can get paid for all those years behind bars- maybe false imprisonment, cruel & unjust punishment ? Imagine all the things they had to endure, the utter loss of freedom, almost two decades of their lives they'll never get back. I wonder where those lawyers (probably now politicians) are today.

Well carrying, liberals know a tremendous amount, very little of it is true. :(

Think about it, most college professors, movie stars, young people and jews are liberals. What do they all have in common? It would be phantasy wouldn't it?

Last i heard there is a JURY that hands down convictions based on EVIDENCE...not a JUDGE or PROSECUTER....you that complain about about the justice system, go live in MEXICO...gee, you think thats why so many MEXICANS escape to this country....

Carryingconcealed:

I called you an idiot not because I don't agree with you (which I don't), but because you have such utter disregard for the law, and the injustice that occurred here. We actually have a constitution here in the United States, and you get charged for a crime, you go to trial on THAT crime, and you are either found guilty or innocent on THAT crime, and if guilty, you go to jail on THAT crime. If you like punishing people for things they haven't been charged with, maybe you'd feel more at home in the majority of third world countries where the rule of law doesn't exist.

BTW, just in case you don't know this, you cannot be jailed based on racial statistics. And, your quoted racial statistics don't apply to individuals.

What is a common denominator for these three? They were young at the time and they're black. What drives the Prosecution is a need for conviction. Communities that are tired of crime in their area back a quick conviction and that helps the Prosecution thrive.

If society was more patient and waited for the detectives, technicians, Prosecution to find and detain the correct perpetrator, life would be far better for us all. The problem stems from impatience. A killer is loose, society panics and work get sloppy. Pressure mounts on detectives and prosecutors. Wrongs are made, no one wants to look bad so the prosecution continues.

How about understanding that professional work takes time. DNA isn't collected OR processed over night. Witnesses are not found immediately. Eyewitness testimony is notoriously wrong. If society begins to learn patience (and the fees these guys can collect - $50k/year they were incarcerated, EACH can help impart that) then perhaps society will begin to wait for the police to do their work fully before proceeding with prosecutions.

Correct, a jury determines guilt or innocence except during a bench trial. Then, it's only the judge hearing the case and determining guilt or innocence. The prosecution and defense produce the information which then is reviewed and guilt or innocence determined. Many people don't trust defense attorneys, but I'd feel safer with a group of defense attorneys rather than prosecuting attorneys!

Last i heard there is a JURY that hands down convictions based on EVIDENCE...not a JUDGE or PROSECUTER....you that complain about about the justice system, go live in MEXICO...gee, you think thats why so many MEXICANS escape to this country....

i don't know what part of america you live in but a jury is not always present. our "justice" system is what those high-minded people deems it to be.

how would you deal with things if a 15 year old girl accuses you of molesting her? do you think you will be hassle free by telling the authorities she lied? i don't think so.

all it takes is an accusation, being at the wrong place at the wrong time, that will mess you up for the rest of your life.

as for evidence, what evidence? it will be her word over yours.

Mom2five - so let me get this straight - you say you aren't convinced the WM3 is innocent but you haven't read/listened/studied the facts? Were you convinced they were guilty without doing the same? So, you just believed it cause someone told you it was the truth? But you aren't convinced yet when the system has now released them - do you think they'd have released them if they could prove their guilt?

What an utter disappointment and travesty for these 3 men. The sad thing, is this happens a lot. We just hear about the ones that are exonerated, but there are many, many people serving time for crimes they didn't commit. And yes, this is a great argument against the death penalty. Scary to think that it could happen to any of us...black or white.

The fact is, they face the reality that if people are found wrongfully convicted, then they have a huge lawsuit on their hands, as well as their jobs and well being are on the line.

The fact is, prosecutors are immune from punishment while everyone else is fair game.

No I wasn't/am not convinced of their guilt either. I don't know all the facts of the case to have an opinion of guilt or non-guilt. I have to trust that if they have been released it was for good reason.

and your point is

The point is avoid that psycho state and anyone that was raised there.

