Death Penalty DNA test on the way

Beerina

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Beerina
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[URL="http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/article.php?did=1656&scid=64]An executed man suspected of being innocent is getting a modern DNA review.[/URL]


Virginia Governor Mark Warner has ordered DNA evidence retested to determine whether Roger Keith Coleman, who was executed in 1992, was actually innocent. Warner said he ordered the tests because of technological advances that could prove a level of certainty that was not available at the time of Coleman's execution.
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Only a couple of days left. Place your bets...
 
I wanted to post the link again, it didn't come through from the prior post:

http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/article.php?did=1656&scid=64

This is a pretty interesting case and I think its great that Warner is allowing this to happen. However, I'm not holding my breath on the results. Even if he is innocent, I doubt that would change most people's opinions on the death penalty, much less cause any legislation to ban the DP.

I'm sure most people who are for the death penalty realize that its possible for an innocent party to be executed by the death penalty. If anything, I would think it would just invalidate the argument that no innocents have been killed as a result of the Death Penalty. But, hopefully this will at least bring the argument back to the forefront and convince some people sitting on the fence.
 
Well, there are a lot of fence-sitters out there, and I think this would certainly affect them.

As far as legislation to ban the DP--not going to happen with the Republicans controlling most states and all three branches of federal government. Not unless Jesus came back and explicitely told them to--and even then, I'd say it was even money.
 
http://www.vuac.org/capital/rogercoleman.pdf

She told how Coleman had entered her home at gunpoint April 7, 1977, forced her to bind her 6-year-old daughter to a chair, marched her to an upstairs bedroom and ripped at her clothing.
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"I begged him, and I pleaded with him," she said. "He kept saying, `Don't make me mad,' . . . and my daughter downstairs, 6 years old, listening to everything."
Ratliff said she broke from the room when she realized the intruder had put
down his gun. She called for her daughter to run, forgetting momentarily that she was bound.
"And she said, `I can't, Mommy. I can't move.' You think of your child not being able to move and run when there's a man with a gun after you."
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Horrible as the thought is, since he is dead anyway, I hope for "innocent".
 
Cleon said:
Well, there are a lot of fence-sitters out there, and I think this would certainly affect them.

As far as legislation to ban the DP--not going to happen with the Republicans controlling most states and all three branches of federal government. Not unless Jesus came back and explicitely told them to--and even then, I'd say it was even money.
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In Dostoevsky's "The Grand Inquisitor," Jesus comes back and is immediately arrested by the Church who tell him that they were doing just fine without him, and that He is too willing to grant people their freedom.

Hmmmm...
 
Two hairs recovered from the victim's body were said to be "unlikely" to have come from anyone but Mr. Coleman.

· Semen samples recovered from the victim's body were of same blood type as Mr. Coleman. Blood on Mr. Coleman's pants was of same type as victim.

· Blood and semen samples were not subjected to all available tests.

· Subsequent DNA analysis of samples supported original match-ups; dispute continues over further testing of remaining samples with newly improved DNA analysis, with state opposing further tests.
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Linky.
 
Cleon said:
Well, there are a lot of fence-sitters out there, and I think this would certainly affect them.

As far as legislation to ban the DP--not going to happen with the Republicans controlling most states and all three branches of federal government. Not unless Jesus came back and explicitely told them to--and even then, I'd say it was even money.
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Well, most likely, they would out Jesus's father as an undercover CIA agent and claim that Jesus won a medal for killing an unarmed Vietkong in Danang. Either that or they would jail him for contempt when he refused to name his source after telling Congress that the DP is a sin.
 
Thanks for the link fix. I am unable to edit my original post for some reason even though I am logged in.

Yeah, this guy is a real POS regardless of the result. That's part of the problem in a case like this -- he's obviously willing and capable of committing the crime in question, so that makes him stand out like a sore thumb in a short list of possible perps.*






* Perps = perpetrators, for those lay people out there who don't watch crime shows on TV.
 
I remember following this case near the execution, and looking into it a couple of years later. Based on what I read at the time, I thought "innocent", so I'll vote that.

Opposite of Ed, I hope for "guilty". I would like to think that execution of innocent people is so incredibly uncommon that you could never prove it, but I remember thinking that in this case, the evidence against the State looked too strong. I can't remember the details, but I thought for sure he was innocent.
 
Luke T's Link said:
Two hairs recovered from the victim's body were said to be "unlikely" to have come from anyone but Mr. Coleman.

· Semen samples recovered from the victim's body were of same blood type as Mr. Coleman. Blood on Mr. Coleman's pants was of same type as victim.

· Blood and semen samples were not subjected to all available tests.

· Subsequent DNA analysis of samples supported original match-ups; dispute continues over further testing of remaining samples with newly improved DNA analysis, with state opposing further tests.
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So does anybody know which DNA they're testing? That might affect my prediction.
 
One of the things that I liked was that one of the prosecutors welcomed the re-test. Too many times police and prosecutors try to prevent new DNA. Sometime they even go to the extent of destroying evidence to prevent testing.

CBL
 
Luke T. said:
Two dollars on "Guilty" to win.
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I think it will be a photo finish.

agarose.jpg


edited: dammit, a joke is funnier when you don't have to edit it to correct the incorrect use of a tag.
 
CBL4 said:
One of the things that I liked was that one of the prosecutors welcomed the re-test. Too many times police and prosecutors try to prevent new DNA. Sometime they even go to the extent of destroying evidence to prevent testing.

CBL
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On the flip side, though, people thought when DNA testing became available, there'd be a flood of people on death row who'd get sprung. Shockingly, almost no one applied for the testing. Any guesses why?
 
A DNA test performed in November 1990 showed Coleman was among the two per cent of the population who could have killed McCoy.

However, Lockyer and those who believe Coleman was innocent say the results were misinterpreted.
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Linkage.
 
Mark said:
In Dostoevsky's "The Grand Inquisitor," Jesus comes back and is immediately arrested by the Church who tell him that they were doing just fine without him, and that He is too willing to grant people their freedom.

Hmmmm...
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:) There is a dearth of Dostoevsky references in PC&ES. Good job.
 
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