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18th innocent released from Illinois death row

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lil-petunia

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Thu May-27-04 07:30 AM
Original message

18th innocent released from Illinois death row

18. Innocent. People. Death row.

Chilling words. Even more chilling is the race Texass is having with other states, making sure that regardless of the facts, they will use their death penalty more often than any other state. Still, Dallas is rated as the most crime ridden city in the country. How can that be? Shrub comes from Crawford, not Dallas.

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7th_Sephiroth

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Thu May-27-04 07:33 AM
Response to Original message

1. with all these innocentt people being released from death row

shouldent the DA's And investigators be investigated, i mean i can see 1 or 2 because of faulty DNA evidence and false testimony and a ton of circumstancialt, but 18 soulds like the DA and the police Falseified Evidence, Destroyed Evidence, Hid Evidence, and witnesses And all that

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lil-petunia

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Thu May-27-04 07:40 AM
Response to Reply #1

2. spell it burge

A commander of a notorius police district, named Burge, is living the good life in Florida. He has been the source of numerous convictions, some say, totalling over 400, in which he lied, beat up the suspects (telephone books on the skull, electrodes to the balls, broken fingers and worse) and gavve the heads up to drug kingpins who had him on the make.

So far, no one has bothered to try to get this man back to Illinois, but it is only a matter of time.

Unfortunately, even the FBI relied on this creep, so much so that they told him which pols and drug dealers they were after. He would use that info and get payoffs, while the targets would set up their competition. sick, all around.

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7th_Sephiroth

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Thu May-27-04 07:42 AM
Response to Reply #2

3. got a picture

there a big enough price on his head? i'm in florida and i wouldent mind tracking this scum down

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gottaB

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Thu May-27-04 07:44 AM
Response to Reply #3

4. other floridians

http://www.fadp.org/pressrel72.html

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7th_Sephiroth

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Thu May-27-04 07:46 AM
Response to Reply #4

5. ya know

i sold my house to this "drug cop" real asshole, i went over by there and he had a baseball diamond with stadium lights in the backyard

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lil-petunia

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Thu May-27-04 08:03 AM
Response to Reply #4

7. thanks for the site.

We didn't have all that info up here in Chi-town. And I never bothered to search the net for this stuff.

The thing is, Burge was not the only one. He was only in charge. bunches of others did his dirty work, too.

To think that the state's atty is fighting all cases where burge was involved. makes one wanna puke.

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NNN0LHI

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Thu May-27-04 08:14 AM
Response to Reply #3

10. Here is a photo of the bastard

Cmdr. Burge: Wanted for torture

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7th_Sephiroth

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Thu May-27-04 08:29 AM
Response to Reply #10

11. are the goverment

or police offering money for his capture? i can take this asshat down in 3 seconds

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NNN0LHI

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Thu May-27-04 08:56 AM
Response to Reply #11

18. No. He was given his police retirement and told to enjoy himself n/t

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Name removed

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Thu May-27-04 09:01 AM
Response to Reply #18

20. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

Frodo

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Thu May-27-04 08:01 AM
Response to Original message

6. "released from death row" or "released"?

We're they determined to be innocent? Or was there a biased jury? Or tainted witnesses?

In other words, do we "know" they are innocent? or merely "not know" they are guilty to a certainty justifying death?

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NNN0LHI

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Thu May-27-04 08:06 AM
Response to Reply #6

9. See the post below this one n/t

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axollot

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Thu May-27-04 08:47 AM
Response to Reply #6

14. What I always thought..

...about our justice system, what I thought set it apart from the rest of the world was "prove guilty beyond any reasonable doubt". There fore if the man on death row has any evidence that should cause doubt about him being guilty he should not only NOT be on death row he maybe should not be in jail either.

My understanding of previous death row prisoner's that were released from jail was they were found innocent because of DNA evidence, the DNA evidence cleared them.

I think and I'm sure I will get corrected if I am wrong but isn't one of O.J's lawyers head of a team that gets death row inmates released due to DNA evidence?

