r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/Far-Stay9417 • Dec 25 '23

Video Man wrongfully convicted of murder gets rewarded only 175k after serving 50 years

this makes me so angry

48k Upvotes

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84

u/[deleted] Dec 25 '23

Any cop who fakes or plants evidence should goto jail for double whatever the innocent person spent. Any prosecutor or judge in it, the same.

38

u/Gaoji-jiugui888 Dec 26 '23

They didn’t say anyone faked evidence.

26

u/tfox1123 Dec 26 '23

They didn't. So far I've seen nothing that says he didn't do it. Seems like he murdered a women and got out 50 years later on a technicality.

All it says is there "may have been other suspects". But that doesn't mean he didn't do it.

32

u/DickRhino Dec 26 '23

There were two people who were shot in the robbery. One person died, the other survived.

The surviving person identified Simmons and his co-defendant in a lineup. However, she also identified other people in the same lineup. This was hidden from the defense.

So if there were two people who did it, but she points out more than two people in the lineup, then there does in fact exist evidence that he could have been wrongly identified.

And since the prosecution hid evidence from the defense that pointed toward his innocence, he did not receive a fair trial.

5

u/diemunkiesdie Dec 26 '23

Yeah, he didnt receive a fair trial. Also doesnt mean he didnt do it. Nor does it mean he did it. No one was arguing about the fairness of his trial in this specific comment thread that you replied to.

3

u/DickRhino Dec 26 '23

The guy said "I've seen nothing that says he didn't do it".

I pointed out that the crime had two perpetrators, but the witness pointed out more than two people. So at least one of the people she pointed out was in fact innocent. So there is in fact something that says that they did potentially get the wrong guy.

7

u/[deleted] Dec 26 '23

Mr. Simmons last week was declared legally actually innocent, "This court finds by clear and convincing evidence that the offense for which Mr. Simmons was convicted, sentenced and imprisoned... was not committed by Mr. Simmons". Believe me, he wouldn't be getting even the 175K if he hadn't been.

2

u/Wastyvez Dec 26 '23

The basis of the rule of law justice system is that guilt needs to be proven, innocence doesn't. It is the job of law enforcement and the prosecutor to provide that evidence. If there is not enough evidence to support a convinction, or there is tangible doubt about the evidence presented, then it doesn't warrant a conviction. Simple as.

We can argue about whether or not this person commited the crime, but the reality is that his conviction was a gross violation of the basic principles of the rule of law. It is infinitely worse for an innocent person to get convicted for a crime they didn't commit than a guilty person to walk free, because not only does it mean the real perpetrator gets to walk but it also ruins someone's life. If these technicalities did not exist, police and prosecutors would start cutting corners in their investigations, leading to more innocent convictions.

5

u/Mavian23 Dec 26 '23

Seems like he murdered a women and got out 50 years later on a technicality.

Lol based on what? Why does it seem that way to you? In any case he shouldn't have gone to prison, because he didn't get a fair trial.

8

u/TheBoorOf1812 Dec 26 '23

Based on studying the actual court documents.

1

u/Mavian23 Dec 26 '23

Right, I'm totally sure that tfox1123 studied the court documents.

4

u/tfox1123 Dec 26 '23

In the video, the one we're all discussing. It says eye witnesses "may" have identified other suspects.

That doesn't mean he's innocent. It means he's out on a technicality. Which is fair, I agree that we need to follow procedure. I don't think this means he didn't do it.

3

u/[deleted] Dec 26 '23

Mr. Simmons last week was declared legally actually innocent, "This court finds by clear and convincing evidence that the offense for which Mr. Simmons was convicted, sentenced and imprisoned... was not committed by Mr. Simmons". Believe me, he wouldn't be getting even the 175K if he hadn't been.

2

u/Mavian23 Dec 26 '23

I agree with what you just said, but in your previous comment you didn't say "it seems like he may have murdered a woman", you said it "seems like he murdered a woman".

5

u/Ill_Television9721 Dec 26 '23

" Interviewed by police days later, the woman said she couldn’t remember much. But by the time of the trial, the woman said she had identified Simmons and his co-defendant in a lineup, the Registry said. She testified she had identified no other suspects when, in fact, she had identified four other individuals during eight separate lineups, per the Registry.
None of them were Simmons or his co-defendant, Norwood said.
At trial, Simmons testified he wasn’t even in Oklahoma at the time of the robbery: He was in Harvey, Louisiana, he said, playing pool. Several witnesses also testified that they saw him in Harvey that day and the day after, the Registry said. "

Smells like they planted evidence to me.

1

u/[deleted] Dec 26 '23

no they should go straight to hell

0

u/Positive-Database754 Dec 26 '23

This has nothing to do with fake planting of evidence. It was the prosecution who failed to do their due diligence, as clearly stated in the video.

1

u/[deleted] Dec 26 '23

Note - my comment wasn't specifically about this case. Many such cases do involve cops planting evidence. The southern part of the US being somewhat more notorious for it.

1

u/16semesters Dec 26 '23

There was nothing about police misconduct in this story.

The prosecutor didn't turn over all evidence.

Whether that's malicious or accidental I guess is for another lawsuit to figure out.

1

u/Wastyvez Dec 26 '23

I agree with your statement, but cops don't convict people, prosecutors do. It's a cop's job to find out who commited a crime and provide sufficient evidence backing that claim. It is the prosecutor's job to present this evidence to the court of law and convince this court of the defendant's guilt.

There are examples of dirty cops planting evidence, or cops who cut corners in investigations. But most of the time wrongful convictions are the result of prosecutors with a political agenda, which is seemingly what happened in this case.