WRONG MAN IS FREED AFTER 22 YEARS IN CELL (DNA)

[Omaha Steve]

Source: New York Post

By JEANE MacINTOSH and ANDY GELLER

July 10, 2007 -- The prosecutor called him a "coward" and said the death penalty wasn't punishment enough for the crime he committed.

But yesterday - after 22 years behind bars and eight weeks of wearing an ankle bracelet - Byron Halsey walked out of an Elizabeth, N.J., courtroom a free man.


BYRON HALSEY
Conviction tossed.

On May 15, Halsey's conviction was thrown out after new DNA tests cleared him of the gruesome murder and rape of his girlfriend's two children in 1985.

The new tests, not available at the time, pointed to Clifton Hall, 49, a next-door neighbor and the star prosecution witness.

Read more: http://www.nypost.com/seven/07102007/news/regionalnews/wrong_man_is_freed_after_22_years_in_cell_regionalnews_jeane_macintosh_and_andy_geller.htm

[OlderButWiser]

1. Wow!

So the 'star witness' was the actual killer but helped put an innocent man in jail? Hall deserves a very long, very uncomfortable jail sentence.

[rodeodance]

2. In so many cases-----there is a need to BLAME-----and we get this sort

of wrong-doing.

[DS1]

17. We clearly need to privatize prosecution!

[OlderButWiser]

39. Of course I understand

you were being sarcastic but at least prosecution is under local contol via elections.

[OlderButWiser]

28. Of course there is a need to blame...

...there was an awful crime committed: "gruesome murder and rape of his girlfriend's two children in 1985". Or were you trying to say something else?

[ProudDad]

34. I'll say it

the cops grab the first guy that fits the frame...

The DA's who have ABSOLUTE POWER in the system, polish up the frame and railroad the "bad guy" into prison. "Hell, if he didn't do this one he probably did another". Or my favorite DA quote: "The only difference between the innocent and the guilty is that the innocent are a little harder to convict."

The judges pretend that "justice" is being served while they act as handmaidens to the DA's

The overworked PDs just try to keep the guy from being fried. The court appointed's aren't being paid enough to provide an adaquate defense and the guy's usually too poor to buy real representation.

Meanwhile, the real "bad guys" walk, we're NOT safer, the DA gets re-elected, the cops get raises, the judge gets raises, the PD's and appointed defenders are paid less, the prison guards get raises, the prison-industrial complex mints money -- and we're NOT safer.

The system sucks, doesn't work and costs way too much...

[OlderButWiser]

57. Maybe

you and rodeodance were referring to law enforcements desire to arrest somebody, anybody for gruesome crimes. I was thinking of the families need to find the criminal, the real criminal.

[napi21]

3. I can't imagine how anyone can survive the anger, hate, and desire

for revenge after something like that! I sure don't think I could!

I've seen a few men interviewed after their release under similar circumstances, and they all claimed they held no grudge, but I don't know how that could be.

Can this guy at least sue for SOME compensation for this injustice?

[youngdem]

27. You don't. You have to let it go.

You cannot stay consumed with anger for 22 years. It would kill you, or lead to suicide, or lead to conduct on the inside earning you honest time.

The ONLY recourse an innocent man has is to persistently complain to anyone who will listen that you have been wrongly convicted and keep looking for evidence to back up your claim.

[ProudDad]

35. On the inside one learns to live by the adage

"Hope for the best but expect the worst."

[reprobate]

56. NJ law allows up to $20,000 per year incarcerated for wrongful conviction

Article on another case

[LeftishBrit]

4. What a nightmare for him - glad he's out now!!!

This sort of thing is one of the many reasons why I oppose the death penalty.

[Craftsman]

58. Same here

[Nomad559]

5. On the Innocence Project

web page, It states that he served 19 years In prison.

http://www.innocenceproject.org

:)

[oldgrowth]

8. He has been in custody since 1985. county jail is not prison?

[ProudDad]

36. County Jail

is worse than prison...

[Omaha Steve]

9. The 22 years includes time while waiting for his trial

He served 19 years of his sentence.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

20. That's an interesting site.

If you look at the portraits, there's a clear disparity towards African Americans.

