Sometimes the Truth Requires Waiting a Few Minutes
The following story was sent by an attorney friend and is a rather sad tale that in the larger picture has taken place hundreds of times in our country and perpetrated by many of our state governments. I hope you take away from it a lesson on why the death penalty is inappropriate for those who we are so certain are guilty.
Bob received the following text from his neighbor:
I am so sorry Bob. I've been riddled with guilt and I have to confess. I have been tapping your wife, day and night when you're not around.
In fact, more than you. I do not get any at home, but that's no excuse. I can no longer live with the guilt and I hope you will accept my sincerest apology with my promise that it won't happen again.
Bob, anguished and feeling utterly betrayed, went into his bedroom, grabbed his gun, and without a word, shot his wife and killed her.
A few moments later, a second text came in:
Damn autocorrect - I meant "wifi," not "wife."
[For more auto-correct fails visit Damn You Auto Correct!]
It may be a joke in the form given, but it's not funny when we execute innocent people. While it is merely uncivilized to rush to judgment, it is an act of absolute barbarism to rush to lethal punishment.
Here's an example from real life:
Bluhm Legal Clinic, Northwestern Law School, William Jackson Marion
Mistaken identity of a corpse led to his mistaken execution
Hanging of Jack Marion (Photo: )
Photo Credit: Gage County Historical SocietyWilliam Jackson Marion and John Cameron, who boarded together in Clay County, Kansas, journeyed in May 1872 to Gage County, Nebraska, to visit John and Rachel Warren, Marion's in-laws. The day before they left Kansas, Marion purportedly signed a contract to purchase a team of horses from Cameron for $315, paying $30 down. It was agreed that Cameron would keep the horses until Marion paid the balance. Marion and Cameron left the Warren place in mid-May, saying they were heading west to work on the railroad. A few days later, Marion returned alone to Gage County.
Eleven years later, a body was found on a former Otoe and Missouri Indian Reservation dressed in clothing that witnesses identified as Cameron's. Marion was indicted, convicted, and sentenced to death for murder.
...
He went to the gallows on March 25, 1887, proclaiming — as he had from the beginning — that he was innocent.
Four years later, Cameron turned up alive. He explained that he had absconded to Mexico in 1872 to avoid a shotgun wedding in Kansas. On the centennial of Marion's execution — March 25, 1987 — Nebraska Governor Bob Kerrey granted William Jackson Marion, posthumously, a full pardon based on innocence.
Well, that's nice and dandy - a full pardon. That makes it all right. Uh huh.
