“Give him the gas and kill his ass! Give him the gas and kill his ass!”
Kirk Bloodsworth, an honorably discharged Marine who aspired to attend this university on a track scholarship, was convicted of the brutal 1984 rape and murder of 9-year-old Dawn Hamilton — a girl he had never met. At 23 years old, he was the most hated man in the state, he said.
But he was innocent.
This month marks one year since this state became the latest of 18 states to abolish the death penalty — an anniversary that holds special meaning for Bloodsworth, who championed the movement after spending almost nine years in a state penitentiary, two of them on death row, before being released in 1993.
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17 comments:
The justice system is too corrupt to uphold the death penalty. It needs to be abolished.
Happens everyday and more and more with so-called sex offense cases. These Young women today will lie on anyone to protect themselves at any cost to anyone. And god forbid if you are ever charged with a sex offense. GOOD LUCK. Most lawyers will promise you the world till you pay and then not take case to court and will plead with you and the prosecutor for a plea deal and you are stuck and screwed. And many years later when the truth comes out it is too late to get your life back from these liars.
Read Kirk Bloodworth's book. It's an eye opener. While I am not a believer that prisons are filled with innocent people what was done to him was a travesty.
I think those that testified against him, up to and including the prosecutors, should face penalties equivalent to what he received. Those people had something to gain.
Bloodsworth's experience in 1984 is not really relevant to 2014. DNA testing proved his innocence 9 years after he was sentenced - a method in widespread use today. So, the current system worked and he would have been free much sooner if it had been available. It is a mistake to ban the death penalty. In rare instances, there are those who simply need to be put down.
8:16 Only in TV. In the real world DNA it is extremely rare to get a usable DNA sample. When it is used it's mostly to identify victims and not perpetrators.
You are completely mistaken, 8:43. DNA is even being used to solve property crimes in some areas. A burglar in Denver was sent to jail thru the DNA he left on a soda can. Granted, it is still an evolving technology, but it is revolutionizing police work. A quote - "Analysis on some cases now takes as little as 12 hours and costs only about $50."
9:55-I'm not saying it isn't used but for every crime where it is used there are 1000 or more where it isn't. For instance I read of a murder case where they found DNA (from hair) of the victim in the car of the suspect. Because the victim knew the suspect and had ridden in the car on previous occasions the DNA was useless as evidence because there is no telling how long the hair was in the vehicle. Now had she been a stranger to the suspect then that's a different story.
There are some that still believe he did it. His actions soon after the murder took place by fleeing town and telling someone "I did a bad thing" don't seem to be the actions on an innocent man.
7:34 AM
Maybe the bad thing was running away. Regardless, hearsay.
7:28 AM
Your example is useless and totally irrelevant.
While I am not a believer that prisons are filled with innocent people what was done to him was a travesty.
May 21, 2014 at 7:25 PM
One in 25 death row inmates is likely innocent, according to the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
If you had Jesus saying someone committed a crime, then I would believe it. But even then, Jesus would not kill him.
Our criminal justice system DOES NOT work. It is deeply flawed, does not correct bad behavior, is corrupt and unfair. How much more so is a death penalty, especially when innocent people are convicted and sometimes put to death?
Our system IS however a huge money maker. And just the threat of doing time will get people to do things they would not ordinarily do.
It is used and abused and oftentimes the ones who should be sent to prison never are, from using their wealth to get out of it or political connections to win favor, at a cost.
This guy did not even fit the description of the killer and he had ten people as alibis. If that would not stop him from being executed, what would?
Cops need arrests to get promoted. DA's need convictions for their resume and to get re-elected. Judges, well they do whatever the current political wind blows. And the people want revenge. Someone to answer for the crime, whether they are guilty or not. They want their pound of flesh, and most times they get it.
Be very careful what you use to judge someone and what punishment you mete out.
The same can and will be used against you.
10:35 Spoken like a true liberal. I applaud you. Very articulate argument. One in twenty-five "could be" innocent. It is not a perfect system. What about the thousands that walk free year after year that have raped,robbed, and murdered our loved ones. The system does have loop holes.
I am not saying let innocent men and women pay who may be innocent.
I am talking about the likes of Thomas Leggs who raped,tortured, and set a little girl on fire the week of Christmas. As her presents sat under her tree this little child was butchered. Sorry I think Jesus will understand if I send this devil to hell. If Jesus does not understand this then he is not the God I love so deeply. No it does not bring her back but he never breathes the free air this little angel did again. There is something strangley peacful about that.
If we want to makle this about God's will. Then it was God's will to send Bloodsworth to jail. I can assure this guy did something. Maybe he needed an awakening.
If there is reason beyond doubt and the crime is so agrivated then yes, they need to pay. Pay with the human soul. The body is just a vessel.
The punish we mete out if done in good faith and without predjudice should be fitting. If the crime fits the bill then so be it.
Anyone that has been a true victim may understand this. Some do find forgivness and it is the only way they can cope with the pain. I leave it up to God to forgive. I want my eye for an eye. I want to know the bastard does not breath the same free air I breath.
No cops get promoted for arrest. Most cops at the top did nothing to get there but kiss the right ass or test well. Wrong answer liberal.
As a former cop who worked during this this time period, I read the arrest record. He already had an arrest record for perversion. He worked for a funeral home and was caught having sex with a cadaver. The fact is he ran. His actions the day and the day after are in question. I still believe they got the right man. There are many in jail who scream they are innocent. If he is not, it is between him and God.
All the DNA proved is that he did not rape her, not that he didn't kill her. I still believe he was involved in some way.
HUNDREDS have been released from death row because DNA PROVED them innocent. AFTER being convicted on police testimony, lab results, and States' Attorneys desperate to "get their man". For every cop who falsified evidence and testimony, every lab clerk who falsified results, and every DA who ignored evidence in order to guide the prosecution in the right direction, there should be punishment. You were complicit in the State's efforts to KILL a citizen and lied in order to get that done. Lying is not "good faith". EVIDENCE is our standard, supposedly.
A Supreme Court Justice once said that he would "prefer a hundred guilty men go free than ONE innocent man be condemned."
Apparently, some of you just want to kill. SOMEONE'S gotta die. Innocent? Who cares?
You won't be really bothered until YOUR kid, or father, or best friend, is rounded up and framed. And killed by the State.
Remember, lives change in an instant. No one in YOUR life is immune from that, so be careful of your thirst for revenge and blood.
Similar to "if you aren't doing anything wrong, then you don't have to worry." Problem is, THEY decide what's "wrong". And when they decide you've committed a crime, the record shows that "innocence" often doesn't matter.
Don't let that stop your cheering.
He needs to just fade away.I actually had not thought about him for years.The courts have decided & that which is left is in gods hands.
12:13 that is bull shit. D.N.A. can be twisted in a court room to work in many ways. If a jury of your peers convicts you then your attorney failed. The burder of proof is on the state. The sysytem will never be perfect. There is no system in the world that is perfect. As for Bloodsworth he is a criminal and will be one for life. He was a perverted bastard. The man was having sex with corpse. He should never be allowed to walk free.
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