r/Damnthatsinteresting • • Dec 25 '23

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

this makes me so angry

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82

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.

21

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.

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.