Man released as innocent 39 years after death sentence

[Nithavela]

Ricky Jackson leaves prison: "The English language doesn't have the words to express how I'm feeling right now.'' (video) | cleveland.com

He repeatedly thanked the Ohio Innocence Project, and he thanked county prosecutors for showing the integrity to drop the case. Jackson also had kind words for Eddie Vernon, the boy whose testimony helped convict him in 1975. Vernon recanted his testimony, saying he lied to help police and was then manipulated by detectives.
"I don't hate him,'' Jackson said. "He's a grown man today, he was just a boy back then.''
Jackson wished Vernon the best and said, "It took a lot of courage to do what he did.''
Jackson, 57, has been in prison since he was 18. He has served more time behind bars than anyone who has ever been released from prison on a wrongful conviction, according to the National Registry of Exonerations.
This week, Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Timothy McGinty dropped the charges against Jackson, who was seeking a new trial. The move came after the witness who put Jackson and two other men behind bars – Vernon, who was 12 at the time of the murder – recanted and admitted that he had lied to judges and juries about the men's role in the slaying of Harold Franks.

 

[seashale76]

This is the reason I'm against the death penalty.

I personally know two people who went to prison and served their sentences that I'm convinced are completely innocent of the crimes for which they were convicted. In fact, all of us who know them are 100% convinced they didn't do it. In both cases, they were framed by the wealthier and more powerful guilty party with the better lawyers.

 

[Darkhorse]

So now he gets 15 or 20 years of "freedom" as an ex-con - maybe death would have been more humane.

What about the guy who's lies put him in prison? Is he going to prison for life?

 

[ThisBrotherOfHis]

This is the reason I'm against the death penalty.

One, this man didn't receive the death penalty, though it is terrible for him and his family that so much time passed before the younger witness saw fit to come forward and confess his lies.

Two, there is no evidence anyone in the U.S. has been executed wrongfully since 1900. And before you howl, speculation and twisted truth is not "proof" of anything other than fanatics with a cause so dear to them they have no qualms about manipulating the facts or simply outright lying.

 

[ValleyGal]

One, this man didn't receive the death penalty, though it is terrible for him and his family that so much time passed before the younger witness saw fit to come forward and confess his lies.

Two, there is no evidence anyone in the U.S. has been executed wrongfully since 1900. And before you howl, speculation and twisted truth is not "proof" of anything other than fanatics with a cause so dear to them they have no qualms about manipulating the facts or simply outright lying.

That's because chances are, no one is doing DNA testing on those who have already been executed in order to exonerate them. Just because there is no evidence does not make all those who were executed actually guilty. How many were executed who still claimed innocence even till their death? Maybe they should be tested....

 

[Nithavela]

So now he gets 15 or 20 years of "freedom" as an ex-con - maybe death would have been more humane.

Personally, I'm for killing everyone.

Hey, here's an idea. Why don't you write Mr. Jackson a letter and ask him if he'd rather have been killed instead of 39 years in prison and now 15-20 years of freedom.

You know what, I might actually ask him, myself. Let's see if I can find an email adress...

What about the guy who's lies put him in prison? Is he going to prison for life?

That guy was a 12 year old child when he did that and got pressured by the police, who also fed him information. If anyone should go to jail, it's these people.

 

[Nithavela]

One, this man didn't receive the death penalty, though it is terrible for him and his family that so much time passed before the younger witness saw fit to come forward and confess his lies.

He was sentenced to die, but it was converted into a life sentence because of paperwork errors.

 

[ThisBrotherOfHis]

He was sentenced to die, but it was converted into a life sentence because of paperwork errors.

Meaning ...

... he did not receive the death penalty.

Maybe they should be tested....

To what end? Bringing them back to life to apologize? That's ridiculous.

Statistically, it has been proven that wrongful convictions in all felony cases nationwide occur less than .00016 percent of the time. For one thing, only five percent of all felonies filed go before a jury. The rest are plea-bargained.

