With new DNA tests proving that Jerry Miller did not commit a brutal rape in Chicago for which he was convicted in 1982, the Innocence Project said today that Miller is the 200th person in the nation exonerated through DNA evidence.
In 1981, Miller was arrested and charged with kidnapping, raping and robbing a woman in downtown Chicago. He was convicted in 1982 and served 24 years in prison. Eleven months ago, he was released on parole as a registered sex offender, requiring him to wear an electronic monitoring device at all times and prohibiting him from answering his door on Halloween or leaving his job for lunch. DNA testing on semen from the rape proves that Miller did not commit the crime – and instead implicates another man as the actual perpetrator.
A few of the stats on those wrongly convicted:
Eyewitness misidentification plays a role in 77% of wrongful convictions overturned by DNA (of those, nearly half are cross-racial misidentifications).
Racism continues to be a significant cause of wrongful convictions. While 29% of people in prison for rape are black, 64% of the people who were wrongfully convicted of rape (and then exonerated through DNA) are black. Moreover, most sexual assaults nationwide are among perpetrators and victims of the same race (the federal government says just 12% of sexual assaults are cross racial), but two-thirds of all black men exonerated through DNA evidence were wrongfully convicted of raping white people.
None of this is a surprise to anyone who cares about removing the stain of racism from our national culture. The cruelest part of the equation is the number of jurisdictions where the politicians in charge of “justice” still drag their feet over reforming a system that so often fails.
Yep, must be racism.
He better be a model citizen now that he’s out of jail ’cause chances are that the DA and many police officers will resent that their judgement on him has been declared erred.
Is it racism or just cross-racial misidentification as in all you people look the same to me kind of thing.
DNA evidence isn’t necessarily exonerating. All it means is that someone else’s DNA is on the scene. It doesn’t mean that the other guys weren’t there.
Many of the Innocence Project’s exonerations are bogus. The party is guilty, but they got off on technicalities, and they count that as an innocent person being taken off death row.
#3, probably… or else it’s just plain old prejudice of some sort. But you know, once people latch on to a particular word, they tend to apply it to all situations.
#4 MikeN
Your statements are so incredibly dumb on so many levels that I don’t even know where to start.
One of the sad aspects of semantics is that when a word resounds, accurately and historically, as a negative – the ego-smitten and cowardly who find themselves depicted by that negative rarely have the integrity to (a) admit to it or (b) do anything to correct the symptom or the syndrome.
So, they babble on about how they “are above that” – or the institutions and individuals battling reaction are being too “all-inclusive”. I think we’ve all seen examples of this – from bigots barring schoolyard doors to political fops handing out attaboys to failures.
Dishonest as any demagogue.
#4 Do you have specific cases, or sites to show what you say is true?
you can tell the conservatives on the list — they’re the ones who assume that everyone in jail deserves to be there and deserves no sense of human decency
which oddly defies the teaching of the man they most fervently worship.
i have to quit reading these comments, the hypocrisy of the so-called Christian conservatives makes me want to puke.
Are they proud of this?
Is he one of the 200?
#9,
You would be wrong. The rape issue is much deeper than that. Feminists believe that they need the right to accuse any man at any time of rape to make of for the fact that women are the physically weaker, dumber and emotionally dis-endowed gender(new science in the area of post traumatic stress syndrome pretty much proves this one as well).
Just look at the blog feminists websites on the Duke rape hoax. Even though it looks like criminal charges will be brought against Nifong, and Crystal Gail Mangum, blog feminists still think they did the guys a favor with the lynch mob mentality. A growth experience if you will.
Also consider the FBI’s own numbers suggest that 40% of rape accusations are, on their face, false. And at the end of the day only 6-8% of these cases result in convictions, and if the Innocence project is to be taken seriously, we have to assume half of those are also incorrect decisions.
Statistically, that means >95% of all allegations of rape, are false, a matter of hearsay or outright vindictive behaviour of women. For example, the greatest indicator of future rape allegations is past rape allegations. Even Andrea Dworkin (who was farther right than most conservatives on the issue of sex) twice in her life accused men of rape, but was unable to present any evidence of those rapes. Some feminists have decided from their own research that between 25-40% of women will be ‘raped’ in their lifetime, but outside of feminist circles (which are substantial btw)
That is not to say forcible rape doesn’t happen. It is a terrible crime, but in an environment where the vast majority of rape allegations turn out to be simply false, how do we work on the problem? Well the science seems to indicate that rape is much more a woman’s problem than it is a man’s problem.
That goes far beyond the conservative or liberal labels.
#10,
You mean after spending 18 years in prison the guy comes out unstable and twisted?
Racist people are the most idiotic SOBs in the world. Just like people who judge others on the way they dress or speak.
People might dress in a Versace suit and be criminals, like a man in rags could be the best samaritan ever.
I wish the world could understand that…
How the RNC stole the 2004 Ohio Election
http://politics.slashdot.org/politics/07/04/24/1735213.shtml
#14 – That’s a queer reply in this thread, Mr. Gay.
#15 James Hill
James are you twelve?
If so you should stop posting on a blog and go to school otherwise you will remain stupid your whole life.
Show this story to the Duke lacrosse team.
@11
wow, now that’s some fuzzy math.
