"Trial by Fire"

[jyoung]

According to a recent New Yorker article, the answer is yes.

Despite an intensive report that thoroughly disproved all means of scientific evidence used against him in court, Todd Willingham was executed by the state of Texas.

Interesting story of bad science going untested in a court of law and leading to a wrongful execution.

[YellerDog]

It happens.

[Gohron]

I wonder what it has to be like being put into prison and even being executed, knowing all the time that you weren't responsible for the crime? Maybe in the future they'll clone this guy and give him loads of money.

[cka]

don't they off re-res too

[jyoung]

It happens.

I think most rational people would agree to this, the problem this article raises is that no one in positions of power within the judicial system or the government at large will admit that "it happens," nor will they make a real effort to ensure that in the future, "it won't."

[Calliander]

I wonder what it has to be like being put into prison and even being executed, knowing all the time that you weren't responsible for the crime? Maybe in the future they'll clone this guy and give him loads of money.

Or maybe, in the future, they'll stop executing people. "It happens," isn't good enough, I'm sorry. Thanks for posting this, though, Weeman. Broke my damn heart.

Faulty thinking: People can somehow "forfeit" their right to be alive.

[Tracer]

I just read the description: "Did the state of Texas execute an innocent man?"

And I said, "Probably."

I'm sure there's plenty of obvious and glaring evidence for it too.

[icarusfall]

[Mr-K]

From what I understand the execution of an innocent man has never been "proven." There was a man in Virginia that went up to the wire professing that he didn't kill anyone, there was a big fuss about how he may be innocent and that they're putting him to death, then there was a last minute confession when some new evidence came up. Dude totally did it.

There's an Errol Morris documentary about a similar situation, The Thin Blue Line, about an actual innocent man that came within like 12 hours of being executed.

So yeah, it probably happens.

[Razor Ramon]

I read about this in the Times a few weeks back. This should never happen. Taking someone's life isn't reversible. It's not like locking them up in jail where you can release them. They're gone for good. You've just stolen a life and there's no way to pay that debt back.