Mary Neal's Sharebook 

Hundreds of convictions have been overturned after new trials or DNA tests.  This proves that many prisoners are truthful when they protest "I Didn't Do It, Your Honor!"  Thousands more convicted persons seek DNA tests through the Innocence Project, but will they get them?  How much does innocence matter in criminal justice?  Do Americans want to continue paying around $60,000 per year for each innocent inmate's incarceration? (NY rate for inmates in the general prison population. Rate increases substantially for death row inmates, the incarcerated mentally ill, and inmates with severe health problems like cancer.  The amount varies by state.) In 2009, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that convicted persons have no constitutional right to DNA tests, although most Americans thought they had a right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.  Wrongful executions and incarcerations certainly impact citizens' rights.

Despite the High Court's disappointing ruling regarding post-conviction DNA tests, each state can still deteremine how much innocence matters for residents.  On March 24, the U.S. Supreme Court stopped the execution of condemned Texan Henry Skinner with only one hour to spare.  Unfortunately, numerous inmates who won stays of execution were nevertheless deprived of re-trials or DNA tests.  Georgia death row inmate Troy Davis has been granted three stays; Alabama death row inmate Thomas Arthur has also been granted three stays.  After Arthur's last stay of execution that prevented his July 31, 2008 execution, he was finally allowed a DNA test.  Arthur's DNA was found not to match any of the crime scene evidence tested.  The forensic lab results were released in July.  Amazingly, the judge sealed Arthur's DNA test results, and he remains on death row nearly a year later.  A hearing is planned in his case.

I wrote an email to principals among several political parties recently and suggested that candidates who make justice reform a party platform would enjoy good support from voters.  People are more aware than ever before about denial of justice in criminal and civil courts, and fair-minded Americans want change.  Ironically, wrongful verdicts in civil cases are automatically VOID if the evidence used to reach the verdict or judgment was false.  Such judgments are not merely voidable, but already void.  Civil court cases are ordinarily about money.  Why does the justice system prioritize fairness regarding money matters above justice for innocent Americans who are wrongly incarcerated?  Could it be that money is deemed more important than citizens' lives to those who make our laws?  Apparently, that is exactly the case. 

My family experienced two void judgements regarding our civil lawsuit against The (Johnnie) Cochran Firm.  When we sued the firm for fraud, the law firm claimed in court not to have any office within the State of Georgia where our lawsuit was served, although the Atlanta law office is open and conducting business every day.  That perjury was used to have our lawsuit dismissed without the necessity of either settling with my family or facing a jury.  Surprisingly, the Superior Court judge agreed that there is no such thing as a Georgia office of The Cochran Firm and dismissed our lawsuit, and The Cochran Firm never even paused its prolific advertising for new clients and continues to accept high-profile cases in its Atlanta office.  We then sued The Cochran Firm in United States District Court under the diversity rule, based on the law firm's fraud on the court.  Since both judgments were rendered based on The Cochran Firm's perjury about its Georgia office, both are VOID judgments.  See information about the case at this website and view some of the evidence under the DOCUMENTS tab:  http://wrongfuldeathoflarryneal.com/      How would you like it if days after such a lie was allowed in court to cheat you out of millions of dollars in a righteous lawsuit, your defendant issued a commercial like the one at this link?  YouTube Commercial for Atlanta Office of The Johnnie Cochran Firm http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlcolpUzckU.   "Justice" in America depends on who you are - being a citizen is not nearly enough, especially if your case is against someone in the "protected class." 

When witnesses present false testimony that leads to wrongful convictions or DNA tests could make determinations about guilt or innocence, I believe that criminal law shoud be as fair as civil laws.  Give new trials with substantial new evidence like Troy Davis has and give people like Hank Skinner DNA tests.  It would be unfair to have Hank wait years on death row for a test after his stay of execution, and hopefully that won't happen.  It was a blessing that the Supreme Court granted Skinner a stay of execution.  But sometimes, inmates relive the whole ordeal of being prepared for execution repeatedly without DNA tests or new trials after being granted stays.  Furthermore, it seems terrribly unjust to have a man pass his DNA test and STILL be on death row almost a year later, like Thomas Arthur.  God help! 

Below is an article by CBS about wrongful convictions.  Note that although 47 states grant post conviction DNA testing rights, some states only grant the right to test for condemned inmates - not those facing life in prison for rapes or other crimes that testing might prove the convicted person did not do.  Furthermore, there should be a national mandate on how long evidence is maintained and under what conditions.  Unfortunately, many of the thousands of hopeful inmates who expect to some day have the right to conduct DNA tests on the evidence that was used to convict them might be disappointed to learn that forensic evidence was not maintained in their case files.

*********

Case Renews Wrongful Conviction Debate

Laws Granting Right to Post-Conviction DNA Testing on Books in 47 States, But Advocates Push for Change in Holdouts

( CBS )  Henry Skinner was an hour from death last week when the Supreme Court stayed his execution. At issue: could DNA testing prove his innocence? Three [states] remain without laws allowing post-conviction DNA testing, and some advocates are touting this turn of events as a victory that may bring about legislative change, as CBS News correspondent Manuel Gallegus reports.

Dennis Maher spent 19 years in a Massachusetts prison for a series of rapes he did not commit. But he's not angry.

"If I am angry then I am going to be bitter and dwell on what I lost," he said.

Maher was falsely identified by an eye-witness and was sentenced to 20 years to life in 1984. He was 26.

After his conviction, he tried for years to have the DNA evidence in his case tested. But, for convicted felons in Massachusetts, that decision rests with the judges and prosecutors - the same people who sent the convicts to prison.

"The judge thought I was guilty so he didn't have to allow DNA testing," Maher said.

Massachusetts, Alaska and Oklahoma are the only states that don't have a standardized law granting convicted felons a right to test DNA evidence in their cases.

Advocates for DNA testing have tried at least three times to push the issue through the state legislature, but it's always failed. Critics found it too vague and prosecutors fought back.

As Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy Cruz put it, "At what point do we say no?"

Cruz insists DNA requests should still be handled case by case and says that any new law would overload the system.

"We'd have individuals who will just say, 'I want this, I want to test,' this and it really would open up the flood gates," Cruz said.

Even without the law, nine prisoners in Massachusetts have been exonerated though DNA. But they spent a combined 117 years locked up for crimes they didn't commit.

Former prosecutor David Meier leads a Boston bar association task force now urging Massachusetts to change its law.

"These cases strike at the heart of criminal justice system," Meier said and "the bill recommended by the task force would create uniformity and consistency."

Dennis Maher was released in 2003 and since then has been outspoken about the system that locked him up.

"The others who are still in prison - they are just looking for a chance, a chance to prove they didn't do what happened to them," Maher said - a chance to begin a new life.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/03/28/eveningnews/main6342150.shtml

**************
Mary Neal
Assistance to the Incarcerated Mentally Ill
http://www.Care2.com/c2c/group/AIMI
P.O. Box 153, Redan, GA 30074