Speaking of mistakes.... I seem to have pasted the wrong message text when I sent my reply to Mr. Trei. I regret the unfortunate duplication and consequent waste of list bandwidth. ----------------------- --- "Trei, Peter" <ptrei@rsasecurity.com> wrote: [mistake rate]
If, in a capital case, where the money to pay public defenders is usually maximally available, and the appeals process, checks, and cross-checks are the more thorough than in any non-capital prosecution, you STILL get at least a 33% error rate, then what is the wrongfull conviction rate in non-capital cases, where there are far fewer appeals, and public defenders are paid a pittance?
I couldn't say, but it is well known that people who are accused of a crime are given rather large incentives to plead guilty in order to avoid the lengthly trial process. This is, of course, a major point. However, there isn't much discussion about the lack of accountability for people (police, judicial officials, etc.) who themselves run afoul of "the law" and who are rarely punished at all. And of course there's the lucrative prison system with it's large union and bureaucracy. Plus, many people know about the recruiting facet of that industry in which some individuals are groomed and incentivised to become agents of the state, in one capacity or another, in exchange for freedom or lesser sentences. Insofar as the intel community is concerned, it seems from my perspective that there is no effective deterrent for violent crime since you've pretty much got to do something really stupid before they'll prosecute: like cut off your wife's head and store it in your freezer, or something equally gregarious. For people in SpookWorld, fraud, larceny, perjury, and murder are merely the tools of the trade. And don't get me started on about the cartels. Regards, Steve ______________________________________________________________________ Post your free ad now! http://personals.yahoo.ca