In the past 50 years, there have been over 40 million felony cases filed in the U.S. Of those, 5,614 were capital murder cases. From those cases, there were 3,752 convictions that resulted in the death penalty being assessed. And of those, there are currently 3,029 men and women on death row today. Missouri and Texas have executed six since October 1, when the total was 3,035 on death row, and to my knowledge there have been no new additions since then to the death row population.

Given the scrutiny of death penalty cases, it is highly unlikely the error rate for convictions is higher than the overall error rate for all felonies. It is most likely far, far lower, given the judicial review, appeals, and other scrutiny to which a death penalty conviction is subject. But let's assume it could be as high as five times higher for death penalty cases, which I believe is totally impossible today with DNA evidence and the aforementioned scrutiny. That would mean 30 innocents have died since 1964.

Death penalty opponents haven't found one such case. Not one has been proven. Yet they claim far more than that have actually been wrongly executed. Their estimates go into the hundreds. They cite many men -- I believe it is 14 now -- who have been exonerated from death row and released. But, they weren't put to death, were they? The review process worked. Even though the wrongful conviction cost them years, it did not cost them their lives.

Now I ask you, as a reasonable person, if statistically the overall felony conviction error rate is .00016 percent, and given the review, study, appeals process and scrutiny capital cases are subjected to, is it reasonable to believe that the court system has made that many errors in the last 50 years?

I'm sure you will say "Yes," or perhaps that "Even one is too many." But you can't prove even one. And as I said, it is highly unlikely there has been one. This is an argument made from emotion, and not from factual or empirical evidence. I do think the death penalty should be administered even more judiciously that it is now, but I believe now it is administered with the utmost care to assure justice, and not vengeance.

 

[nightflight]

This is the reason I'm against the death penalty.

Me too.

 

[Hetta]

This is the reason I'm against the death penalty.

It's not the only reason for me but it's one of the most compelling.

 

[HannahT]

I wonder if we are the only country that has programs like the innocent project. I know the USA isn't the only one that has convicted innocent people to life in prison - or the death penalty.

 

[ValleyGal]

Statistically, it has been proven that wrongful convictions in all felony cases nationwide occur less than .00016 percent of the time.

I would like to know exactly how that is proven. Imo, proof would be eye-witness testimony where there is zero chance of being misidentified - iow, identification testimonies would have to back up forensics, and forensics would have to include DNA testing.

I'll bet that there are more innocents convicted of federal crimes than the miniscule percentage you claim.

To what end? Bringing them back to life to apologize? That's ridiculous.

To what end....obviously not to bring them back to life, that would be ridiculous. It would also be ridiculous to spend resources on DNA testing for those who have been executed. But to what end? To the end that it would likely show that your assertion "there is no evidence anyone in the U.S. has been executed wrongfully since 1900" can't possibly be correct. No one can assert this unless there was actually evidence that was tested. Of course there is no evidence but that is only because no one ever bothered to go back and challenge the assertion.

 

[High Fidelity]

Meaning ...

... he did not receive the death penalty.

Yes. Thank God for incompetent office workers...

 

[Darkhorse]

Why don't you write Mr. Jackson a letter and ask him if he'd rather have been killed instead of 39 years in prison and now 15-20 years of freedom.

The only reason he feels such ecstasy now is the agony of 39 years in prison.

Like the great feeling you get when you stop hitting yourself with a hammer.

Don't get me wrong; I feel for him, but his life is essentially over - he just doesn't know it yet.

That guy was a 12 year old child when he did that and got pressured by the police, who also fed him information. If anyone should go to jail, it's these people.

Throw them all in prison - they deserve it too.

The 12-year-old didn't admit his lies as soon as he became an adult and/or away from police influence; for that he deserves prison.

 

[ThisBrotherOfHis]

I would like to know exactly how that is proven. Imo, proof would be eye-witness testimony where there is zero chance of being misidentified - iow, identification testimonies would have to back up forensics, and forensics would have to include DNA testing.

