Prosecutorial Misconduct is convicting the innocent.
The following are excerpts from an article written by James McCloskey,
Director of Centurion Ministries, Inc, in Princeton, N J. The article is
very well researched and referenced and it is entitled: "Convicting the
Innocent". It appeared in a legal journal in 1989. It reports primarily
on the misconduct of law enforcement officers and prosecutors in convicting
innocence, accused primarily, of violent crimes. Mr. McCloskey estimates
that as many as 10 percent of those convicted and spending long prison
sentences, or waiting on death row, may be innocent. According to the article,
wrongful convictions were obtained on the basis of several factors, the
most important of which are misconduct of law enforcement officers and
prosecutors and falsification of the evidence.
A wave of prosecutorial misconduct is subverting Standards of
Fairness and Justice.
The primary duty of a prosecutor is to seek justice and to see that
those guilty of real crimes are brought to justice. Society sees the ideal
prosecutor as a public official who plays the role with most integrity
in a judicial ritual designed to determine the truth. The majority of prosecutors
are aware that they must work against any tendencies to oppress a defendant
with the many resources they have at hand. These resources include the
vast finances of the government offices full of clerks and assistants,
crime laboratories and government records. They have numerous other powerful
instruments they can command against one defendant. Most defendants have
none of these resources to use to defend themselves, and often they have
little money. It takes a prosecutor with integrity and respect for the
law and for others to avoid the tactics of overkill and excess in prosecuting
a case.