$3.5 Million to Steven Barnes for Wrongful Conviction
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 from the place where the body was found, and an imprint in dirt, lifted from the fender of defendant's truck, was consistent with the fabric of the jeans worn by the victim at the time of her death. Additionally, defendant made an admission of guilt to one Robert Stolo, an inmate at the Oneida County Jail." Eyewitnesses were not conclusive, evidence was "similar to or consistent with" and a jailhouse conversation (snitch) that are simply the words alleged to have been said; certainly not conclusive in itself. It appears that DNA testing cleared any evidence presented at trial. It's hard to argue that his exoneration is not valid. Lawyers settle civil suits outside of court all the time. Is the specific IRS code used in this settlement at question or the amount rewarded? Either way, had he not been falsely convicted on shaky physical evidence in the first place, the taxpayers wouldn't be duped and robbed of anything.
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 from the place where the body was found, and an imprint in dirt, lifted from the fender of defendant's truck, was consistent with the fabric of the jeans worn by the victim at the time of her death. Additionally, defendant made an admission of guilt to one Robert Stolo, an inmate at the Oneida County Jail." Eyewitnesses were not conclusive, evidence was "similar to or consistent with" and a jailhouse conversation (snitch) that are simply the words alleged to have been said; certainly not conclusive in itself. It appears that DNA testing cleared any evidence presented at trial. It's hard to argue that his exoneration is not valid. Lawyers settle civil suits outside of court all the time. Is the specific IRS code used in this settlement at question or the amount rewarded? Either way, had he not been falsely convicted on shaky physical evidence in the first place, the taxpayers wouldn't be duped and robbed of anything.
Comments
Post a Comment