The men in New York who were convicted because that priest didn't come forward have been freed.
The trial judge ripped the district attorneys a new one in his comments when he ordered the release: "The Bronx district attorney's office needs to take a good, hard look at this case,” U.S. District Court Judge Denny Chin said from the bench. "I am convinced that they did not do it. I still haven't seen any semblance of a reason why Jesus Fornes would lie.” ... , "I can't understand why the district attorney's office is fighting this so hard. He was in prison, apparently convicted for a crime he didn't commit. I'm releasing him.” One might also add that he'd served 13 years of a 15 year sentence; surely the debt to society can be considered paid.
Notwithstanding, the Bronx district attorney's office plans to appeal to the US Court of Appeals. They can't stand the loss of the conviction on their records, I suppose.
The problem is, apparently, we like prosecutors to be a little too gonzo. The general concept of the public is that if you're arrested, you're guilty. It also helps when the people being arrested aren't very nice folk in the first place, and both of these defendants had had run-ins with the law before. Even so, I can't imagine any justification for continuing to pursue this case; surely the Bronx DA's office has better things to do with its time. Surely there are limits to the prosecution that will be tolerated.
Copyright © 2001, Iain Jackson, after-words.org
[Archives: 2001 and after]
Archives before February 5, 2001
Search entries:
12/19/2001: vive la france
12/19/2001: princess, redux
12/19/2001: yemen and rumsfeld
12/18/2001: you're NOT in the army now
12/18/2001: interesting donation
12/18/2001: shame on winn dixie, indeed
12/18/2001: saudi princess
12/17/2001: new resolve
12/17/2001: a victim of the attack ... yeah, right
12/17/2001: polluters ho!