Texas Man Released From Death Row After 17 Years

[AndJusticeForAll]

HUNTSVILLE, Texas -- Seventeen years after arriving on death row, Ernest Willis walked out of prison a free man Wednesday, a day after charges against him were dismissed for a crime that may never have occurred.

Willis, 59, bounded down the front steps of the Huntsville Unit of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice and into the arms of his wife, Verilyn, on their fourth wedding anniversary. Because death row inmates are isolated and not allowed contact visits, it was the first time they touched.

Willis was convicted of setting a 1986 fire that killed two sleeping women in Iraan, about 230 miles west of San Antonio.

Ori White, district attorney in Pecos County since 1997, said Tuesday that he didn't believe Willis was involved, even if a crime was committed. There was no motive for arson, and Willis' cousin barely escaped the burning home.

In July, a federal judge in San Antonio threw out Willis' conviction, saying authorities concealed evidence and needlessly drugged him during his trial. The judge's order that Willis be tried again or freed overruled a Texas Court of Criminal Appeals decision that kept Willis on death row.

Willis' appeals attorneys had discovered jailers treated him for back pain with large doses of anti-psychotic drugs that left him too dazed to meaningfully confer with his trial lawyers. They also learned prosecutors failed to disclose a psychologist's report that Willis was not dangerous -- a key factor in any death penalty case.

"This has been a long and difficult road," said James Blank, one of Willis' lawyers. "We are delighted for Ernest and his wife, and cannot begin to imagine what this new-found freedom must feel like."

Now the debate question I pose is this: Does this prove that the criminal justice system works because he was finally freed or does it show that the criminal justice system doesn't work because an innocent man was on death row for 17 years and could well have been put to death?

[AT3Weins]

Well, the system both works, and doesn't work.

It doesn't work because lawyers, law enforcement, judges, juries all can be bribed, bias, or corrupted. Evidence can be corrupted or lost. Therefore condemming innocent people to jail or death.

It works because eventually, the truth is found and if someone was wronged, they are set free. New technology and techniques have vastly reduced the amount of innocent people sent to jail nowadays. It's also been instrumental in the release of those that were wrongfully imprisoned.

I bet that this type of situation will always occur. People can be bribed and all that other stuff I mentioned earlier.

[AndJusticeForAll]

Originally Posted by AT3Weins

Well, the system both works, and doesn't work.

It works because eventually, the truth is found and if someone was wronged, they are set free.

I agree that the easy answer is to say that it both works and doesn't work but what about the person who is executed before the truth is found? I think a case like this demonstrates that at the very least, the posibility of this exists.

What is more horifying than the thought of an innocent man (or woman) being legally exected by the state?

[JohnRN]

Originally Posted by AndJusticeForAll

What is more horifying than the thought of an innocent man (or woman) being legally exected by the state?

The thought that a 100 murderers are set free because of 'good behaviour' ?

I don't think innocent people get executed on a regular basis. Far more people die from "Errors" that occur elsewhere, even by physicians and nurses and people die because of that too. The death penalty just makes for a more "volatile" case.

In closing, I still maintain that I'd rather have the death penalty than not have it. The thought of my tax dollars supporting pedophiles and convicted serial rapists et al makes me sick.

But it was still a good question though

[AT3Weins]

Originally Posted by AndJusticeForAll

I agree that the easy answer is to say that it both works and doesn't work but what about the person who is executed before the truth is found? I think a case like this demonstrates that at the very least, the posibility of this exists.

What is more horifying than the thought of an innocent man (or woman) being legally exected by the state?

I don't have the #'s or a decent reference since I'm going off memory here.

As of 2000 or 2001 a study was released that indicated a drastic drop in the execution of an innocent person. The study also mentioned that when it did happen, it was quite rare.

With the new technology and techniques, the chances are further diminished. Just look at how far technology and techniques have come in the last 17 years.

Is it a shame that sometimes an innocent person was put to death? Of course it is. But it doesn't happen very often. I can't recall the last time someone that was executed was later determined to be innocent. Granted, once a person is executed, there's no point in further investigation.

[JohnRN]

For anyone who has time, is inclined or whatever, here's a nice debate I had with someone from England about the death penalty. It's at a teen site that I MOD at.

It started out as a debate as to 'which country was the most free on earth' and soon descended into the death penalty (the person from England said "How can you claim the US. They still have the death penalty". So here's that thread:

The Death Penalty

So here's the thread. It was a pretty fun thread and it's still kinda ongoing.

Pssst : I post by the same name there too.... I don't think it will be hard to find out....