50 Percent of All False Convictions Involved Misconduct

[TakeYouToTasker]

Report confirms that 50% of those falsely convicted of crimes they did not commit were victims of police or prosecutor misconduct.

 

https://reason.com/2020/09/15/half-of-all-false-convictions-in-the-u-s-involved-police-or-prosecutor-misconduct-finds-new-report/

[WEATHER DOT COM]

In 54 percent of these cases, misconduct by officials contributed to a false conviction. The more severe the crime, the more likely misconduct played a role when an innocent person was convicted.

 

Police and prosecutors, in general, engaged in misconduct at about equal rates, 35 percent for cops, 30 percent for prosecutors at the state level. In drug cases, though, cops were four times more likely to have engaged in misconduct than prosecutors. When it came to federal cases, prosecutors engaged in misconduct at rates more than twice as often as police. In white-collar cases, federal prosecutors engaged in misconduct seven times as much as police.

[Alaska Darin]

Loss of integrity in a government system?  How odd.  😠

[Taro T]

4 minutes ago, Alaska Darin said:

Loss of integrity in a government system?  How odd.  😠

 

That's because government doesn't have enough responsibility for the day to day lives of ordinary people.  If we just gave it a LITTLE more control, certainly the bad apples will go away rather than get swept higher & everything will be dreamy.

 

BTTOP, surprised misconduct is only involved in a bit over 1/2 of wrongful convictions; would've guessed a bit higher on that.

With only 2,400 cases total (that are known) would've expected more like 75-80%.

[Tiberius]

Systematic racism? 

What is the percentage of prosecutions, convictions and incarcerations for those who railroaded innocent people? 

[TakeYouToTasker]

39 minutes ago, Alaska Darin said:

Loss of integrity in a government system?  How odd.  😠

It really is a shame how Communists have taken the lead in the police reform movement, because I won’t partner with or support them, given that their goals are to replace the police with Brown Shirts who will help them crush descent. 
 

For some bizarre reason conservatives, who generally speaking have a healthy mistrust of government, have a massive blind spot when it comes to law enforcement who are nothing more than the enforcement arm of the government they mistrust.

 

Bad and oppressive law wouldn’t matter without #######s who willingly enforce it. I mean, all those legislated Second Amendment infringements?  Who do these dopes think is going to come for their guns?  It won’t be liberal Congressmen.

[Alaska Darin]

9 minutes ago, TakeYouToTasker said:

It really is a shame how Communists have taken the lead in the police reform movement, because I won’t partner with or support them, given that their goals are to replace the police with Brown Shirts who will help them crush descent. 
 

For some bizarre reason conservatives, who generally speaking have a healthy mistrust of government, have a massive blind spot when it comes to law enforcement who are nothing more than the enforcement arm of the government they mistrust.

 

Bad and oppressive law wouldn’t matter without #######s who willingly enforce it. I mean, all those legislated Second Amendment infringements?  Who do these dopes think is going to come for their guns?  It won’t be liberal Congressmen.

This has always been an interesting duality to me.  I think most "conservatives" see police as the individuals, rather than the collective.  This (at least) contributes to the blind spot you allude to.  The covering for bad cops (or bad servicemen in the case of the military) just disgusts me.

 

I have no issue whatsoever with dynamically looking at both laws and how they are "enforced".  There is little reason to argue to the contrary.  That being said, it is completely ignorant to pretend that citizens haven't contributed to the issue of policing.  The lack of common courtesy and cooperation, along with sheer number of people using increasingly powerful mind altering substances clearly contribute to the degrading relationship between the citizenry and cops. 

 

I can't imagine having to be one of society's parents.  I deal with mostly middle and upper middle class people all day and most of them are basically whiny, spoiled children who just waste everyone's time but they're physically harmless.  Having to spend every minute of my work life dealing with substance abusers, domestic violence, felons, etc. while having to keep at least one eye on possible physical harm is something I can't fathom at all.