First of all you don’t actually cite any data, which makes every percent you give pretty questionable. But
Lets walk through your math.
1)FBI says 40% or rape accusations are false.
2)6%-8% result in convictions.
3)half of those are false.
you then take the above three points and come up with
4)>95% of all allegations of rape, are false
I’m assuming you are coming to that 95% figure by taking the 6%-8% conviction rate, dividing by two and then rounding up to 5%
However that’s horrible logic.
Half the conviction rate being 3%-4% tells you nothing about the actual amount of rapes. There are far more reasons a rape could result in no conviction besides false reporting. Lack of evidence, bad prosecuting, plea-bargains, etc. So you can’t really take that 3%-4% of rapes result in valid convictions and say that only 3%-4% of reported rapes are true.
The FBI figure doesn’t need expanding. If it is indeed accurate, then 40% would be the amount of falsly reported rapes.
Your 95% figure actually represents how many reported rapes don’t result in conviction, not how many reported rapes are false.
Finally, I would take a look at your stance on the issue and attempt to apply your reasoning to any other crime and see if you don’t realize how ridiculous it sounds.
you may find that you have some sexism creeping into your system. Because to really believe that 95% of rape accusations are false is patently ridiculous.
There are a lot more people who aren’t in jail that should be than there are people who are in jail that shouldn’t be,
Given the assumed composition of the readership of this blog, you might presume that virtually all would celebrate a triumph of justice over incompetence – with the aid of science, no less.
I guess fear and prejudice still trump reason.
@19
yes but in my opinion an innocent man in jail is far more troubling than a guilty man walking free.
I’m pretty sure the founders felt that way too.
#16 – Are you 10? You clearly can’t detect a pun when one is written.
Owned your ass for a fourth time today. DU looks upon you with shame.
The Death Penalty Information Center has admitted to that methodology. Their count of more than 100 ‘innocent’ people released from death row includes anyone who walks on technicalities. For example, Jay Smith was released because the prosecution held back 2 grains of sand that might have helped the defense win.
Does MikeN ever say anything that is not inane?
Exoneration by DNA analysis definitely does mean that the cleared person’s DNA was not present at the crime scene. The criminal justice system is grounded in maintaining convictions lest it admit that it can be wrong. Even after prisoners are exonerated, many prosecutors will be do their damndest to avoid freeing them.
Then we have GregA making the utterly unbelievable claim that most of reported rapes (a minority of those that occur) are fictitious. Makes me wonder if his motivation is being a rapist himself.
Some people.
#4, #23 MikeN how quickly we forget the Duke Lacrosse case.
May 13, 2006 — The second round of DNA test results in the Duke University rape investigation show “no conclusive match” to any lacrosse players. I guess you believe this is just a technicality?
DNA showed they had not raped the girl, but; the DA thinking LIKE YOU insisted on continuing to prosecute.
Get a freaking life, let the innocent go free.
There !! There !!! What about THAT !!! Mr. Fung !! ?
#22 James Hill
I can detect a pun just fine. It doesn’t change the fact that it was the kind of pun that a 12 year old would make.
“Owned your ass for a fourth time today.”
James do you have a crush on me? You like to talk about my ass allot. Just so you know I am not gay and I don’t mean to offended you but I am not interested in having sex with you. Besides if I were into selling my ass….. I don’t think you could afford to even rent it so owning it would be out of the question. Perhaps a better education would have put you in position to afford such things.
” DU looks upon you with shame. ”
LOL Maybe. But I would love to here what they think of you.
IN ALL SERIOUSNESS
James I think maybe you should seek some professional help. You are responding like repressed abused child. Perhaps talking to a professional would help you overcome your inability to think and function in a civilized intelligent manner
Mr Hill I enjoy your comments. I do not often agree, but you usually have a good point. Keep up the good fight. J when you repond to james you are taking troll bait. Look it up.
There were two Midwestern studies that showed that 50% and 60% of the women who yelled rape later admitted their rape charges were bogus. There is no doubt that rape is a horrible ordeal but no one has talked until recently about the horrors men have endured when falsely charged with rape. Feminists have inflated the numbers for political purposes counting rape victims when the women themselves have denied being raped. If a woman has a glass of wine and then has consensual sex, feminists count that woman as having been raped because her consent was impaired.
It amazes me that time and again a woman lies to police and is let off the hook. If rape is so serious, aren’t women who are lying about being raped contributing to the problem?
But to me, the real problem with both the rape and murder issues is a lack of accountability with regards to prosecutors. District attorneys and the districts they serve have immunity to legal action. I recently read the wrongly jailed typically receive not one cent in compensation when freed. And far from being ashamed of locking up innocent people, most accounts show prosecutors have no regret in having done so. They, like one of our posters here, think the wrongly jailed probably did something else wrong.
The Duke case was the extreme example where a D.A. actually may get in trouble. But the player’s families have rung up $3 million in legal fees, and the district and Nifong aren’t on the hook for one cent of that money. That is complete bullshit.
I detest lawsuits with regards to pain and suffering, but I think the wrongly accused and jailed should have the right to sue for compensation with regards to lost wages and legal costs.
Various #s
Warning: try not to step in the piles of Hill scattered around.