[Quercus]

For more than a year, justice was mocked in the case of the Duke lacrosse members accused of the sexual assault of a stripper. Last week, impartiality and level-headedness finally returned to render a sober judgment on the facts. Read this article.


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[Sciurus]

Check out http://www.innocenceproject.org. As of this posting, "there have been 198 post-conviction DNA exonerations in United States history" according to this page.

Originally Posted by Innocence Project via innocenceproject.org/know/

The common themes that run through these cases — from global problems like poverty and racial issues to criminal justice issues like eyewitness misidentification, corrupt scientists, overzealous police and prosecutors and inept defense counsel — cannot be ignored and continue to plague our criminal justice system.

• Fourteen people had been sentenced to death before DNA proved their innocence and led to their release.
• The average sentence served by DNA exonerees has been 12 years.
• About 70 percent of those exonerated by DNA testing are members of minority groups.
• In over 30 percent of the cases profiled here, the actual perpetrator has been identified by DNA testing.
• Exonerations have been won in 31 states and Washington, D.C

Neither you nor I will likely never know the complete story. Obviously the accuser has her side, but what was with D.A. Nifong? Innocent until proven guilty, in theory might seem fair, but in real life, this case just goes to show it can be a whole different ball game. No pun intended.