Innocent man framed by police finally exonerated after 13 years in prison

[rambone]

A man spent 13 years in prison for a murder he didn't commit.

Cleveland police detectives set him up by coercing false testimonies and by withholding evidence that would exonerate him.

It takes a real monster to frame an innocent man. Those detectives are as dangerous to society as any real murderer. They destroy lives.

I have read that coerced cellmate confessions happen a little more often than we may realize.

No word on whether the corrupt detectives will face charges.



Exonerated man wins $13.2M for 13 years in prison

Among the most serious allegations by Ayers against Kovach and Cipo were that the two detectives conspired with each other to fabricate a confession that he never made, coerced a friend of Ayers to lie by saying that Ayers had told him of the murder before Brown's body was discovered, and gave key information about the crime to Ayers' prison cellmate so he could later testify against Ayers about an admission he didn't make.

The Price Of Justice

Ayers was a security guard for the Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority when found guilty of killing Brown at her CMHA apartment in Cleveland. She was found bludgeoned to death, covered in defensive wounds and naked from the waist down; she also had been robbed. DNA testing later proved that a pubic hair found in her mouth did not come from Ayers.

 

[rambone]

This is a good reason to oppose capital punishment. The state is too corrupt, and honest mistakes also happen. Better to let 100 criminals walk free than convict an innocent man.

Also remember stories like this when you are tempted to deride a convicted man's right to appeal.

 

[Tsigos]

No word on whether the corrupt detectives will face charges.

I wouldn't hold your breath waiting. They wouldn't want them to inform the public how widespread such tactics are within their department exposing the city to further liability.

Thanks for spreading the word on these types of stories.

 

[j706]

Righting the wrongs and possible wrongs of the jack booted thugs world wide, one case at a time, coming soon to a gun owners website in your state. I can sleep better tonight.

 

[rambone]

Here's a good book about innocent people being convicted through incompetence and malice.

Worth a look.

Convicting the Innocent: Where Criminal Prosecutions Go Wrong

On January 20, 1984, Earl Washington—defended for all of forty minutes by a lawyer who had never tried a death penalty case—was found guilty of rape and murder in the state of Virginia and sentenced to death. After nine years on death row, DNA testing cast doubt on his conviction and saved his life. However, he spent another eight years in prison before more sophisticated DNA technology proved his innocence and convicted the guilty man.

DNA exonerations have shattered confidence in the criminal justice system by exposing how often we have convicted the innocent and let the guilty walk free. In this unsettling in-depth analysis, Brandon Garrett examines what went wrong in the cases of the first 250 wrongfully convicted people to be exonerated by DNA testing.

Based on trial transcripts, Garrett’s investigation into the causes of wrongful convictions reveals larger patterns of incompetence, abuse, and error. Evidence corrupted by suggestive eyewitness procedures, coercive interrogations, unsound and unreliable forensics, shoddy investigative practices, cognitive bias, and poor lawyering illustrates the weaknesses built into our current criminal justice system. Garrett proposes practical reforms that rely more on documented, recorded, and audited evidence, and less on fallible human memory.

Very few crimes committed in the United States involve biological evidence that can be tested using DNA. How many unjust convictions are there that we will never discover? Convicting the Innocent makes a powerful case for systemic reforms to improve the accuracy of all criminal cases.

 

[drillsgt]

Righting the wrongs and possible wrongs of the jack booted thugs world wide, one case at a time, coming soon to a gun owners website in your state. I can sleep better tonight.

I know right, why can't these people just keep quiet and do their time, they got convicted after all.

 

[TopDog]

"Exonerated man wins $13.2M for 13 years in prison" So justice does have a price.

Real justice will not be done until every single person that did anything wrong in order to convict this man is prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

 

[BigMatt]

This is a good reason to oppose capital punishment. The state is too corrupt, and honest mistakes also happen. Better to let 100 criminals walk free than convict an innocent man.

Also remember stories like this when you are tempted to deride a convicted man's right to appeal.

You are convincing me.

 

[BigMatt]

OK, I agree that there is always a chance that any convicted man/woman is innocent, but shouldn't someone who has purposefully killed someone get the death penalty?

If it is known (theoretically) beyond a shadow of a doubt that a man is guilty, shouldn't he be put to death?

 

[rambone]

OK, I agree that there is always a chance that any convicted man/woman is innocent, but shouldn't someone who has purposefully killed someone get the death penalty?

If it is known (theoretically) beyond a shadow of a doubt that a man is guilty, shouldn't he be put to death?

Morally it might make sense.

But in the real world, it poses some serious problems. Its an awful lot of power to put in the hands of the state, full of corrupt and extremely fallible individuals.

