Man Freed in Texas

[MissouriExile]

A man who contended throughout his 26 years in prison that he never raped a woman who lived five houses down from him was freed Thursday after a judge recommended overturning his conviction.

Charles Chatman, 47, was released on his recognizance as several of his eight siblings cheered. He was freed on the basis of new DNA testing that lawyers say proves his innocence and adds to Dallas County's nationally unmatched number of wrongfully convicted inmates

Too bad they didn't string him up in the first place..... SOB wouldn't be free now.

Or Maybe we shouldn't be in so much of a hurry to play God.

Jon

 

[Angus In Texas]

So you are saying they should have killed a man that new evidence proves was innocent in the first place??

 

[Alice]

Dallas County's nationally unmatched number of wrongfully convicted inmates

This is so very true...and it is shameful. Dallas County, up until the new DA was elected, has been one to go for high conviction rates, whether innocent or guilty. They have hidden evidence...that have not provided evidence to defense attorneys...they have covered up errors....the sorry list goes on and on.

I'd ratchet this up a notch, but then that would be getting political...so, all I have to say is no wonder the ACLU is able to keep its foot in the door. When judicial agencies will not play by the rules...when they blatantly break the rules and the law...and feel no shame in it...then they've opened themselves up to the scrutiny of watchdogs and deserve the b**ch slap they get for it.

If judicial agencies want ACLU types off their backs and out of their business, obeying the law would definitely help.

Alice

 

[Ryder]

So you are saying they should have killed a man that new evidence proves was innocent in the first place??

I think he means we should not be in such a hurry to play God.

 

[ALX.]

Several things come to mind when these things happn.

Where is the real perp? How many other real victims because the real criminal is on the loose.

Hey you folks worried about money - you got the trial and investigation to put the innocent guy away , then you gotta pay for the investigations that occurr becuse the real perp is still offending!

How does the victim feel about being part of the injustice?

How does the wrongly convicted man adjust in a society that did this to him?

 

[VanC]

A thread like this just got locked two days ago and caused some bad blood in the process. What's the point in starting the whole thing over again?

 

[Lammie]

For years, the Dallas District Attorney's office wrongfully convicted hundreds of people of capitol crimes for the sake of chalking up one more "win" for DA David Wade. There is a documentary that came out 20 or so years ago called The Thin Blue Line that chronicles one such case involving Randall Dale Adams, who was accused to shooting a Dallas police officer in the seventies and was sentenced to death. It was shameful. The new DA in Dallas County has made organizations like Project Innocence welcomed there to look at evidence again using technology that did not exist at the time of convictions.

I don't have anything against the death penalty. I just want to know that the person being executed has actually committed the crime.

I can't imagine what it would be like to stand accused of a crime you did not commit and then have to sit on Death Row forever waiting for your fate. Call me liberal, but I believe in justice for all. It must be hard on families of victims, to be sure, when a conviction is overturned, but really, would you rather that someone other than the person guilty of the crime were executed? Would that really serve justice?

 

[chrisy]

If you are wrongly convicted here you get compensation, is it the same in the US....

The last man to be hanged here, was found to be not guilty after his parents compained for 20 years, they exumed his body and buried in the family grave. His Mother died of cancer before she could see his name cleared, is this real justice. But with DNA now, there is more chances that they don't get it wrong. As my Husband says they all say to him every day 'but I'm innocent guv'. If they were all innocent the jails would be empty and the judicial service would all be wrong.

 

[hillsdown]

A man who contended throughout his 26 years in prison that he never raped a woman who lived five houses down from him was freed Thursday after a judge recommended overturning his conviction.

What is the whole story; since when do you get 26 years for sexual assault?

 

[chrisy]

A man who contended throughout his 26 years in prison that he never raped a woman who lived five houses down from him was freed Thursday after a judge recommended overturning his conviction.

What is the whole story; since when do you get 26 years for sexual assault?

WOW! didn't notice that, teach me to speed read, 26 years for rape never heard of such a sentence for one conviction. As you say must be more to it.

