From: Jef Allbright (jef@jefallbright.net)
Date: Sat Sep 07 2002 - 12:25:54 MDT
Harvey -
Can you provide some references to this case to facilitate looking into it
further?
- Jef
----- Original Message -----
From: "Harvey Newstrom" <mail@HarveyNewstrom.com>
To: "Extropians List" <extropians@extropy.org>
Sent: Saturday, September 07, 2002 10:24 AM
Subject: Two trials for the same crime?
> I am greatly disturbed by the two trails just completed this week in
> Florida for the same crime. The prosecutor says that they weren't sure
> who did it, so they charged both the adult suspect and the two boys in
> separate trials. They then proceeded to present different theories in
> the two trials. They let the juries decide whether each case was valid
> or not. Luckily, they got a consistent set of verdicts with one
> innocent and one guilty. Note that it was the same person prosecuting
> both cases simultaneously, arguing different theories of guilt in each
> case.
>
> What disturbs me is the possibility that trials could have ended up with
> a guilty verdict for the same crime using mutually exclusive theories.
> It also seems wrong for a prosecutor to proceed with a case when they
> are not sure who is guilty. This seems to set a bad precedent of
> indicting people just in case they might be guilty and letting the
> juries release the innocent ones later. It also seems that the
> prosecutors didn't present the same arguments or evidence in both
> cases. They selectively presented evidence for each trial as desired.
> This implies that they lied about the evidence or suppressed evidence in
> each case that might have helped the other. (For example, they
> introduced the boy's confession in one trial, but not the other. They
> introduced the man's alibi in one trial, but not the other.) It seems
> obvious that he could believe in "guilty beyond a reasonable doubt" in
> both cases since he was arguing against his own theory in the other
> trial.
>
> This is a question that has come up here recently in response to
> terrorism. If we aren't sure who is guilty, do we err on the side of
> letting some guilty people go free, or do we err on the side of
> convicting innocent people to life imprisonment or death?
>
> --
> Harvey Newstrom, CISSP <www.HarveyNewstrom.com>
> Principal Security Consultant <www.Newstaff.com>
>
>
>
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