What is disturbing to me even more than the fact that he spent 19 years in jail is that it took a judge to force the prosecutors to test the rape sample...They actually refused to do it...
GS
Sometimes all you can do is look them in the eye and ask " how much did your mom drink when she was pregnant with you?"
Atrude777 From United States of America, joined Aug 2003, 5613 posts, RR: 54 Reply 2, posted (7 years 9 months 4 weeks 13 hours ago) and read 1224 times:
Glad justice was svered correclty and he is now afree man. I can;t imagine how hard it would be, knowing you are innocent and you are being subject to it. That would be completely frusterating.
Alex
Good things come to those who wait, better things come to those who go AFTER it!
TWISTEDWHISPER From Sweden, joined Aug 2003, 709 posts, RR: 2 Reply 4, posted (7 years 9 months 4 weeks 9 hours ago) and read 1182 times:
Quoting Atrude777 (Reply 2): Glad justice was severed correclty and he is now a free man. I can;t imagine how hard it would be, knowing you are innocent and you are being subject to it. That would be completely frustrating.
This is what I would find frustrating, no; Disturbing! He was sentenced to 13 to 26 years in prison and was denied parole four times because he refused to accept responsibility for the crime.
and At the time, Pittsburgh police identified mug shots of people charged with rape with the letter "R." Doswell insisted witnesses identified him as the rapist only because the letter "R" appeared under his mug shot.
His photo was marked because an ex-girlfriend had accused him of rape, but he was acquitted of that charge. Police officials say they no longer mark photos of rape suspects with an "R."
Lucky he wasn't sentenced to death...
I wonder how Pennsylvania will compensate him, anybody care to guess?
57AZ From United States of America, joined Nov 2004, 2550 posts, RR: 2 Reply 5, posted (7 years 9 months 4 weeks 7 hours ago) and read 1166 times:
I don't know. I do know that in a North Carolina case, the victim stepped forward and built up political pressure on the state to financially compensate the exonerated man for his years in prison. The state gave him a formal apology admitting their mistake and his estimated earnings that he would have made given his age and education level, tax free. He got something between $300 and $500 thousand. When asked why she did this, the victim replied that she felt some responsibility for the testimony that she gave at the trial, testimony that resulted in the conviction of an innocent man. When she learned that the man that she had testified against was not the person who assaulted her (following a DNA test), she said that she felt that since her testimony had helped to convict him, she was morally obligated to do something to make things right.
Victim/witness identifications are notorious for being susceptible and inaccurate. About the only time that I would consider them to be reliable is when they are done in the field immediately after the apprehension of a suspect. Also, while most prosecutors will do what the law requires them to do regarding discovery, I am aware that a few bad apples will attempt now and then to suppress exculatory evidence in order to secure a conviction.
"When a man runs on railroads over half of his lifetime he is fit for nothing else-and at times he don't know that."
Greyhound From United States of America, joined Mar 2005, 1026 posts, RR: 2 Reply 7, posted (7 years 9 months 3 weeks 6 days 22 hours ago) and read 1054 times:
If it was served correctly, they wouldn't have refused to test the dna sample. That's pretty damned sad. I'd be looking at an inquiry as to exactly why....
Quoting TWISTEDWHISPER (Reply 4): I wonder how Pennsylvania will compensate him, anybody care to guess?
They might be able to compensate him money wise, and that's an extremely iffy MAYBE. There's no accurate way to tally up what he could have earned. If they went off his education level, whether going into prison or coming out of prison, they still couldn't properly compensate him. And they will NEVER be able to compensate him for the years of his life lost in prison. There's no real price they can tack on to his freedom.
Back to that whole "we don't want to do the testing" thing, I'd hammer the state for all they were worth there, maybe even see about seeking damages from the individual(s) who made that decision if that were possible. That is beyond screwed up and there is no logical reason why they wouldn't want to test those samples.
Slider From United States of America, joined Feb 2004, 6518 posts, RR: 37 Reply 8, posted (7 years 9 months 3 weeks 6 days 21 hours ago) and read 1044 times:
The compensation and apology won't make amends for 18 years.
Adam From United States of America, joined Jan 2005, 465 posts, RR: 0 Reply 9, posted (7 years 9 months 3 weeks 6 days 13 hours ago) and read 993 times:
Quoting Slider (Reply 8): The compensation and apology won't make amends for 18 years.
Exactly.
Texas: You'll come for the Alamo, You'll stay because you were wrongfully executed. - Conan O'Brian State Quarters
Greasespot From Canada, joined Apr 2004, 3050 posts, RR: 22 Reply 10, posted (7 years 9 months 3 weeks 6 days 13 hours ago) and read 985 times:
The cost of doing the test in the first place would be a whole lot cheaper than the extra their refusal to do it will cost the state in a lawsuit....I mean he was exoneraated and is gonna win a lawsuit anyway.
GS
Sometimes all you can do is look them in the eye and ask " how much did your mom drink when she was pregnant with you?"
CB777 From United States of America, joined Sep 1999, 1216 posts, RR: 4 Reply 11, posted (7 years 9 months 3 weeks 4 days 18 hours ago) and read 942 times:
What does it matter what your age is or your education level, to see how much you'll be compensated, thats just BS to me, I hate the way the government works. This guy served 19 yrs in prison, he lost 19 yrs of his life. Everyone should be compensated the same reguardless of age, gender, race, or your education level.
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