[wellst0nev0ter]

6. So When Is That Prosecutor Going To Be Put Under A Criminal Investigation

Like that Nifong guy in the Duke lacrosse case?

.
.
.
.
Anyone?

.

.

.

[TechBear_Seattle]

7. Had he been executed for his alleged crimes....

Would the state be guilty of murder? I mean, in this situation it would not have been justice, right? And killing an innocent man is murder, correct?

This is EXACTLY why I strongly oppose the death penalty.

[Benhurst]

14. I agree, although I would be tempted to make an exception for

conviction of "high crimes and misdemeanors."

[Bitwit1234]

10. What forever frustrates me is

the fixation of the investigating police. They seem to get a mind set and nothing absolutely no evidence, nothing deters them from a suspect they seize on to "solve" the case.

I know they should go after criminals, but I think the should always take a step back and ask them selves am I looking at all suspects. The way convicted and jailed men and women are found innocent lately, that should be their first priority. Investigate "all" suspects not only the one they think is guilty.

[azurnoir]

26. When it comes to Black on Black muder

what makes you think the police care whether or not the party they jail is actually the guilty party?
in the late '80's and early '90's I waitressed in a restaurant frequented by cops(Mpls Mn), they said as much the "he's black so he's guilty of something mind set prevailed". They called Black on Black murder a "twoferone" their favorite joke "What do you call it when a Black women has an abortion? Crime prevention yuk yuk yuk. Gives you an idea of the mind set and potential for injustice.

[ProudDad]

37. The problem is

the police are wasting too much of their resources on the phony "war on drugs"!!! :grr: :grr:

On edit: you got that cop attitude perfectly, azurnoir!

[Auntie Bush]

11. Another innocent man man convicted of murder! That's what I call

fair and balanced justice. Not! No wonder the Rethugs like the death penalty. They can get rid of all these pesky court cases which show how unfair our screwed up justice system really is. I bet all those (mostly black) victims didn't have any expensive powerful attorneys. How can a man possibly be repaid for 22 years of hell. He should get a million dollars per year for the injustice done to him.

I don't think Hall should get the death penalty either. Let him suffer for as long as he lives and them hope the other inmates do him justice.

I wonder if the prosecutor will repeat his comment that called him a coward and said the death penalty wasn't punishment enough for the crimes he
committed.

Thank God for DNA! Every prisoner who wants a DNA test should receive it immediately or as soon as possible.

[Virginian]

12. I don't think he would have been in prison for 22 yrs in VA or TX

or in other states that have been executing prisoners.

When Jim Gilmore was Governor of Virginia, he proposed a time limit to appeals. He wanted death row inmates executed quickly after convicted. If conclusive DNA or other evidence became available one day after the cut off date, too bad.
I don't know why he was in such a hurry to kill people. I am not sure if he was sucessful in getting it passed, I don't think so.
Gilmore is one of the announced GOP candidates.

[oldgrowth]

13. And what so sad so many have a hard time when they get out!

It made me think about the time Imus had on Bo Dietl ex NYC cop and he said he use to beat the crap out them to get a confession this is the guy they made a movie about called (One good cop)How many were innocent????
You can look up Bo Dietl on media matters what a nut case!
http://mediamatters.org/issues_topics/search_results?qstring=&start_month=&start_day=&start_year=&end_month=&end_day=&end_year=&issue=&subissue=&topic=&person=Bo+Dietl&show=&outlet=

[Bunny]

15. And this is why I am against the death penalty.

[shanti]

23. exactly

n/t

[OlderButWiser]

29. My thought is that you should...

...be against it because it is morally reprehensible. Not just because errors happen from time to time. Other wise you would have to admit to the death penalty being OK in circumstances where there is no doubt of the guilt or identity of the killer.

[Bunny]

30. Maybe I'm not to that point yet in my development.

If there is absolutely no doubt as to the guilt of someone who perpetrates an especially heinous crime, I may not necessarily approve of the death penalty, but I also will not be protesting in front of the prison.

[ProudDad]

40. The death penalty is analogous to torture

And torture was well covered in this thread today:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x3365863

I'm morally opposed to the death penalty - in any case. It is state sanctioned murder and degrades us all as a society. That's why the CIVILIZED countries of the world have abolished it...