[OldTimeAFLGuy]

3 minutes ago, TakeYouToTasker said:

It really is a shame how Communists have taken the lead in the police reform movement, because I won’t partner with or support them, given that their goals are to replace the police with Brown Shirts who will help them crush descent. 
 

For some bizarre reason conservatives, who generally speaking have a healthy mistrust of government, have a massive blind spot when it comes to law enforcement who are nothing more than the enforcement arm of the government they mistrust.

 

Bad and oppressive law wouldn’t matter without #######s who willingly enforce it. I mean, all those legislated Second Amendment infringements?  Who do these dopes think is going to come for their guns?  It won’t be liberal Congressmen.

 

 

...cannot argue that...there is a HUGE disparity in treatment on many fronts.....I'd look at overzealous prosecutors who are elected officials probably first......not sure if cops would collude with them generally, but sure it happens......then look to the disparity of judges when it comes to sentencing etc.......Rochester NY guy was arrested for 2nd degree murder and freed with NO bail because Judge did not see him as a "flight risk".....for 2nd degree MURDER?......don't quote me, but seem to remember a Montana Judge sentencing a serial rapist to probation or something absurdly similar.....it is a known fact that as to the difference between Monroe County NY (Rochester area) and neighboring Ontario County.....Koko78 knows (our PPP Legal counsel).....if a Monroe County resident commits a crime in Ontario County, their DA's most likely convince Judge to sentence you to jail time (message is "don't come to OUR county to be bad") versus getting probation in Monroe County for the IDENTICAL crime.....

[Gary M]

1 hour ago, TakeYouToTasker said:

Report confirms that 50% of those falsely convicted of crimes they did not commit were victims of police or prosecutor misconduct.

 

https://reason.com/2020/09/15/half-of-all-false-convictions-in-the-u-s-involved-police-or-prosecutor-misconduct-finds-new-report/

 

"archived up until February 2019. That's 2,400 cases"  over 30 years.

 

That's approx 80 per year so 40/yr were railroaded.

 

Edited September 16, 2020 by Gary M

[TakeYouToTasker]

48 minutes ago, Alaska Darin said:

This has always been an interesting duality to me.  I think most "conservatives" see police as the individuals, rather than the collective.  This (at least) contributes to the blind spot you allude to.  The covering for bad cops (or bad servicemen in the case of the military) just disgusts me.

 

I have no issue whatsoever with dynamically looking at both laws and how they are "enforced".  There is little reason to argue to the contrary.  That being said, it is completely ignorant to pretend that citizens haven't contributed to the issue of policing.  The lack of common courtesy and cooperation, along with sheer number of people using increasingly powerful mind altering substances clearly contribute to the degrading relationship between the citizenry and cops. 

 

I can't imagine having to be one of society's parents.  I deal with mostly middle and upper middle class people all day and most of them are basically whiny, spoiled children who just waste everyone's time but they're physically harmless.  Having to spend every minute of my work life dealing with substance abusers, domestic violence, felons, etc. while having to keep at least one eye on possible physical harm is something I can't fathom at all.

I don’t much disagree, but would add this to consider:

 

Predators of all stripes gravitate to professions which provide them with ready made victims.  Look at the prevalence of pedophiles across churches and schools as an example.  Police are no different.

 

And while of course there are good cops, there are also lots of bad cops who look for opportunities to destroy someone’s life; and I’ll always remind people that if you have 1000 good cops, and 10 bad cops, and the 1000 good cops don’t arrest the bad cops, you really have 1010 bad cops.

[SoCal Deek]

2 hours ago, TakeYouToTasker said:

Report confirms that 50% of those falsely convicted of crimes they did not commit were victims of police or prosecutor misconduct.

 

https://reason.com/2020/09/15/half-of-all-false-convictions-in-the-u-s-involved-police-or-prosecutor-misconduct-finds-new-report/

Why is this surprising to you? I don't think this proves what you're implying it does.