Wow, just imagine if they'd received the death penalty. What a sham(e)!!

Happens more than you think and I guarantee there are innocent men put to death every year. We are not all knowing...in fact, I think we are the most stupid animals on the planet.

So agree, there are times when the evidence is so obvious and overwhelming (like the recent theater shooting in Colorado) but is is cases like this that cast doubt on the entire process. I have no issue with the death penalty in theory, but rather in how it it applied.

I do agree with the death penalty, but only in cases where the criminal is guilty with NO DOUBT at all, as in with witness, DNA, weapon evidence, etc. In many instances, it can be questionable, and for that, they should not be executed.

I am glad these guys got out. That's wonderful news for them and their families. I hope they can move on from this and enjoy their lives.

They only imprison them for 18+ years when there is "no doubt" too. The prosecution proved they committed the murder.

And they were still wrong.

As I said MS, with definite PROOF, such as DNA, weapons, fingerprints etc. Many are convicted on truly circumstantial evidence. We all know that. I wouldn't want to see anyone executed because of that.

It has happened before. But with todays new technology in forensics and DNA it's not likely. In fact without that Key evidence, I don't think ANYONE should be given the death penalty.

Janine, your comment is leaning in a dangerous direction. When they were convicted the courts said there was no reasonable doubt or they would not have went to jail. Your Revenge(justice) makes you feel better but doesn't solve anything. You contradict. You say you believe in the death penalty then you say you don't think anyone should get the death penalty. The major reason the death penalty shouldn't exist is because the system is broken and innocent people will pay the ultimate price.

Definite proof... such as DNA, witnesses, weapons, etc. Seems was only days ago that some prosecutor was found to have fabricated DNA evidence in hundreds of cases, another fabricated hundreds of DWI readings, planting weapons on dead "perps" used to be commonplace police practice, eyewitnesses are almost completely unreliable... might want to rethink that "definite proof".

Usually death penalty cases are different. Most of them were found with the weapon in their hand and covered with blood! Some of them admit they did it and others were seen by more than one person. They don't just put people to death willy nilly! You need to know the whole case and see the whole picture before you say that. Do you think the guy that just killed all those kids in the school would have been just put in jail forever if he had not killed himself? No, he was caught in the act! What about the guy that is on tril right now that shot all the people in the theatre? You think he deserves to go on living off your dime? You think there is a chance he is innocent? NO! They do need to have checks and balances so that they don't let people rot in jail for 18 years or even 1 year if they are not guilty! You cannot allow the prosecution twist stories and try to make everything point to guilt. They should not be allowed to say or do or portrait anything in a negative light that is not! That game playing stuff is bull!

Cases like this are why I also have a problem with the death penalty. Death penalty should only apply when guilty beyond ANY doubt and that would take more than eye witness testimony. Studies have proven time and time again that eye witness accounts are unreliable. Now factor eye witness with other cold hard (not circumstantial) evidence then maybe. But I still don't want to be the one to administer it.

So the guy who shot up the theatre in colorado.... would that be definite proof?

HOw about the guy from Sandy Hook? What if he didn't kill himself and was aprehended? Would that be definite proof.

I agree with the skepticism many of you are demonstrating. There also needs to be a point, a line drawn in the sand if you will, where decades of appeals and expensive imprisonment and court costs need to be eliminated by quick capitol punishment.

Best of luck to these 3 men. The outside is much better than prison but it has changed for the worse since you went in. Hopefullly you get some due compensation to help ease the new burdens that society has created for you.

@MSpielman, did they actually prove it or was evidence manufactured? Was there eye witnesses and how reliable were they? I am for Police and for the courts, but I am against cops and prosecuters who don't fully investigate, who feel they have to convict just to make it look good. I was on a jury trial once and had some questions during deliberation. I asked to see the record of something that was said and the judge refused this. It was on a guy that was already in prison and the state was trying to convict him on an incident in there. There were two counts. I felt that the judge was wrong so I voted not guilty on one count and swayed the others to do so also. We convicted on one because it was plain and we could have convicted the other but it was not beyond a reasonable doubt so he beat that one.

