The problem with all the "hang them" justice is that more often than we want to admit, innocent people get convicted. I know 2 people (through their relations, who are friend's of mine) that were wrongly convicted.
One was a child molesting (That never happened), and due to the prosecutor's dirty tricks, and a totall incompetant court appointed defense attorney, he was so scared about going to jail for life, he stupidly pled guilty and took 13 years, even though there would have been the mother, grandmother, and several other witnesses that would have testified that the kid was never molested by him at all. When these people found out, they called the judge, who was "sympathetic" to the defendant, he refused to toss the conviction. The DA wouldn't do anything, at least until the local TV stations started sniffing around, and finally after 4 years in jail, he got out. He's a basket case now, unable to work, and is on disabilty. He never got a dime in restitution. Since the conviction was tossed, everythings OK, right?
This entire case started by the kid's loon aunt calling the police and telling them some whopper. The first "investigation" found nothing, but the follow up started the nonsense rolling.
The other guy was convicted of murdering his neighbor, all because he drove home drunk from the bar down the street, and left his car door open. The killer had tried to steal the car, it turned out, and left a rope in it, but the battery was dead beacuse the lights were left on. The police, prosecutors, and jury (Idiots) all ignored his rock solid alibi. He was seen by dozens of people who knew him, drinking in the bar, when it happened. The police went into hound dog mode, totally fixated on him, while totally ignoring the convicted rapist murderer who had just been paroled, who lived down the street! They never even talked to him! The defense didn't know about him existing until he killed someone else, and the press told about him being paroled a month before his neighbor had been murdered, and the guy I know convicted for it.
The DA's office spent 3 years fighting to prevent a DNA test from being run, and of course, it cleared him, and he got out, after seven years. The DA never even apologized to him, nor have the police, several of whom he's known his etire life! He's suing the local police and county prosecutors and they already have offered him a million bucks to settle, $100,000 for the next ten years, but his lawyer is convinced the county will raise that substantially when the court date approaches. The trust in the local prosecutor's office and police has suffered greatly, and they do not want a jury awarding him something like a mill a year instead. The judge assigned to the case has publically urged the county to settle it ASAP, as a jury could award a "huge" amount, and he would probably not reduce it, and the publicity is making the entire system, "Look like idiots, and crooks". IMO, when a DA fights to keep a DNA test run, they should be tossed out of office, and put in jail for a while to see why innocent people might want to get out!