By the same token, I'm morally opposed to life without parole. It denies the redemptive capacity in most human beings.

By the same token, I'm absolutely opposed to the current system of torture called the prison-industrial complex...it causes more harm than you can believe and also demeans us all -- we are all corrupted by the existence of such places in our midst...

[AngryAmish]

16. The headline is wrong

He was not wrongly released, he was wrongly convicted. Did they release the man they intended to release? Yes. The headline would only be grammatically correct if the authorities knew this guy didn't do it and released another prisoner by mistake. That would be newsworthy but it did not happen.

[skypilot]

31. I noticed that too.

I thought the story was about some violent killer who was out on the loose after some prison paperwork snafu. Then I noticed that it was a story from the NY Post. Fucking rag. The headline was probably intentional.

[Vyan]

18. That would be number 205

204 men have been previously released and exonerated using DNA evidence over the past decade or so by The Innocence Project. You can read the profiles detailing how these men were each falsely accused, convicted and eventually exonerated here - > http://www.innocenceproject.org/know/Browse-Profiles.php

This isn't the first the "The Real Killer" has been the chief prosecution witnesss.

Contrary to what they show you on CSI, America's crimelabs are a long way from what they should be.

The Innocence Project has found crime lab errors, both inadvertent and calculated, to be a leading contributor to wrongful convictions. Historically, however, states are required to do nothing to remedy – or even investigate – these problems despite proof of their existence.

Case in Point: Jimmy Ray Bromgard – Montana Exoneree
After over 15 years in prison, post-conviction DNA testing proved in 2002 that Jimmy Ray Bromgard did not commit the child rape for which he’d been convicted. At trial, the prosecution’s case heavily relied upon the testimony of the state’s leading forensic expert and then-director of the Montana Department of Justice Science Division, Arnold Melnikoff. Mr. Melnikoff testified there was less than a one in ten-thousand (1/10,000) chance that two hairs found on the victim’s bedsheets did not belong to Mr. Bromgard. The numerical probability asserted by Mr. Melnikoff, was completely groundless; there has never been a standard upon which to form statistical conclusions about hairs compared via microscopic inspection. Following Mr. Bromgard’s proven innocence, his attorneys reexamined other convictions that had been driven by Mr. Melnikoff’s testimony. In two cases, defendants were exonerated through DNA testing and their convictions were overturned.

Vyan

[ProudDad]

42. Just think how many more would be overturned

if they had the 12 BILLION per month that's being pissed away in Iraq...

Ah, priorities. This country would rather kill thousands of human being with their fucking war machine than to free innocent people or even reform the system that's wrongfully "convicting" them.

[noel adamson]

19. Think how much higher the wrongful conviction rate must be for..

...lesser crimes...robbery, burglary etc.

Two good documentaries on the work of the innocence project you can rent are "Exonerated" and "After Innocence". "After Innocence" documents the difficulty that those exonerated people usually have after their release in trying to get the same belligerent system to clear their record etc.

[shanti]

21. aww geez, not again!

:( how many more times is this scenario going to be played out??

[Vyan]

22. Hundreds of times ...

no strike that - Thousands

Vyan

[J R]

24. Just Spoke to Eileen Hall From PA Office

I just got off the phone with Eileen Hall, some spokesperson at the Elizabeth, NJ, prosecuting attorney's office. She was gracious for the most part yet a bit heavy-handed with her views. I asked her the name of the prosecuting attorney who brought the case against and said such terrible things about Mr. Halsey, but she claimed that she did't know who it was. She then went on to tell me that my views were slanted and that I hadn't read the entire news story, which I found a bit rude. I told her that maybe the American people should revamp the system and clean house, politically. That really incensed her, but to her credit she took my call in the first place and never hung up on me. We debated the efficacy of our judicial system for a bit, and she seemed quite defensive. She and you and I all know there's a problem with our judicial system; Byron Halsey will never get those lost years back. That office has played their part in persecuting an innocent man, and the prosecuting attorney handling Mr. Halsey's case back in the 80's surely benefitted from both its sensational nature and the prosecution of Mr Halsey. With that being said, I can tell you that from what she said to me, it is my opinion that Mrs. Hall isn't convinced of Mr Halsey's innocence, just the presense of another man at the time, the neighbor. So, BOTH these men raped and mutilated these children? I don't think so, Mrs. Hall. You're only grasping at straws...

