Does Money Justify Wrongful Inprisonment?
If you had been locked up for years, convicted of a crime you didn't commit until DNA proved otherwise..what amount of money be good enough to make up for such a grave injustice? Or would you expect something else?
This is an excellent question. How do you quantify the value of someone's life over 30 years?! Just think of all the things you have accomplished in the last 5 years. Can you imagine that six fold? You can never fully compensate someone for the sacrifice, humiliation and reputational harm wrongful imprisonment wages on their life. Granted we will never know how successful or not someone would have been. But the justice system owes them something. To paint the ugly picture, he was likely locked up because he did not have access to adequate counsel (a.k.a money) and perhaps the wrong shade of right. So maybe money is a step in a better direction. I'm assuming they will wipe his record clean. But that won't change the fact that he will view the world differently and the world will always glance at him with disdain.
ReplyDelete@Nkoyo, what a well written statement. I totally agree with you. Its a shame that things like this happen. 30 year of your life taken away. Im 31, and the world has change alot since 1980. And you just never know how he could have changed the world for the better in the years he was locked up. Than again some people work dead end jobs for 20 years and they will never even make a million dollars. But I guess you cant put a price on freedom.
ReplyDeleteI know that the states and government half-step on compensation or recompense under these circumstances. They often try to rush a figure that sounds high and good but when you think about each agonizing second of incarceration, especially when innocent, there really is no price that could make up for all the pain, suffering, and loss! Especially when you serve 10, 20, and 30 plus years inside for a crime you didn't commit! There is physical stress and aging and abuse, mental and emotional anguish, social retardation and isolation, and the loss of wages, family life, family members, quality of life, opportunity, reputation.....EVERYTHING!
ReplyDeleteThey get paid a grip to house and herd you like cattle each fiscal year and according to the US Constitution, slavery is legal in jails and prisons, so they use you for slave labor and slave wages or no wages at all.
So for them to offer chump change after all they took from you and all that they profited from you, no less than $50,000 for every year you pulled seems reasonable. NO LESS!...And for real, I would push for more than that. If they can get tough on crime, there should be laws in place for repercussions of snap and faulty judgements and wrong convictions. I bet they won't be so damn quick to lock Brothers up for any and everything and for so many damn years!
And how can all these people get out and be so humble and forgiving, talking about, "I'm not bitter..."! ARE YOU SERIOUS!You would think I was running for some office the way I would campaign against the state and government!
FUCK YOU! PAY ME!
Look at the movie: "Wronged Man" based on true accounts and then look up Calvin Willis on YouTube and see what I am saying!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxNfZQYJm94