AG Commits to Hoodwinking Juries
Regardless of one's political leanings, every reasonable person subscribes to a central principle of criminal justice: innocent people ought not go to prison.
And though I have no doubt that Attorney General Jim Hood has good intentions, I likewise have no doubt that his public opposition to House Bill 1456 does little more with those good intentions than to pave a road to constitutional Hell.
Radley Balko and Tom Freeland both have criticized Hood's attempt to marshall opposition against the measure that, if passed, would require autopsy performers to be national board certified -- a minimal and reasonable requirement, if ever there was one. Their arguments against Hood's effort need no supplementation, but their central point is one that cannot be emphasized enough.
And that is this: Steven Hayne has sent innocent men to death row. Read that sentence again, and then explain to me why reasonable people are even having this conversation. No person committed to a principle that reasonable people could recognize as justice would go to so much trouble for such a widely discredited and unreliable quack. For God's sake, Dr. Van Nostrand has more credibility.
I understand Hood's commitment to the state's prosecutors and his desire to provide every tool he can. And so be it. But no prosecutor, least of all the chief prosecutor of a sovereign state, should commit himself to jailing as many people as possible, truth be damned. The job facing a prosecutor, more so than any other attorney, is to do justice. Period.
The day that changes, I want out. And if that has changed for Jim Hood, then maybe he ought to get out, too.
Hi Will,
Here's a link to my petition demanding the state of Mississippi to re-open the cases involving Hayne and West.
http://www.gopetition.com/online/25939.html
I am also in process of planning a rally in Jackson soon.
These ergregious injustices must be stopped and the mistakes corrected immediately. Anything less is unacceptable.
I know for a FACT there are innocent people in prison and death row. As a matter of fact, I know a lot more than people think I know.
I will not give up!
Thank you.
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