[ProudDad]

43. The DA's are in charge of the "system"

they have ALL of the power, that's the way the deck has been stacked for the last 30 years...

I blame the cowardly republicans and the cowardly Dems... "criminals" have been an easily oppressed minority of the population -- just to get votes, an easy sell.

I blame the media who demonize people who "commit crimes", which but for good or bad luck is damn near every one of us, in every way possible and make it easy for those assholes to pass more and more draconian "anti-crime" legislation...

I blame the ignorance of the American People. They MUST throw off the lie of "Us or Them" and embrace "WE".

Some DA's know deep down that they're full of shit and that they're railroading innocent persons and that the system of torture they send these people to doesn't work -- so they are EXTREMELY defensive when their myths are attacked. They have to believe they are doing "god's work" or they'd go crazy...

Their raises and promotions are also contingent on the quickest convictions (usually pleas) with the largest number of years of incarceration...They'd sat the "most bang for the buck".

As Lenny Bruce so accurately put it, "the only justice in the Hall of Justice is in the halls." 'cause there's bugger all in the courtroom.

[Tesha]

25. Let's hear a shout-out for The Innocence Project!

> Halsey, wearing a green-gray suit, pale yellow shirt
> and gold tie, hugged his lawyers, Barry Scheck of the
> Innocence Project and Raymond Brown of Newark.

These folks have really made a difference in showing
that, just once in a while, our criminal justice
system does make a mistake and, just maybe, we
shouldn't be quite so quick to execute people who
are "guilty beyond a shadow of doubt".

Tesha

[Alexander]

32. Another reason why we need to BAN the death penalty.

Innocent people aren't killed if they are punished with Life Without Parole. They can still get some shred of their former lives back.

[renaissanceguy]

33. Meanwhile, he should sue

the police department for false arrest.


http://www.cafepress.com/liberalissues/479862

[Alexander]

47. word

[silverweb]

38. TERRIBLE headline.

My first thought was they let the wrong man out of prison, not the one who had been cleared by DNA evidence.

:crazy:

[knight_of_the_star]

41. Ditto

I was wondering who was set free by the DNA from the headline.

[silverweb]

49. It says something about our educational system.

Used to be, once upon a time, that the purpose of written communication was clarity. Now it seems to be confusion (incompetence) or misdirection (deception).

[MiserableFailure]

44. Better to have 100 guilty go free...

than to have one innocent killed.

[Joe Chi Minh]

45. Why did I know he'd be an African American?

[superconnected]

52. Well it may have helped, had he not confessed.

[pschoeb]

53. He confessed after 30 hours of continous interrogation

Unfortunately many innocent people will confess under such conditions, which is and was well known, yet most Police don't care, as long as they get a conviction. Personally I consider some of the tactics Police use in their investigations to be inherently antithetical to a just society. Even the words he used weren't a clear cut confession. The prosecutors actually argued against his own confession to convict him, because it was so wrong in the details, they claimed he intentionally made a false confession, this despite the fact that the guy had a sixth grade education and some severe learning disabilities.

[superconnected]

54. Ah, okay. I didn't know that.

I was going by only what was in the article.

[pschoeb]

55. No problem, NY Post's shitty "journalists" left it out, adding the intentionally deceptive headline

Their reporting is truly criminal.

[Joe Chi Minh]

59. Is there a remote possibility it would have been under duresse?

[NoGOPZone]

46. I don't know how he kept his sanity, let alone his sense of humor

Twenty two years in jail and then another two months waiting for the indictment itself to be removed. That headline sucks too, leave it to the Post to come up with that.

[cui bono]

48. Too bad that after 22 years they freed the wrong man!

[superconnected]

51. yeah, that's how I read it too.

Bad headline.

[superconnected]

50. Since he confessed to the crime, I don't see a prob with thinking he did it -

"The only evidence against Byron Halsey is his uncorroborated confession, key portions of which have been refuted by the DNA evidence," Cernadas said.

Of course now that dna can prove he didn't, it's a good thing. And it's great they're getting the right guy.