Just The Facts

NY Times Article      What are they thinking? But 3.3 million views tuned in with a viewing audience between the ages of 12 to 34 according to this article and,  "Episodes of “Skins” are rated TV-MA, indicating that the content may be unsuitable for viewers younger than 17. MTV states in news releases that it is “specifically designed to be viewed by adults.” However, many of MTV’s viewers are in middle and high school. According to the Nielsen Company, the first episode drew 1.2 million people younger than 18."       Okay, specifically designed to be viewed by adults says that our marketing media is sending the message that adults are entertained by and okay with viewing minors engaging in sexually explicit activities? According to the law, one could be convicted of a sexual offense for viewing minors in this fashion and labeled a sex offender. The other side of this issue, as depicted in this program, is that minors do behave with one an...

     I recently took the time to read about a man, Jeffrey Deskovic, who spent 16 years of his youth, incarcerated for a rape and murder he did not commit. In September 2006, Jeffrey was released from a NYS prison and was exonerated of all crimes against him, thanks to the Innocence Project's devotion to the  wrongfully convicted in America.      Jeffrey is a regular contributor to the Westchester Guardian  , his own website Jeffrey Deskovic Speaks  along with many other blogs and other articles about the injustices surrounding wrongful convictions and the difficulty of remaining innocent in our system of justice. Jeffrey shares his first hand experiences from his wrongful conviction, failed appeals, real life experiences in prison and life after exoneration. These stories are shared by him and told by hundreds across this country, but seldom listened to or taken seriously as to the constant deterioration of our "presumption of innocence" a...

Supreme Court takes dim view of suing prosecutors - Los Angeles Times Everywhere you look...MISCONDUCT! A simple act of deliberate misconduct takes lives away; destroys families and yet our Courts continue to shield their misdeeds! Once convicted, you can appeal your ass off and nobody cares. These people are protected so they can do their jobs without fear or accountability? Fourteen years on death row for a crime he didn't commit; a $14M civil award and the Supreme Court wants to justify not owing this to this man just to protect their own; knowing they withheld critical evidence! I'm sorry, but this trend or pattern of misconduct in this and so many cases across this nation, is continuing destroy innocent lives without a second thought. I say hold them responsible and just maybe they would pay more attention to the details and do their jobs right and put the guilty people in prison and protect the innocent! If it wasn't for this your investigator who discovered this hi...

Court of Claims awards 3.5M The state spent big bucks prosecuting an innocent man; then the state spends big bucks housing and guarding him in prison and now he rightfully is rewarded $3.5M for his wrongful conviction and losing 20 years of freedom! So who do you think is footing the bill for all this money spent in the name of justice? Maybe if prosecutors and judges were footing a malpractice insurance bill every term, they'd be a bit more diligent with their unlimited powers and immunity of liability for their actions. And in response to a comment posted on this article : His claims of innocence are supported by the People's lack of exact physical evidence at trial, directly linking Barnes to the crime. According to People v. Barnes, 162 AD 2d 1039 - NY: Appellate Div., 4th Dept. 1990; "Laboratory analyses revealed that hairs found in defendant's truck were similar to those of the victim, soil samples from defendant's truck were similar to those taken fr...

Texan freed after 30 Years in Prison as an Innocent Man! Yes it's in the news and in papers all across this country. As a regular commenter on USA TODAY's ON DEADLINE, the article is pretty much cookie cutter about Mr. Dupree's freedom, but again, the "peanut gallery" (the public comments) just lets you know where our society's thinking seems to be based. You can read them here: ONDEADLINE Article And here is my initial comment : "It is no surprise, from some of the comments of what would be considered the general public, that innocent persons are continually falsely accused and wrongfully convicted in this country. The 'better safer than sorry" attitude is not Justice; it's Justification. It's what lets YOU sleep better at night because you would never be in this situation and neither would this man (or woman in some cases) if he wasn't a criminal. The fact is that thousands of innocent men and women are behind bars wh...

As I purged the list of new laws, just what we need, one new law hit me in particular as it brings back a case I wrote about in April 2010. The new law is: Sex Offense Victim Polygraph (HB 5931/PA 96‐1273): Prohibits law enforcement from even asking a sex offense victim to submit to a lie detector test. The case if you may recall was that of William McCaffrey who was convicted of rape and kidnapping Biurny Peguero. Here is an excerpt from The Exoneration Initiative article:   "McCaffrey's exoneration of kidnapping and rape charges and the vacatur of his 20 year sentence generated substantial interest from television, print, radio and online mediums, which included an appearance by McCaffrey and Glenn Garber on the ABC news show, 20/20. The attention focused primarily on the compelling nature of the alleged victim's recantation. Biurny Peguero confessed to a priest that her detailed incriminating testimony at trial was a complete fabrication. Peguero then ...