Prosecutors Go After Innocence Project Students
Northwestern University has become famous for its journalism class in the Innocence Project, where students research old crimes. Their work actually led to a moratorium on the death penalty in Illinois when they showed a significant number of inmates on death row were actually innocent of the crimes they had committed. Now prosecutors want to know what the students have been doing:
But as the Medill Innocence Project is raising concerns about another case, that of a man convicted in a murder 31 years ago, a hearing has been scheduled next month in Cook County Circuit Court on an unusual request: Local prosecutors have subpoenaed the grades, grading criteria, class syllabus, expense reports and e-mail messages of the journalism students themselves.
[…]
Among the issues the prosecutors need to understand better, a spokeswoman said, is whether students believed they would receive better grades if witnesses they interviewed provided evidence to exonerate Mr. McKinney.
Wait a minute…let me get this straight – prosecutors are saying that they wonder if the students get better grades if they find evidence of innocence? The professor denies this and is fighting the subpoenas but let me ask – WTF does this have to do with the guilt or innocence of the defendant? That is determined in the court of law. How is this just not blantant harassment and intimidation?
: shakes head :
Here’s the link to The Innocence Project and what’s going on with this issue.
The Innocence Project needs to figure out how to get under the protection of lawyer-client privilege.
Prosecutors have no room to complain. The primary tool of the prosecutor is extortion in exchange for testimony.
I am no lawyer but I always figured most folks should be able to beat their charges by cross examining a witness thus:
Q: Do you value your freedom?
A: Yes.
Q: Have you been offered anything of value in exchange for your testimony?
Case dismissed.
Sadly I am sure there is some way around this logic.
The death penalty should be replaced by Life Without Parole.
1. Mistakes are made.
2. Not all legal defense is adequate.
3. All the appeals cost a lot of money.
4. Confinement for the rest of your life without any freedom is the best way to punish a person.
Mike Protack
3. All the appeals cost a lot of money.
Agreed…but I hope we don’t fight any less hard to free those wrongfully convicted and sentenced to life rather than death.
For the sake of justice I hope there are just as many avenues of appeal for life sentences as for death sentences.
Great point.
Exactly anon. I think the people who say life without parole are missing part of the point. Yes, I agree, it will keep us from executing innocent people but I want to make sure we aren’t putting innocent people in prison in the first place. What are we going to do to fix that problem?
No death penalty? I admire your stance, but good luck in your next GOP primary, Mike.
Wow Mike got religion praise where praise is do