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Judi Lynn

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Thu May-27-04 09:53 AM
Response to Reply #14

25. That's Barry Scheck.

(snip)
This issue gained national prominence in January when the governor of Illinois, George Ryan, suspended executions in his state after DNA was used to prove 13 death row prisoners innocent. Death penalty in question.

In response, various members of the legal community are suggesting ways in which the system can be reformed to prevent the wrongful imprisonment — and possible execution — of innocent people.

For instance, many mistakes in the death penalty system begin during the interrogation of a suspect, where coercion or misunderstanding can lead to false confessions. Those who say the system can be fixed point to a simple solution:

“Audiotape or videotape all interrogations. That way there’s no dispute later — what did the person say, what didn’t he say, was it coerced, was it not coerced,” says Barry Scheck, co-author of the book Actual Innocence. Only two states — Alaska and Minnesota — have laws requiring the taping of interrogations, though it is a standard practice in other states.
(snip)

http://abcnews.go.com/onair/CloserLook/wnt000511_CL_deathpenalty_feature.html

Hi, axollot. Welcome to D.U. :hi: :hi:

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SemperEadem

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Thu May-27-04 07:10 PM
Response to Reply #14

30. Barry Scheck of the Innocence Project

They do amazing work using DNA evidence to clear innocent people.

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NNN0LHI

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Thu May-27-04 08:04 AM
Response to Original message

8. In Chicago, Outgoing Governor Plans to Let Some Death Row Inmates Out

Edited on Thu May-27-04 09:01 AM by NNN0LHI

http://www.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0301/10/lad.10.html

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: And we turn now to Chicago, where the outgoing governor plans to let some death row inmates out of prison. Governor George Ryan plans to pardon four death row inmates today. All four are part of the so-called Burge 10, 10 death row inmates who say their confessions were tortured out of them by police under the command of Chicago Police Commissioner John Burge.

Burge was fired after an internal police investigation found evidence of physical abuse of suspects. Governor Ryan will announce the pardons in a speech this afternoon, by the way. It caps his three year campaign to highlight flaws in the state's capital punishment system. snip

CNN's Jeff Flock has more for you.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GOV. GEORGE RYAN (R), ILLINOIS: This morning I pardoned Paula Gray (ph) based on innocence.

JEFF FLOCK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In a scene like this one from last month, Illinois Governor George Ryan today or tomorrow could erase dozens of names from death row here at the state prison in Pontiac. Ryan is considering pardoning and releasing some death row inmates or changing their death sentences to life in prison. snip

FLOCK (voice-over): But no one is likely to put the system under a microscope like Ryan, who halted Illinois executions, had unprecedented mass clemency hearings and has been studying these briefing books on every death row case, looking for anyone who might be innocent.

MARY JO BERKERY, VICTIM'S SISTER: If he chooses to even commute one of these sentences, I truly hope that all the souls of the murder victims haunt him the rest of the days of his life.

FLOCK: Among those being considered for clemency, Aaron Patterson, who admitted to stabbing an elderly couple 34 times then scrawled with a paper clip under a police station bench, "I lied, suffocated with plastic bag." CNN has learned Ryan's team has inquired where Patterson may go to work if he's released. Also under consideration, Madison Hobley, who says he, too, was tortured into confessing to killing seven people in an arson fire. Leroy Orange claims police used electric shock torture on him to get him to admit to a bludgeoning he didn't do.

more

See here for a lot more info:

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&q=Burge%2Bchicago+police%2Btorture&btnG=Google+Search

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Frodo

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Thu May-27-04 08:35 AM
Response to Reply #8

13. Nice to see

it isn't limited to Iraq.

:mad:

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lastliberalintexas

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Thu May-27-04 09:40 AM
Response to Reply #8

24. Most bothersome part

"MARY JO BERKERY, VICTIM'S SISTER: If he chooses to even commute one of these sentences, I truly hope that all the souls of the murder victims haunt him the rest of the days of his life."

Who cares if he was innocent and we can prove it with DNA- he was convicted of killing my relative! *Someone* must pay, guilty or not.

I feel much sympathy for the families of crime victims. But they internalize so much hatred and bitterness, tying their healing process to the death of another human. They are almost never happy people, even when you see them on tv 20 years after the fact. And for whatever reason, so many of them are unable to accept the fact that an innocent person may have been convicted. Is it more important for them that someone- anyone- is convicted and serves time/is put to death, than it is to find the real perpetrator?