Dr. Alchemy

Based on the reports, I believe that the young man who committed the Sandy Hook murders was mentally unstable and would have been sent to a mental institution instead of prison.

It is estimated that there are at least 30000 innocent people in jail at any given time.

Ray-2194047

It is estimated that there are at least 30000 innocent people in jail at any given time.

By whom?

By made up liberal bleeding hearts... the most irrefutable source on the planet... depending on who you ask

DrAlchemy - you better pray you never get wrongly accused, otherwise people with your mentality of 'everyone in prison deserves to be there' will scoff when you plead with them to believe your innocence. After all, a jury convicted you of a crime, so you must be guilty, right? Otherwise you wouldn't be in prison, right?

Us 'liberal bleeding hearts' are trying to fix the problem of people getting wrongly thrown in prison. Do you think these three were that different from you? Wrong place, wrong time. It can happen to any of us, including you.

denver bill 2: According to the innocence project, there are studies that show between 2 - 5% of prisoners are innocent. They further go onto say that even if 1% of the prison population is innocent, that means that there are approximately 20,000 innocent people in prison.

http://www.innocenceproject.org/Content/How_many_innocent_people_are_there_in_prison.php

By made up liberal bleeding hearts...

You do realise that if even just 1% of the prison population is innocent, that translates to over 20,000 wrongful convictions made.

Is it so hard for you to believe that 1 out of every 100 convictions are wrong?

Will sleep fine either way thank you. Grouping all DP advocates as blood thirsty is a little hypocritical of you.

And advocating murder to perhaps preventing murder, is highly hypocritical of you.

Only if you consider execution as murder, I call it justice

And if these three had been "executed", would you have called that "justice"?

Please think a little. It CAN happen to you or someone you love.

When your child or mother or spouse is murdered, then tell me you don't want Justice.

Many of these same bleeding hearts, begging for the "Rights" of murders, are the same time advocates for the murder of Innocents (Abortion).

So because I don't share your opinion you feel the need to tell me to think, like I'm not. First off I don't see anywhere in the article where the death penalty was an option.

It CAN happen to me and the reverse CAN happen to you. If someone broke into your home and raped you and your wife, children, whatever family of yours they could round up. They then slowly tortured each one severely before executing them one by one in front of you. Just as they are about to kill you last the police storm in and apprehend them. You would be ok letting them live out the rest of their lives in jail, three meals a day, on your taxes while you lived the rest of your life alone. If so then I gladly admit you are a bigger person than me.

Janine -- I would want the TRUE perp to get justice, not just some guy that was in the area and has a prior record etc. Having the wrong person convicted and executed is as evil as the murder the perp supposedly committed. Plus it leaves the real killer out on the street.

Sure I would want justice for a murdered relative or friend. But convicting the wrong person (with flimsy evidence at best) is not justice. Convicting the wrong person with seemingly good evidence isn't justice either. It's a mistake at the least.

The whole debate about JUSTICE. Some call revenge justice and some call justice, someone paying for a crime, even the wrong person, as long as someone pays. Obviously people have different definitions of justice.

Absolutely Granny..I agree with you completely. I wouldn't want the wrong person convicted of the crime. but I WOULD want the right person to be executed FOR that crime.

@Janine-1645002

When your child or mother or spouse is murdered, then tell me you don't want Justice.

So "justice" is automatically the death penalty to you? When was your loved one murdered? My son was murdered in1989, and I'm fine with knowing his killer will never see the free world again, and he'll die a miserable old man still in prison!

No one said "justice" is automatically the death penalty.

