Exonerated! Stand in This Man's Shoes For a Moment!
Media Frenzy Aids Wrongful Jailing for Child Murder; 'Miracle' Exoneration 5 Years Later
My comment posted to this article:
Our justice system is nothing more than a "for profit" dynasty that feeds itself by whatever means necessary to sustain its existence. Unless you have been personally "caught up" into these types of injustices, I'm not sure that the trusting and naive public truly understands what precedences these methods of unethical investigations and prosecutions set upon our lives and the lives of our children. Society wants closure on things they can't or refuse to comprehend. If a confession is made, guilt is assumed and anything that happened up to that point is not relevant. And honestly, most feel that whatever method is needed to get that confession is okay because an innocent person would never confess to something they did not do. This is grossly untrue and has been proven and documented. The other guilt that the public so easily accepts is that of an innocent person accepting a plea deal. Especially true in sex crime cases, stacked indictments against the accused that could lead to double digit years in prison, followed by lifetime registry (a life sentence in itself!), a person whom maintains their innocence is faced with a difficult dilemma of chancing a highly prejudicial jury trial or to plead guilty to avoid a long term prison sentence and avoid the risk of losing at trial. Sure you can maintain your innocence and take the plea, but the system and society sees you as forever guilty and its something that you can never take back. Again society assumes that an innocent person would never take a plea for something they did not do, but the fear of life in prison, especially as a convicted sex offender can weaken the strongest convictions of one's innocence when faced with that decision; a decision that society cannot fathom, but accepts without a second glance. And finally, maintaining one's innocence in prison; an up hill battle to say the least. If you were convicted; you're guilty. Nobody cares and you are the scourge of society and the lowest life form on the food chain in prison. And in order to be paroled as a sex offender, you have to admit your guilt and take the sex offender program, where again, you must confess your guilt, write about your guilt and fully accept your guilt in order to pass. Yet another form of false confession that society readily accepts.
As responsible and knowledgeable adults we never expect to be faced with such horrific allegations to ourselves or someone we love. We naturally protect ourselves and our children from violence, drugs and other harmful elements in life. But as suetiggers has stated, the growing numbers on our sex offender registries are minor children. How do we protect our children from sex? How do we shield them from the messages of sex when it surrounds us all in what we watch, buy and browse everyday? When shows like "Skins" depict underage sexual activity as cool and ok? When teenagers are engaging in oral sex as being an acceptable alternative to intercourse; how do we protect our family from laws that no longer see this as boyfriend/girlfriend, adolescent curiosity or natures natural course, but as deviate sexual behavior? Our private sexual lives are no longer personal nor protected; the government now writes the rules and the days of the Salem Witch hunts are at our doorstep. We know our children are going to experiment. Some parents will do everything they can to deal with the realities of teen sex, while others who don't, can't or refuse will call it rape or sexual assault. What will you do now? You know the reality but now the law is in charge. And when what you read in this story, and in so many others, unfolds in your life and now you have to watch the innocence in your lives be destroyed and understand the real methods of investigators and prosecutors as they try to win and close your case all in the name of justice!
My comment posted to this article:
Our justice system is nothing more than a "for profit" dynasty that feeds itself by whatever means necessary to sustain its existence. Unless you have been personally "caught up" into these types of injustices, I'm not sure that the trusting and naive public truly understands what precedences these methods of unethical investigations and prosecutions set upon our lives and the lives of our children. Society wants closure on things they can't or refuse to comprehend. If a confession is made, guilt is assumed and anything that happened up to that point is not relevant. And honestly, most feel that whatever method is needed to get that confession is okay because an innocent person would never confess to something they did not do. This is grossly untrue and has been proven and documented. The other guilt that the public so easily accepts is that of an innocent person accepting a plea deal. Especially true in sex crime cases, stacked indictments against the accused that could lead to double digit years in prison, followed by lifetime registry (a life sentence in itself!), a person whom maintains their innocence is faced with a difficult dilemma of chancing a highly prejudicial jury trial or to plead guilty to avoid a long term prison sentence and avoid the risk of losing at trial. Sure you can maintain your innocence and take the plea, but the system and society sees you as forever guilty and its something that you can never take back. Again society assumes that an innocent person would never take a plea for something they did not do, but the fear of life in prison, especially as a convicted sex offender can weaken the strongest convictions of one's innocence when faced with that decision; a decision that society cannot fathom, but accepts without a second glance. And finally, maintaining one's innocence in prison; an up hill battle to say the least. If you were convicted; you're guilty. Nobody cares and you are the scourge of society and the lowest life form on the food chain in prison. And in order to be paroled as a sex offender, you have to admit your guilt and take the sex offender program, where again, you must confess your guilt, write about your guilt and fully accept your guilt in order to pass. Yet another form of false confession that society readily accepts.
As responsible and knowledgeable adults we never expect to be faced with such horrific allegations to ourselves or someone we love. We naturally protect ourselves and our children from violence, drugs and other harmful elements in life. But as suetiggers has stated, the growing numbers on our sex offender registries are minor children. How do we protect our children from sex? How do we shield them from the messages of sex when it surrounds us all in what we watch, buy and browse everyday? When shows like "Skins" depict underage sexual activity as cool and ok? When teenagers are engaging in oral sex as being an acceptable alternative to intercourse; how do we protect our family from laws that no longer see this as boyfriend/girlfriend, adolescent curiosity or natures natural course, but as deviate sexual behavior? Our private sexual lives are no longer personal nor protected; the government now writes the rules and the days of the Salem Witch hunts are at our doorstep. We know our children are going to experiment. Some parents will do everything they can to deal with the realities of teen sex, while others who don't, can't or refuse will call it rape or sexual assault. What will you do now? You know the reality but now the law is in charge. And when what you read in this story, and in so many others, unfolds in your life and now you have to watch the innocence in your lives be destroyed and understand the real methods of investigators and prosecutors as they try to win and close your case all in the name of justice!