[Alaska Darin]

14 minutes ago, TakeYouToTasker said:

I don’t much disagree, but would add this to consider:

 

Predators of all stripes gravitate to professions which provide them with ready made victims.  Look at the prevalence of pedophiles across churches and schools as an example.  Police are no different.

 

And while of course there are good cops, there are also lots of bad cops who look for opportunities to destroy someone’s life; and I’ll always remind people that if you have 1000 good cops, and 10 bad cops, and the 1000 good cops don’t arrest the bad cops, you really have 1010 bad cops.

We agree on this.

[TakeYouToTasker]

13 minutes ago, SoCal Deek said:

Why is this surprising to you? I don't think this proves what you're implying it does.

What about my posting history makes you think I’m surprised?

 

What, in an OP posted without comment other than a factual and non-biased description of the article linked, do you think I’m implying, and why do you think I’m implying it?

Edited September 16, 2020 by TakeYouToTasker

[SoCal Deek]

11 minutes ago, TakeYouToTasker said:

What about my posting history makes you think I’m surprised?

 

What, in an OP posted without comment, do you think I’m implying, and why do you think I’m implying it?

I guess I'm asking why would this study be earth shattering to anyone.  Convictions, not arrests,  are based on the evidence presented in court. That evidence is not always reliable...but then again innocent verdicts are also at times based on faulty evidence or testimony.  The difference is, with double jeopardy, innocence verdicts cannot be re-tried.

 

PS: I'm not implying anything about you personally, but the title seems to be implying that there are a lot of bad cops. Which there are not.

Edited September 16, 2020 by SoCal Deek

[TakeYouToTasker]

9 minutes ago, SoCal Deek said:

I guess I'm asking why would this study be earth shattering to anyone.  Convictions, not arrests,  are based on the evidence presented in court. That evidence is not always reliable...but then again innocent verdicts are also at times based on faulty evidence or testimony.  The difference is, with double jeopardy, innocence verdicts cannot be re-tried.

 

PS: I'm not implying anything about you personally, but the title seems to be implying that there are a lot of bad cops. Which there are not.

I’d argue that it should begin to lift the veil from the eyes of those who don’t believe that we live under a government (and various state and local governments) that is oppressive, and that extends all the way down through our law enforcement bodies.

 

We’re all now painfully aware of the corruption within the CIA, FBI, and DOJ; with the recent exposure of FISA abuse and the film flam involved with falsifying the 302 process, it calls into question every single conviction the FBI has been involved in over the last decade or more.

 

We’re all aware of Kamala Harris actively withholding exculpatory evidence in order to get convictions.  Do you think she’s alone?

 

We know that more than 50% of all wrongful convictions involved willful malfeasance by the government to knowingly convict innocent people of crimes the government knew they did not commit by framing them for said crimes.

 

We know that predators seek out careers which provide them easy access to victims.

 

We know police unions protect bad cops.

 

We know that police will not step out in order to see bad cops prosecuted.

 

If you have 1000 good cops, and 10 bad cops; but the 1000 good cops don’t turn in the 10 bad cops, but instead protect them through their unions, qualified immunity, and standing behind the thin blue line; what you really have is 1010 bad cops.

[SoCal Deek]

56 minutes ago, TakeYouToTasker said:

I’d argue that it should begin to lift the veil from the eyes of those who don’t believe that we live under a government (and various state and local governments) that is oppressive, and that extends all the way down through our law enforcement bodies.

 

We’re all now painfully aware of the corruption within the CIA, FBI, and DOJ; with the recent exposure of FISA abuse and the film flam involved with falsifying the 302 process, it calls into question every single conviction the FBI has been involved in over the last decade or more.

 

We’re all aware of Kamala Harris actively withholding exculpatory evidence in order to get convictions.  Do you think she’s alone?

 

We know that more than 50% of all wrongful convictions involved willful malfeasance by the government to knowingly convict innocent people of crimes the government knew they did not commit by framing them for said crimes.

 

We know that predators seek out careers which provide them easy access to victims.

 

We know police unions protect bad cops.

 

We know that police will not step out in order to see bad cops prosecuted.