 

[Txwalt]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080103/ap_ ... xoneration

Walt

 

[I luv herfrds]

ALX I'm a little concerned about the murder trail going to happen up here in April. I hate to think about the cost of it all.
One charged with first degree murder, tampering with evidence and hiding the body. Other one charged with accersory to murder and tampering with evidence.
Glad I am not on the jury pool for then.
I still believe innoncent until proven guilty. Feel sorry for all the families involved.

 

[MissouriExile]

Dallas County's nationally unmatched number of wrongfully convicted inmates

This is so very true...and it is shameful. Dallas County, up until the new DA was elected, has been one to go for high conviction rates, whether innocent or guilty. They have hidden evidence...that have not provided evidence to defense attorneys...they have covered up errors....the sorry list goes on and on.

I'd ratchet this up a notch, but then that would be getting political...so, all I have to say is no wonder the ACLU is able to keep its foot in the door. When judicial agencies will not play by the rules...when they blatantly break the rules and the law...and feel no shame in it...then they've opened themselves up to the scrutiny of watchdogs and deserve the b**ch slap they get for it.

If judicial agencies want ACLU types off their backs and out of their business, obeying the law would definitely help.

Alice

I don't want to start another round of debate on the subject that was locked.
But we should all be aware of what can happen in our justice system. It is the best in the world but flawed because it is run by human beings with all of our strengths and failings.

Because the grant of life is reserved to God we should not rush to take away what God has given.

Jon

 

[flaboy]

A man who contended throughout his 26 years in prison that he never raped a woman who lived five houses down from him was freed Thursday after a judge recommended overturning his conviction.

What is the whole story; since when do you get 26 years for sexual assault?

I just saw a TV program where a guy was sentenced to 1000 years for Manslaughter. Yes, is one thousand years, no typo.

Seems he killed his wife but the jury convicted him of MS instead of 1st degree murder. Wonder if he would have been better off with the 1st degree murder?

Manslaughter will normally get you 3-12 years. Go figure.

 

[GMN]

A man who contended throughout his 26 years in prison that he never raped a woman who lived five houses down from him was freed Thursday after a judge recommended overturning his conviction.

Charles Chatman, 47, was released on his recognizance as several of his eight siblings cheered. He was freed on the basis of new DNA testing that lawyers say proves his innocence and adds to Dallas County's nationally unmatched number of wrongfully convicted inmates

Too bad they didn't string him up in the first place..... SOB wouldn't be free now.

Or Maybe we shouldn't be in so much of a hurry to play God.

Jon

I smell a lwsuit a coming and a big one!

GMN

 

[VanC]

Against my better judgement, here's more on the story:

http://news.aol.com/story/_a/freed-pris ... 0000000001

 

[Horticattleman]

In Louisiana we still go by the old Napoleanic law. A life sentence for someone here is 99 years. In some states a life sentence is 7 years i believe. thats why you hear someone getting "4" life sentences or some crazy sentencing.

Also my dad has worked in a prison his whole life and says that there are "no" guilty people in prison!

Does scare me to think that you could be imprisoned for something you didn't do, but it scares me ALOT more to think of how many people could not be convicted for something they DID do because the ACLU can use these kind of occurences to their advantages.

 

[Jogeephus]

This thread would really get long if we all began posting all the articles about people who were injured or killed by people who were supposed to be in prison serving time instead of being out on the streets on early release programs.

If the DA is railroading people, I think he should be in jail too. Or do laws not apply to government officials? Doesn't seem to here.

 

[GMN]

Google Steven Avery and Theresa Halbach, and see how justice really works. This guy was convicted and spent 19 years in jail for a crime he did not commit, let out, and within 2 years he and his nephew brutally murdered this Theresa Halbach. I followed this story because it happened in my hometown, and it was bizarre from beginning to end.

GMN

 

[Wewild]

I smell a lwsuit a coming and a big one!

GMN

I hope he wins.