They were not on death row! This is just horrible though! You can't do away with death penalty but no one should sit in jail forever that did nothing! They need to change the way prosecutors and defense work. They treat it like a damn game they are tying to win to see who win the most cases! It is the job of the prosecution to prove their case but it should not be at all cost! They should not try to make something out of nothing, twist things and imply things that are not fact pertaining to the case.

If I thought someone deserved to die because they hurt or killed someone in my family, maybe I'd kill them myself but then I'd expect to pay the price. Our government/society should not be in the business of killing. The death penalty is barbaric and should be eliminated in the US, as it has been in most other civilized nations. Wrongful prosecution, which does happen all the time, is only one reason to abolish the death penalty...although a very good reason! A better reason: it serves no purpose as a deterrent! Even if it were done in a timely fashion, there is no evidence that it prevents more crime. Thus, it is really used as a punishment, in which case we are lowering our moral standards as a nation by continuing the practice. What would probably help is if the justice system had rational sentencing policies: for example, it's ridiculous that someone caught with drugs can spend up to 25 years in jail, but a murderer or rapist can get out in less than 10. Put them away, then throw away the key. For most folks, the death penalty is probably the lesser of two evils compared to spending the rest of your life in a max security prison.

OldDog47, I'm sorry for your loss and appreciate your comments.

Looks like the Aurora shooter (despite the ABSOLUTE Undeniable PROOF AGAINST HIM) shouldn't be executed. NOpe.... We should let him sit in jail, 3 meals a day, watching cable. What a cruel punishment.

Lets add to all the pain, sufering and financial cossts by keeping him in prison for an average of ~$50,000 per year... For life you're looking at 2-4 million dollars!

I would rather see that money KEPT OUT OF THE PRISON INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX and put back into the community in the form of increased security or scholarships for the children who lost parents or SOMETHING better.

I call that justice.

Lets add to all the pain, sufering and financial cossts by keeping him in prison for an average of ~$50,000 per year... For life you're looking at 2-4 million dollars!

And yet it's still cheaper than executing them.

Your plan to let them off easy doesn't cut it with me. A life long of knowing there will be no freedom for them is far more fitting. Not to mention, my way is cheaper than yours.

DrAlchemy, why is it that conservatives are so eager to lock people up and sentence people to death? The United States comprises only 5% of the world's general population but represents 20% of the world's prison population. Whatever it is our judicial system is doing, it's not working.

ONE PENNY - ONE TIME

If each American, (317 million) of us put up ONE penny, we can keep the bastard that murdered those babies in prison for life. And have money left over. If we put the money in an interest bearing account, we can MAKE money.

And he doesn't get off easy by killing him. That's what we do for sick/injured animals we care about.

They can start their own business and should. They don't need to get hired.

And after 18 years in prison, what business do you imagine they'd be qualified to start, never mind run?

Prison doesn't actually train you do to anything for a living. Remember, nobody ever expected that these guys would ever be released, so I'm guessing that no training resources were "wasted" on them.

http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_22434324/colorado-lawmakers-work-compensation-wrongly-convicted

For those of you who choose to read the above linked article, be sure to read the comments from people who think that giving this one man compensation for his years of imprisonment is a waste of money.

One of the men became a law clerk in prison and hopes to further his education and become a paralegal. One of the others is going to go to culinary school.

It would appear that some resources went to them and that they are capable of having meaningful careers and lives.

Here in Colorado it's zero. Zip. Nada.

That is so wrong. You can't imprison someone, find out they are innocent after who knows how long, and just put them on the steets with a "sorry."

Why do you say that?

Innocent or not they spend 18 years in jail. NOBODY will give them a job.

"Outside I was an honest man, straight as an arrow. I had to come to prison to be a crook."

ray: Please don't pretend to talk for everyone. I'd give them a job.

Possible, only because they made it learning prison ways and it kept them alive.

They wont need a job once they get their settlement!

Ray is either a pessimist or a racist.

Ray may be a bit Pessimistic. Maybe he knows someone who had trouble after being in prison, who knows.

But I don't see anything racist in his comment at all.

