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Moratorium on the Death Penalty
Eddie Joe Lloyd broke into tears as he talked about Michelle Jackson, the Detroit teenager whose brutal rape and murder sent him to prison for 17 years. In sentencing Lloyd, the judge who presided over the trial told Lloyd he was lucky he could not be hanged. Fortunately for Lloyd the state of Michigan does not have the death penalty or he would not have seen the day, which exonerated him and sent him home to his grandbabies. Lloyd is the 110th person to be freed from prison thanks to the Innocence Project and modern day technology known as DNA sampling.
Seventeen years ago Lloyd was arrested and charged with Jackson’s murder and was apparently coerced into confessing to a crime we now know he did not commit. Unfortunately, local prosecutors and detectives were more concerned about conviction numbers as opposed to justice and due to their undue vigilance and cowboy mentality the real killer may have killed again and still be at large.
Some say because the truth finally came out, although seventeen years later, justice was served. That’s ludicrous because had the death penalty been law in Michigan, Mr. Lloyd would not have been able to get justice. Furthermore if 110 have been freed due to faulty evidence, how many have been put to death or are facing death because of shoddy detective work and self appointed god-like prosecutors.
Its time for this country to stop the death penalty even with some of the heinous crimes we are seeing today. One innocent person wrongly convicted completely undermines this countries legal integrity. Moreover, it is time to penalize over zealous prosecutors and police who arrest and convict the convenient citizens as opposed to the real suspect. Many states add insult to injury by not allowing reparations to that victim and if allowed the compensation does not begin to account for the pain, misery and ridicule the victim and family suffers.
Another way to stop this rampant abuse of power by prosecutors who use shaky convictions to launch political careers is to begin requiring audio and videotape in the interrogation rooms. Had Lloyd’s confession been taped it would have been clear it was coerced. Police argue taping interrogation would undermine their effectiveness but wasn’t one of the primary reasons for installing video equipment in patrol cars was to limit false allegation against police and law breakers.
Furthermore, if this country insists on applying this barbaric brand of punishment, the least America should do is make sure the defendant has credible representation who has the expertise to fight for the defendant, something a public defender is woefully unprepared to do.
I suspect that white lawmakers are not concerned because the majority of those on death row are people of color and the underprivileged.
If we truly love this country and believe in its constitution, it time for real Americans to stand up for truth and justice and not allow over-zealous and inept prosecutors to build their careers on body counts.
nov. 2003
