Tuesday, March 20, 2007

do you approve of the georgia house giving $1.2 million of your money...

to a man wrongly imprisoned for 24 years who was cleared by dna evidence?

keep in mind that you fed, clothed and housed this person with your tax dollars for those 24 years as well.

29 comments:

Anonymous said...

No problem at all. This man was wrongly convicted and has had 24 years of his life taken from him.

Anonymous said...

why did they pick him up in the first place?i'll be willing to bet it was because he was just a poor black man walking around KMart trying to make ends meet,and the evil police just came by and grabed a totaly inocent man that had no criminal past

Anonymous said...

"keep in mind that you fed, clothed and housed this person with your tax dollars for those 24 years as well"

Are you serious? It's not this guys fault that he was wrongly imprisoned. If anyone is to blame here it is the girl that wrongly identified him as the rapist.

Anonymous said...

There isn't enough money in the world to replace 24 years of my life if I was innocent. It was a horrible tragic mistake that really can't be rectified. Maybe money will help, I doubt it.

Anonymous said...

i just wish i owned the liquor & lottery store nearest to his new home

Anonymous said...

Walter! How would you have liked to spend 24 years of your life wearing stripes, eating garbage and living in a tiny cell? There's no amount of money that can repay a person for all those years.

Unknown said...

$1.2 million is a pretty cheap for 24 years of false imprisonment, loss of civil rights, loss of earnings, loss of any meaningful life, etc.

If it were me, I'd be suing the state for a much larger sum than a paltry $1.2 million.

Anonymous said...

I once spent 4 hours in the drunk tank. It was probably the worst 4 hours of my life & I was guilty. I could not imagine spending 24 years in real prison as an innocent man. No amount of money would be enough to compensate for those lost years.

Anonymous said...

I think some of you missed the point of the question which seems to me to be whether or not we, as taxpayers, should be responsible for compensating this man.

Anonymous said...

No problem at all. "Our" judicial system found him guilty on something other than concrete evidence. Not only was he wrongly accused, tried and found guilty, he lost 24 years of his life, during which time he contracted Hepatits C. In addition to trying to resume his life, he now has to deal with a life threatening illness.

Anonymous said...

I can't believe you, dear Editor, would even think that the "services" offered by the state of GA's penal system constitute equitable compensation for giving up the ability to do and go and live as you live for 24 years. If it were you, you'd be screaming the loudest!!!

Anonymous said...

Since we, the taxpayers (or at least 12 of us) convicted unjustly convicted him, we have an obligation to provide him some compensation for unfairly taking his life from him for over 24 years, not to mention his health.

Anonymous said...

11:17A.M- We see you're not the brightest star in the sky to say something dumb like that! Maybe that's what you would do if you came across a lump sum of money sit around everyday drinking and playing the lottery,so lame!!!!
I agree with some of the rest of you, is 1.2 million enough? More than half of this man life is gone time that he can not get back so I say CONGRADULATIONS on your victory and hope you enjoy spending every dollar down to the last dime on things to make you happy!

Anonymous said...

I agree $1.2 million dollars is a paltry sum in comparison with 24 years of his life. I'm quite sure that this man would have definitely preferred freedom--the freedom to feed, house, and clothe himself over being incarcerated for 24 years. Yes I am perfectly fine with compensating him for his suffering. It is not his fault that he suffered because of the inept judicial system.

Anonymous said...

8:11 this guy will be broke and back ing jail within a year does rotney king come to mind 11:17 i'm with you but you forgot the smokes and malt liqour

Anonymous said...

Wow... racial profiling, go figure. Must be a part of that "Southern Heritage" and the "Southern welcome" we here so much about.

Anonymous said...

He was wronged and needs compensation. Think about this, in the past 24 years people sued for "coffee being too hot" " sugar in Twinkies" and one of my favorites "Smoking causing cancer"

Let's put this in prospective, 1.2 Million is a drop in the bucket. What if he was on put to death?

Anonymous said...

i'v got some "Southern Heritage" for ya why dont you quit being a damn yankee (the type that comes down here and stays) and be a good yankee (the kind that comes down here and marries somebody like this guy and then moves back home)
yall act like this guy was completely innocent,the cops went after him for some reason and it wasent only because the lady picked him out of a line up the guy was a criminal he just spent time for the other crimes he had commited WKAE UP--LIFE IS NOT FAIR quit watching that cow opra

Anonymous said...

Anon 12:28,
I am not a Yankee and never lived in the north. This man, who had no previous convictions, was treated bad. Since "Life is not fair", I'm sure you wouldn't mind being falsely imprisoned for 24 years.

Anonymous said...

he has no previous "felony convictions" have you checked his criminal history you might try that one and if you are not a yankee ya missed a damn good chance

Anonymous said...

I agree that he should be compensated for his lost time. But I do not feel that it is the taxpayers who should make it right. It should be the girl of person who wrongly accused him that should have to pay for him. I had nothing to do with his conviction and I should not have to pay for his time. If he is sick, ask yourself how he got hepetitis? I'm thinking it might be because of something or someone he had close contact with.

Anonymous said...

let the rainbow coalition take care of him or maybe the naacp since these are the ones who will be bitching about whatever he does or does no get.if this guy were white he would be given a job,little money,and paid no media attention.i do believe he deserves something just not from taxpayers pockets. do the old timing thing and make a charity for him,it's that easy.the blacks just want white people to pay for this mostly. the sad sad truth.

Anonymous said...

the "Right Reverend Jesse Jackson" was visiting in New Orleans last week and asked a local woman how they all were getting along since the hurricane destroyed all of their churches. she promptly replied " I don't know how everyone else is doin but we been gettin our chicken at Popeye's"

POWP

Anonymous said...

ya'll work hard today, we got 1.2 million to come up with in addition to the millions on welfare depending on us.

POWP

Anonymous said...

would you give up 24 years of your life for 1.2 million? that's what i thought. the money should come from the budget of the ones that screwed up. why punish the whole state because one person was looking for glory that many years ago.
also i think if i were the person, i would try and sue that DA for everything they have aquired over the last 24 years. seems fitting don't you think.

Anonymous said...

some of you anonymouss' are really stupid. if it were you i bet you would be singing a different tune.

how do you give someone there life back? it can't be done. not at any cost. and before some of you d.a.s start bitching - i'm white and never have been on welfare.

Anonymous said...

I think he should sue the woman that picked him out of a line-up. She took 24 years from him, not the tax payers of today. Let her compensate him. We have enough taxes taken out on us as it is.

Anonymous said...

you start sueing witnesses and you will never get a conviction because no one will ever pick anyone out of a line up again

Anonymous said...

Well then, you better be absolute in your indentification at the line-up.