Don't support a law or government policy unless you could trust your worst enemy to oversee it.

 

[BigMatt]

Morally it might make sense.

But in the real world, it poses some serious problems. Its an awful lot of power to put in the hands of the state, full of corrupt and extremely fallible individuals.

Don't support a law or government policy unless you could trust your worst enemy to oversee it.

I am not talking about the real world. I am saying theoretically, if a man were guilty - not found guilty by a jury of his peers - but really guilty.

 

[Loco179]

Sorry it is time for immunity to go away. They would think twice about playing games if they could go to jail.

 

[j706]

In a perfect world no one would ever be wrongly convicted. In a perfect world no one would ever be murdered. Heck in a perfect world there would be no crime and you would live forever. News flash- there ain't nothing perfect. One of the biggest problems with our society is that no one ever wants to take responsibility for their actions. In addition the touchy feel good liberals have to concoct some excuse as to my someone did something wrong. And that bastardizes the system. Welcome to 2013

 

[BigMatt]

In a perfect world no one would ever be wrongly convicted. In a perfect world no one would ever be murdered. Heck in a perfect world there would be no crime and you would live forever. News flash- there ain't nothing perfect. One of the biggest problems with our society is that no one ever wants to take responsibility for their actions. In addition the touchy feel good liberals have to concoct some excuse as to my someone did something wrong. And that bastardizes the system. Welcome to 2013

I didn't say in a perfect world, I said theoretically. Way to answer the question.

 

[HenryWallace]

Yeah, they will learn better when they set in jail for 20 some years depending on which state they commit the crimes, with only a TV and Food and Recreational exercise and all of the harsh punishments like doing laundry and having to poop in public areas.... etc...

Truth be know, yes, they should go on death row and be executed immediately (like tomorrow), if beyond any reasonable doubt they have committed a murder for their own gain or the like. A video (which seems to be missing in EVERY case presented to the public anymore), clear motive (Not some contrived and assumed motive), and a true victim (someone that didn't deserve to die for maliciousness or evil contribution to debase humanity {politicians beware!}). Kill them if they deserve it!

Problem is that when they go on death row they set in a cell for plenty of years sucking up our tax dollars, some 40K each year to keep some one alive in a jail cell with cable and AC. A little hard to swallow for someone that has to pay for their own food and housing.

 

[96firephoenix]

If it is known (theoretically) beyond a shadow of a doubt that a man is guilty, shouldn't he be put to death?

Morally it might make sense.

What part of "thou shall not kill" doesn't make sense?

There is almost no reason in our modern prison system that life imprisonment without parole is not a viable and just option. You are still punishing that man with the loss of his life, but you are not killing him outright.

If someone proves that he can not be contained in a prison, then the duty of the government is to kill him for the protection of society.

 

[Bunnykid68]

What part of "thou shall not kill" doesn't make sense?

There is almost no reason in our modern prison system that life imprisonment without parole is not a viable and just option. You are still punishing that man with the loss of his life, but you are not killing him outright.

If someone proves that he can not be contained in a prison, then the duty of the government is to kill him for the protection of society.

Where did you find this statement "Thou Shall Not Kill" ? I am guessing a poorly written bible or it is what you are used to hearing, the Bible says Thou Shall Not Murder, big difference between murder and killing.

 

[rambone]

What part of "thou shall not kill" doesn't make sense?

There is almost no reason in our modern prison system that life imprisonment without parole is not a viable and just option. You are still punishing that man with the loss of his life, but you are not killing him outright.

If someone proves that he can not be contained in a prison, then the duty of the government is to kill him for the protection of society.

You changed your mind in 2 sentences.

For the record I don't support the death penalty.

 

[Magneto]

It amazes me how many people don't realize the power of prosecutors.

 

[dross]

Yeah, they will learn better when they set in jail for 20 some years depending on which state they commit the crimes, with only a TV and Food and Recreational exercise and all of the harsh punishments like doing laundry and having to poop in public areas.... etc...

Truth be know, yes, they should go on death row and be executed immediately (like tomorrow), if beyond any reasonable doubt they have committed a murder for their own gain or the like. A video (which seems to be missing in EVERY case presented to the public anymore), clear motive (Not some contrived and assumed motive), and a true victim (someone that didn't deserve to die for maliciousness or evil contribution to debase humanity {politicians beware!}). Kill them if they deserve it!

Problem is that when they go on death row they set in a cell for plenty of years sucking up our tax dollars, some 40K each year to keep some one alive in a jail cell with cable and AC. A little hard to swallow for someone that has to pay for their own food and housing.

What are your plans for the innocent who get executed?