You watch too much CSI and NCIS. DNA is a factor in less than 10% of all crimes. Did you see the figure we're talking about here? 40 million felony cases -- that's everything from felony harassment to burglary up to murder. And did you read the portion of the post stating that only five percent of all felony cases go to trial? Simple math would tell you that means the other 95% are plea-bargained, usually down to lesser charges. Some even get dismissed completely.

I'll bet that there are more innocents convicted of federal crimes than the miniscule percentage you claim.

You can bet if you want. You'll lose.

... there is no evidence anyone in the U.S. has been executed wrongfully since 1900" can't possibly be correct.

It is. You don't have to believe it, but just wanting it not to be true won't make it untrue.

No one can assert this unless there was actually evidence that was tested. Of course there is no evidence but that is only because no one ever bothered to go back and challenge the assertion.

The Innocence Projects around the country, the Southern Poverty Law Center and other anti-death-penalty advocates have investigated these cases nearly exhaustively. They have put forth many cases they think show an innocent man was put to death, but they cannot prove it, and their evidence is largely circumstantial and in some cases ignores factual guilt without proper refutation of the evidence.

So you can wish for it not to be true, but you have nothing but your wishes, hopes and emotions to back you up.

 

[Supreme]

This is the worst kind of justice- a man is deprived of his entire youth and half his life because of a crime he didn't commit. I'd like to think that in this modern age of CCTV, DNA, forensics etc that something like this just couldn't today.

It is better 100 guilty men are free than one innocent man is imprisoned. This is one of the most important principles in justice, but it wasn't applied here due to bullying and incompetence by the police.

 

[Supreme]

This is the worst kind of justice- a man is deprived of his entire youth and half his life because of a crime he didn't commit. I'd like to think that in this modern age of CCTV, DNA, forensics etc that something like this just couldn't today.

It is better 100 guilty men are free than one innocent man is imprisoned. This is one of the most important principles in justice, but it wasn't applied here due to bullying and incompetence by the police.

 

[Senator Cheese]

One, this man didn't receive the death penalty, though it is terrible for him and his family that so much time passed before the younger witness saw fit to come forward and confess his lies.

Two, there is no evidence anyone in the U.S. has been executed wrongfully since 1900. And before you howl, speculation and twisted truth is not "proof" of anything other than fanatics with a cause so dear to them they have no qualms about manipulating the facts or simply outright lying.

You're absolutely right - furthermore, there's not much difference in "damage" between someone being executed and someone receiving life sentences and succumbing in prison.

Nonetheless, did the LORD not teach forgiveness? Did the LORD not explicitly command us to love our neighbor under the new covenant?
I think it's okay to lock people up in order to ensure the safety and security of the populace - but I don't believe that the deterrent effect of execution has been established, validated and quantified to the point where its effect may outweigh what I perceive to be sinful: the killing of the unarmed.

I was for the death penalty until I found to Christ. I can't imagine supporting this practice since.

Then again, my wisdom is limited, so I'm curious as to hear your opinion on the subject.

 

[ThisBrotherOfHis]

This is the worst kind of justice- a man is deprived of his entire youth and half his life because of a crime he didn't commit. I'd like to think that in this modern age of CCTV, DNA, forensics etc that something like this just couldn't today.

You apparently watch too much CSI and NCIS, too.

Did you take note that he's been in prison for 39 years? That long ago, DNA was unknown as an evidentiary option, and after 39 years, it is doubtful case evidence still existed, much less that viable DNA could be lifted from it.

 

[Nithavela]

The only reason he feels such ecstasy now is the agony of 39 years in prison.

Like the great feeling you get when you stop hitting yourself with a hammer.

Don't get me wrong; I feel for him, but his life is essentially over - he just doesn't know it yet.

Well, you have to know, after all, you are his age.

Throw them all in prison - they deserve it too.

After 39 years, they are most likely dead or very old, themselves.

The 12-year-old didn't admit his lies as soon as he became an adult and/or away from police influence; for that he deserves prison.

And this fear for prison has kept him from reporting this sooner. And the only thing you will achieve by throwing him in prison is to ensure that any other person who has something like this on his or her conscience will think more than twice before stepping forth.

Unless of course you wish that to be.