 

If you have 1000 good cops, and 10 bad cops; but the 1000 good cops don’t turn in the 10 bad cops, but instead protect them through their unions, qualified immunity, and standing behind the thin blue line; what you really have is 1010 bad cops.

I wouldn't draw the same conclusions at all. At least not from the title of that article. It doesn't say that 50% of all convictions are based on tampered or manufactured evidence. It says that convictions that have been OVERTURNED are often due to faulty evidence.  Again, not surprising. I'm shocked it isn't 100%. After all wouldn't that be one of the ONLY reasons a court would even consider vacating a sentence?  The only other reason I can think of would be new DNA testing, but even many of those could have been tampered with. My wife used to work in the prison system.  She'll tell you that ALL prisoners claim they are innocent. They obviously aren't.

[Azalin]

3 hours ago, OldTimeAFLGuy said:

 

 

.....I'd look at overzealous prosecutors who are elected officials probably first.....

 

 

52 minutes ago, TakeYouToTasker said:

We’re all aware of Kamala Harris actively withholding exculpatory evidence in order to get convictions.  Do you think she’s alone?

 

 

We had a rather high profile case north of here around 9 years ago. A man served 25 years before exculpatory evidence in the form of a bloody bandana that prosecutors had withheld revealed a different man's DNA. 

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Morton_(criminal_justice)

 

I don't know if it would help at all, but I think making the position of district attorney an appointed position instead of an elected one might remove some of the DA's desire to maintain a high conviction rate, something that's always touted come election time.  

[Taro T]

8 minutes ago, Azalin said:

 

 

We had a rather high profile case north of here around 9 years ago. A man served 25 years before exculpatory evidence in the form of a bloody bandana that prosecutors had withheld revealed a different man's DNA. 

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Morton_(criminal_justice)

 

I don't know if it would help at all, but I think making the position of district attorney an appointed position instead of an elected one might remove some of the DA's desire to maintain a high conviction rate, something that's always touted come election time. 

 

Would rather have the DA beholden to the populace rather than the Governor or the County Executive.  (Even with your concern about conviction rate.)

[keepthefaith]

On the other side of things are the crimes that are never punished due to law enforcement policies or police/prosecutors doing favors for some.  In Chicago you can literally shoplift, break into parked cars, steal cars, steal purses and do other non-violent crimes and the police won't even pursue it even if you're caught on camera. 

[Tiberius]

1 hour ago, TakeYouToTasker said:

I’d argue that it should begin to lift the veil from the eyes of those who don’t believe that we live under a government (and various state and local governments) that is oppressive, and that extends all the way down through our law enforcement bodies.

 

We’re all now painfully aware of the corruption within the CIA, FBI, and DOJ; with the recent exposure of FISA abuse and the film flam involved with falsifying the 302 process, it calls into question every single conviction the FBI has been involved in over the last decade or more.

 

We’re all aware of Kamala Harris actively withholding exculpatory evidence in order to get convictions.  Do you think she’s alone?

 

We know that more than 50% of all wrongful convictions involved willful malfeasance by the government to knowingly convict innocent people of crimes the government knew they did not commit by framing them for said crimes.

 

We know that predators seek out careers which provide them easy access to victims.

 

We know police unions protect bad cops.

 

We know that police will not step out in order to see bad cops prosecuted.

 

If you have 1000 good cops, and 10 bad cops; but the 1000 good cops don’t turn in the 10 bad cops, but instead protect them through their unions, qualified immunity, and standing behind the thin blue line; what you really have is 1010 bad cops.

And Kamala Harris is what’s this is all about! Ok, the Black women who might be in charge soon. The racist white  supremacist groups  are nervous. Good 

[RochesterRob]

19 minutes ago, Tiberius said:

And Kamala Harris is what’s this is all about! Ok, the Black women who might be in charge soon. The racist white  supremacist groups  are nervous. Good 

  Is this part of your stand up routine at the Comedy Factory (night club)?  

