Innocent
Defendants
Pay Heavy Costs
By
Edward Snook
Investigative Reporter
USA 2008 – Estimates on citizens falsely prosecuted for criminal offenses each year range from 12% to 35% according to qualified statisticians. This is an alarming, factual occurrence – one which should be dealt with sooner than later, but will probably be much later. To ignore or postpone an appropriate response to this travesty of justice allows the criminal justice system to nibble away at our rights as citizens living in a free society. Eventually, the apathy will lead to a pandemic of innocent victims suffering under the boot of despots, because no one will be left to give a damn.
Knowledgeable researchers from the Michigan University Law School, studying false convictions found 545 individuals were exonerated, for crimes they did not commit, between 1989 and 2003. Their claim is, “Judging from our data, any plausible guess at the total number of miscarriages of justice in America in the last fifteen years could run into the thousands, perhaps tens of thousands, in felony cases alone.”
Investigators with the US~Observer, who have a combined ninety years of experience vindicating the falsely accused, believe the number of false prosecutions to be much higher. The cause of this surge in false prosecutions is twofold. Unethical, immoral and overly ambitious prosecutors across this nation stack charges against individuals with the idea that if enough of them are thrown against an individual, something might stick. One conviction is often their intended goal. The defendant, who is faced with overwhelming odds against an acquittal, most often will accept an offer for a plea bargain. Regardless of their guilt or innocence, the defendant facing a long prison sentence if convicted by an uninformed jury will often times accept a legal plea agreement, hoping to extract themselves form the criminal system. Going into any court is a literal crapshoot because of the manipulations of the prosecutors and the pro-prosecution behavior of many judges, therefore, taking a plea even though innocent is a safer thing to do in most cases when facing the possibility of serving decades in prison. The real shame in our system is that countless criminal charges occur without any real investigation whatsoever on the part of the criminal justice system. False accusations and law enforcement personnel trained in the art of providing perjured testimony is all that is needed more times than not. In short, get the case resolved quickly and then stick to your initial “conclusion” and to hell with keeping an open mind regarding questionable evidence or other possible scenarios in any given case.
The actions of these rogue prosecutors and conscienceless judges are rooted in money and power. By the mere fact that an individual is indicted could mean bankruptcy and marital stress. Although an indictment is not a conviction the public announcement of the charges often times is so devastating that a wrongfully accused victim can never fully recover. When first indicted and or arrested the defendant rushes to an attorney, the official gatekeeper of our justice system. The attorney will provide a lackluster defense at a very high cost. Due to the defendants fear of the unknown he will gladly pay any sum the attorney demands after being told he has a good case. Over an extended period of time and without the benefit of a thorough investigation the attorney milks the defendant’s assets before recommending a plea agreement. The defendant goes to prison broke.
The operative question that must be asked is; who is responsible for this perversion? The answer is, the people. We live in a republic, therefore, we elect representatives to make our laws and mold our criminal justice system. In short, the people have in large part lost their way on the road of self governance. This is more by design than by accident. Once a proud nation, we have become a conglomerate of brain-dead, self-indulgent nincompoops more interested in entertainment, sports and junk food than about our civic duties, constitutionally protected rights and the value of true justice.
While our current generations were on watch, our state and federal legislatures have hijacked our Constitution and left us with a democracy where a majority are winners and a minority are losers. Attorneys, lobbyists, and professional government workers are busy making countless laws to isolate themselves from the people’s wrath. Within a few short weeks of taking an oath of office elected officials succumb to the potential of going along to get along. The ideals outlined in the Constitution are relegated to a category of “nice but not necessary.” The sole aim for our entrusted leaders is to make hay while the sun is shining, during their term in office.
These same individuals abrogated their duty and facilitated in the creation of a debtor nation. Debtor prisons filled to overflowing with despondent, ruined, destitute individuals turned into collateral for the powers that be. Unless the falsely accused are capable of hiring stout hearted men such as Michael Minns, Jerry Spence, the US~Observer or their equivalent, which is usually an unlikely occurrence, they should get prepared for a jail cell, furnished with steel bars, a bunk bed, and plenty of degraded individuals to spend their time with.
When a person falsely charged is fortunate enough to find adequate help, the false prosecution is still costly and it shouldn’t be. The falsely charged upon vindication should receive each and every dime they were forced to spend in order to prove their innocence returned to them. This is not the case in America’s perverse legal system. No money is returned and our system has become so degraded that even when a person is found not guilty they must forfeit 15% of their bail money for court costs. Along with our corrupted criminal justice system, let’s never forget our elected representatives who make all this depravity possible.
It is impossible to recall how many times, during the last score of years, that I rang the alarm for people to wake up only to be ignored and relegated to insignificance. The one reason I persist, in my warnings, is my deep sense of civic responsibility. It rained for forty days and forty nights but only one person prepared for the inevitable. Maybe, I am that man in modern day. This nation has been engaged in folly for over a century and the time is at hand when the “Nation of Sheep” will begin to notice the water rising.
Despite my sense of vigilance there must be more of us standing ready and willing to sacrifice our own comforts in the protection of our heritage. Who will join me?
Editor’s Note: The US~Observer deals mainly with corruption. Whenever we find a law enforcement officer, attorney or judge who chooses to promote justice as opposed to frequent swims in the cesspool we are thrilled to report on them. There aren’t many, but there are some in our criminal justice system who possess ethics, who know the difference between right and wrong and who practice that which is right.
As
Mr. Snook has stated, the bottom line is this: When any American is
falsely charged with a crime or is subjected to the wrongful actions
of an administrative agency, that person must be restored to the financial
condition that they were in before they experienced the unwarranted
attack on themselves and subsequently their family members.