We really should do a better job of helping victims and/or their families cope with the crimes committed against them.

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NNN0LHI

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Thu May-27-04 06:38 PM
Response to Reply #24

29. There was a lot of that going on here in Illinois

Every time someone was found innocent and released off of death row someone in the victims families would talk crazy shit like this. There were one or two exceptions but most of these people made complete idiots out of their selves. Sad world we live in.

Don

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axollot

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Thu May-27-04 08:31 AM
Response to Original message

12. What scares me

Is the fact the federal government of ours seems to have no issue jumping into states rights laws about everything from medicinal marijuana to abortion, except when it comes to innocents jailed (which is bad enough) but also sentenced to death.

I know Ill put a hold on all executions following further investigation. With 18 more people being released whether its from the same state or 18 from 18 different states the number should be high enough to register on the federal governments radar and put a halt to all executions across the country. Texas isn't the only state that likes to kill em quick. Florida doesn't mind frying them fast and please don't get my started on what they did with Timothy Mcvey.
cheers
Sandy
:mad:

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lil-petunia

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Thu May-27-04 08:54 AM
Response to Reply #12

16. axollot, its ashcroft!

You think that a guy who lost his election to a corpse and preys to gawd three times a day could be bothered by anything that might let out someone from prison? no effing way.

This guy's brain is programmed to obedience, loyalty to his fuhrer, the one great GWB, and to make make this country safe for his peculiar version of christianity, like it or not.

Justice ain't anymore, not with this cretinous creepoid in charge. Much more important is medical marijuana, or protesters anywhere near Bushlite speechification, or whether it is time to call a terrorist warning 'cause BUshlite's poll numbers be in the shitter.

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axollot

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Thu May-27-04 08:58 AM
Response to Reply #16

19. Ok so I was being Naive

Edited on Thu May-27-04 09:01 AM by axollot

NOT Ashcroft! Yea with Shrub at the helm I am reaching to far to hope they could actually step in for something noble rather than have thier ass's in our face constantly for the stupid shit.

EDIT
*doh* i need to get more coffee - i thought you called me Ashcroft. LOL
:-)

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lil-petunia

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Thu May-27-04 09:34 AM
Response to Reply #19

22. heck no

I wouldn't do that to me second wursted enema.

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Jacobin

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Thu May-27-04 08:47 AM
Response to Original message

15. but but but Fat Tony Scalia said:

"Mere factual innocence is no reason not to carry out a death sentence properly reached"

He did. He really did.

I mean, according to Fat Tony, if a court convicts you and sentences you to death, you should die even if you are completely innocent, to maintain "respect and integrity" of the courts.

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axollot

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Thu May-27-04 08:56 AM
Response to Reply #15

17. holy mother of god

How could anyone say that with a straight face? :wtf:

*googling tony scalia now*

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struggle4progress

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Thu May-27-04 12:06 PM
Response to Reply #15

26. Well, Tony's pious pride keeps some folks from noticing ...

that he has no soul.

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Blue_Tires

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Thu May-27-04 09:08 AM
Response to Original message

21. I'm waiting

for a certain poster who made it a point to call out ALL the anti-DP advocates on this board a couple months ago...funny i haven't seen him around for awhile, but he knows who he is

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LeftistGorilla

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Thu May-27-04 09:38 AM
Response to Original message

23. The death penalty...

What a joke....

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BonjourUSA

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Thu May-27-04 12:37 PM
Response to Reply #23

27. When do the USA join the civilized nations ?

The criminality didn't more quickly increase here since the abolition of the death penalty

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Mechatanketra

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Thu May-27-04 01:22 PM
Response to Original message

28. Chilling, and a little surreal.

Since it was our last Republican governor who finally put an end to death sentences ... a step which, IIRC, our incoming Democratic governor intended to reverse. (Blago has been screwing up so much since he got into office that it's hard to keep track of what is which.)

Cuz Bob knows, nothing says "Democrat" more than favoring recklessly imposed death penalties. Right? Right? (sigh)

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