Sadly Ray is right and only someone that knows fristhand will agree with him. The odds of them recovering will be very slim simply because had they never been locked up the deck was already stacked against them from birth....the only thing that may keep them afloat is that settlement money. JUST BE REALISTIC

Maybe because the pictures of the men are posted. Hmmmm......... two African-American Men and one Hispanic........You're right., there was nothing racist about his (Ray's) comments.

@Carryingconcealed - One the the men who was convicted their age is mentioned in the article. Which means the gentleman who age was noted charged/convicted was 19 at the time .Could he have been working? In school? Since we have no information on the criminal past of either of the men , WHO THE F*CK are you to say that these guys were committing crimes long this happened? I see ignorance is still bliss!!

I disagree. There are some...perhaps many who will not give them a job, even though they have been in prison for crimes they did not commit. However, some of my clients have been in prison for a variety of crimes, and you all would be surprised at how many murderers, sex offenders, embezzlers, ex-prostitutes (both male and female), ex gang members (both male and female), recovering drug addicts, and ex-dealers are providing many of the services we use on a daily basis. Trust me on this....

I'd give them a job.

So would I.

It really depends.

Did the prosecution have evidence of their innocence?

Did the prosecution withhold evidence pointing to their innocence?

Did the prosecution manufacture evidence to secure a conviction?

Did all exiting evidence at the time point to the defendants as guilty?

IF you answered "No" to the first three questions, and "Yes" to the last question, then the prosecutors did their jobs in good faith, and are not to blame. They can only act on the evidence available to them, even if sometimes it points to the wrong suspect.

However, if you answered "Yes" to any of the first three questions, then *Yes* the prosecutors should be charged with multiple felonies and receive a sentence comparable to the sentence of the persons they wrongly convicted.

very good question Rick! some of these prosecutors should be behind bars every time they wrongfully prosecuted innocent people without enough evidences, or hide the truth just to win a case. I wonder how some of these prosecutors sleep at nights knowing someone is in jail might be innocent.

Unfortunately the demographics of those who were wrongly convicted, place the prosecutors above the law. Now, I suspect that if the defendants were white, educated, and/or had money, all hell would have broken loose. Well....actually they would have never been convicted in the first place. Its always interesting to me how this dynamic seems to rear its head in a number of situations. I think of the housing and financial travesty that we have been going through the last 5-6 years. In the beginning we heard a lot of rhetoric about people being "lazy" and "irresponsible" when they were losing their homes. I'm sure that the fact that they were mostly working class, poor, and minorities had absolutely nothing to do with it. At least some will argue that. When the wealthy and non-minorities stated losing their homes, it was all of a sudden a national crisis, and the rhetoric about "lazy" and "irresponsible" went away, and was replaced by words such as "misled".

Before you all get started, I am not racist and I am not turning this into a black/white issue....I'm just making an observation.

This story reminds me of the West Memphis 3. I was in the 6^th or 7^th
grade when those murders happen and it had our entire town in fear and tears.
My little cousin was in the same class with one of the little boys that was
murdered. Thus, for years in our local newspaper the ”Evening Times” we would
see all the support these young men were getting from celebrities. Thus, in this case no celebrities supported theses thre men. It’s just a dam shame how prejudice still exist, and it seems that almost every year, due to DNA evidence and other technologies innocent black men who have spent years in prison are given their freedom, after so much pain and hurt.

Mandela spent quite some time in prison, he did well after that, well for himself and well for others. Oh yeah and he was "black" too.

Good to see freedom on their faces.

save the environment, that comment was so stupid I don't even know where to start.

Cappy, I think Saves comment was about the posting above about another poster being racist. Good example Save.

Good example Save.

No it wasn't. Mandela was known around the world before his incarceration. Name one thing these three did before they went to jail.

The situations are so far apart, that drawing any comparison is like equating an apple to a piece of wood.

Why nit-pick?

The problem with that is, the tax payers get to pay for the mis-deeds of the government.