[Tiberius]

2 minutes ago, RochesterRob said:

  Is this part of your stand up routine at the Comedy Factory (night club)?  

Just think, instead of making reforms to law enforcement, it just gets turned on a different target? 

[RochesterRob]

14 minutes ago, Tiberius said:

Just think, instead of making reforms to law enforcement, it just gets turned on a different target? 

  You're a pretty funny guy when you want to be.

[Azalin]

1 hour ago, Taro T said:

 

Would rather have the DA beholden to the populace rather than the Governor or the County Executive.  (Even with your concern about conviction rate.)

 

I would normally agree, but since DAs routinely tout their conviction rates as qualification for reelection, the incentive to generate more convictions is enough to cause some prosecutors (re the Morton case I cited above) to withhold evidence that would prevent obtaining a conviction. I personally would rather a few guilty go free than see even one innocent incarcerated. 

[Azalin]

1 hour ago, keepthefaith said:

On the other side of things are the crimes that are never punished due to law enforcement policies or police/prosecutors doing favors for some.  In Chicago you can literally shoplift, break into parked cars, steal cars, steal purses and do other non-violent crimes and the police won't even pursue it even if you're caught on camera. 

 

I imagine part of the reason for that is the sheer volume of crime that Chicago police deal with every day. In Travis County, the police will most definitely come after you for most of the crimes you listed, whether it's caught on camera or not.  

[keepthefaith]

1 hour ago, Azalin said:

 

I imagine part of the reason for that is the sheer volume of crime that Chicago police deal with every day. In Travis County, the police will most definitely come after you for most of the crimes you listed, whether it's caught on camera or not.  

 

Yes, the city openly admits that crimes such as mentioned won't likely be pursued due to caseloads so they have to prioritize.  Thieves take advantage of the rules of course.

[Hedge]

 

 

[Doc Brown]

Somewhat related but misconduct by police and/or prosecutors make a good case for abolishing the death penalty.  I think it's one in nine who are executed are eventually exonerated.

[SoCal Deek]

4 hours ago, Doc Brown said:

Somewhat related but misconduct by police and/or prosecutors make a good case for abolishing the death penalty.  I think it's one in nine who are executed are eventually exonerated.

So if we conservatively assume that half of the exonerations are also incorrect that means that close to 95% of the death penalty cases are legitimate. 

[Alaska Darin]

1 hour ago, SoCal Deek said:

So if we conservatively assume that half of the exonerations are also incorrect that means that close to 95% of the death penalty cases are legitimate. 

Not good enough.

[Tiberius]

Prosecutors charge officer who ordered K9 to bite Black man who was kneeling with hands up

BY ZACK BUDRYK - 09/17/20 11:14 AM EDT

8

 

 

https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/516874-prosecutors-charge-officer-who-ordered-k9-to-bite-black-man-who-was

 

 

https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/516874-prosecutors-charge-officer-who-ordered-k9-to-bite-black-man-who-was

https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/516874-prosecutors-charge-officer-who-ordered-k9-to-bite-black-man-who-was

[TakeYouToTasker]

1 hour ago, Alaska Darin said:

Not good enough.

 

Exactly this.

 

I’m not sure why anyone would try to justify the state killing innocent people.

[Doc Brown]

5 hours ago, SoCal Deek said:

So if we conservatively assume that half of the exonerations are also incorrect that means that close to 95% of the death penalty cases are legitimate. 

Still 5% too many.

[BullBuchanan]

2 hours ago, Tiberius said:

Prosecutors charge officer who ordered K9 to bite Black man who was kneeling with hands up

BY ZACK BUDRYK - 09/17/20 11:14 AM EDT

8

 

 

https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/516874-prosecutors-charge-officer-who-ordered-k9-to-bite-black-man-who-was

 

 

https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/516874-prosecutors-charge-officer-who-ordered-k9-to-bite-black-man-who-was

https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/516874-prosecutors-charge-officer-who-ordered-k9-to-bite-black-man-who-was

I was about to post this. Seems like this could have a good home here: