Should the falsely convicted be compensated?

[Airhog]

If there are few convictions thrown out, and few convictions overturned, one has to ask himself if it is because there are not many innocent people in prison, or if it is because the law is setup to make it very difficult to overturn your conviction?

I firmly believe it is the latter. I have done some light reading about trying to overturn a conviction. some of these laws make it extremly difficult to do so, even with overwhelming evidence. One law I can rememeber reading about, although I am not sure which state it was in, stated that all new evidence had to be presented within 30 days from the end of the trial. It is laws like these, and others I believe that make it nearly impossible, without a large amount of money to spend on an attorney, to get out of prison once you are in.

[Joe]

Originally Posted by Grammaticus

Here is a sub question; do you think everyone who is rightfully convicted should have to compensate the state for the cost of trial and incarceration?

Absolutely. It's a two way street.

[Karlifornia]

Man. We get one life. One. Imagine all of the shit you do in between the years or age 22 and 44. If he was unmarried, he probably missed out on meeting the love(s) of his life. If he was married, there is no way a woman sat around and waited 22 years for him to be released ESPECIALLY if he was convicted of a rape. This is a life that was ruined. Many accomplish a plethora of things after the age of 44, but most build their lives between the age of 22 and 44. These years are so very valuable. You are now an adult, but you are still young enough to fulfill your dreams. This man will probably never accomplish his dreams because he got fucked over. Man, it's gotta be hard to live the rest of your life as a walking martyr.

[Joe]

Originally Posted by RadioFriendlyUnitShifter

If he was unmarried, he probably missed out on meeting the love(s) of his life.

Many guys can do that in prison..

[oykib]

Originally Posted by Raiders Army

I'll tell you what I'd do with a million dollars: Two chicks at once.

It wouldn't take a million. Take a trip to Thailand. I'm sure you could do it off-peak for two grand.

[GrantDawg]

Originally Posted by Grammaticus

Here is a sub question; do you think everyone who is rightfully convicted should have to compensate the state for the cost of trial and incarceration?

They already do get fined and charged court costs, but unless they are former Enron heads, there is no way they'll ever pay back incarceration charges. Most people getting out of prison are lucky if they ever get a job, and if they do it is minimium wage menial labor. There is no way they'll pay back hundreds of thousands of dollars. Nor should they, unless you really want to see the repeat offender rate skyrocket.