And no: I don't have the answer.

They will sue and they will settle for millions. Yes, the taxpayers will pay for the legal system's mistakes. The philosophy of a conviction at all costs is very expensive, both to the wrongly convicted and to those paying the bills. Do a search on Timothy Masters for a good example of the cost of bad prosecution.

And just the other day the Weld County DA's office dropped perjury charges against the police detective who lied about Masters under oath because they felt "it would be too hard to get a conviction." So the guy walks with no consequences whatsoever.

......there! You still want to speak on education or criminals?

Ray is just trying to get attention by trying to put out shocking comments to upset people. Noone is really as stupid as Ray is trying to portray so he must be a person who like chaos and drama.

@ Ray, I'm getting fed up with your non sense comments. How the hell you know that they are criminals? At least they have a vision to become a productive member of the society, so you don't have to worry about your tax money being spent on them unlike others who don't want to do nothing with their life.

I think Ray's position is that since they spent time in prison, they became criminals while they were there, because they associated with criminals. Since anyone who associates with criminals automatically becomes a criminal, the logic is impeccable.

Therefore they never should have been released because they're criminals now, even if they weren't when they were wrongly convicted.

Edit: Honestly, I wrote this before I read Ray's following posts. It's like I was reading his mind.

I think Ray's position is that since they spent time in prison, they became criminals while they were there, because they associated with criminals. Since anyone who associates with criminals automatically becomes a criminal, the logic is impeccable

So thanks to our thirst for "justice," we're turning innocents into career criminals. No wonder the U.S. comprises only 5% of the world's general population but represents 20% of the world's prison population.

I hired a kid who did 11 years before his conviction was overturned. He hasn't been in any trouble since!

Hey Ray, you sound like that you are speaking from experience.

Right, Unk! Its Texas law that people with no singing talent be imprisoned!

You are sure? Why, there are black choir boys? Is it because of the way they talk and move or the color of there skin? Have you taken the time to look at these mens criminal records or are you just sure?

really, Uncle Henry? Why is that? Based on your comment I am sure you are a racist bigot that molests little girls. I'm sure of that!

So you're saying that even if they are innocent, they still deserved to spend 18 years in prison?

Arizona, it appears to me some of the 'sure' comments are just as 'sure' as the prosecuters were!

Arizona, you are not alone, this is ridiculous ,and sad by reading some of these comments. This is why this country so f.....up people just rush to label others.

Thank you Arizona! The majority of us work hard and pay taxes too! We get tired of being lumped in with the negative images of those among us that don't even try. I and many of us have served in our military and many payed the ultimately price so guys like Ray and others can spout their bigoted ignorance.

The system beyond broken, I don't know what kind the repair men that need it to fix it.

Texas has already executed an innocent man, and that POS Perry has been desperately trying to cover it up.

Probably more than one dead innocent man under Tricky Ricky, plus dozens of innocent people in prison. When cops, prosecuters, judges get caught lieing and withholding evidence, he promotes them.

Except neither of you frauds can prove what you say, nor even make something up. Vile and ridiculous, just like every other lameoid Progressive.

Skibum, are you saying that everyone who is convicted is guilty? That DNA lies?

The dirty little secret in the Federal Bureau of Prisons is that they firmly believe that 1/3 of all their inmates are innocent. But, of course, it's not their job to notify anyone (and the more inmates they have the more money they get from the government). Here's an example of how the BOP works: if an inmate gets a GED while incarcerated, the BOP gives that inmate a pocket calculator (worth about $1) - the government gives the BOP $125 for every inmate who takes the test. Thus, EVERY inmate in the BOP is "urged" to take the GED exam (even those with BAs, Ph.Ds, etc). Our tax dollars at work.

A dirtier secret is that you lied and made up a fake statistic to prove your ridiculous point.

They should have some sort of punishments in the book when these cops and prosecutors destroy people's life like that . I bet you they will get their facts straight before convicted people.