Comments on: DNA Helps Free Inmate After 27 Years

60 Minutes: James Woodard Owes His Freedom To Project Started By Dallas County D.A.

[sean5002]

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JUST HORRIBLE! Imagine spending the MAJORITY of your natural life waking up everyday behind bars , hoping you survive and dont get killed. There isn''t any type of apologies or money that can bring back your SANITY and freedom .

But the state needs to pay.. and i hope he gets anywhere from 3 to 5 mil at least, And you hope the State would be mad enough to breath down on inept OR overzealous police and DA''s.

On the positive.. Science and technolgy have come a long way; And with this.. hopefully things like this in the future can be prevented, However access to money to get the BEST Lawyers is still your best bet.

Because ONES DNA can still be mess with.






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[cyberus-2009]

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And if a innocent person was executed, they should be prosecuted for murder.

Posted by pfd572
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You want the real scary part?

Once someone has been executed they throw it all out .. and the courts have refused to hear any evidence in any case after the execution has taken place, so there is almost ZERO chance of ever showing that someone was executed wrongly.

Why do you think they are so hot on getting the execution over with? Once its done they are home free!

[nonayabiness]

These people who are found to be innocent, should be given by all those who put them in prison, some sort of cash reimbursement for each day behind bars, and a fully furnished home, a vehicle,clothes,food, and a job, and some type of education paid for. The state of Texas should have to give them what might have been. I agree w/ the other person,...retirement should as well be given.


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Posted by jennifer_71 at 01:37 AM : May 05, 2008

-I agree completely.

[pfd572]

"You know, we were sitting with some of these men who''d been in prison for 20 years, been in prison longer than that and as I was sitting there, it occurred to me that if these guys sat in prison that long, it''s likely that somebody who didn''t commit the crime was executed. Do you fear that that''s the case?" Pelley asks.

"I fear that and that causes me to lose sleep every day," Watkins says.

This is what we should be losing sleep over, too. How scary is it that this country most likely has executed innocent people? Any DA and prosecutor that usurps the law should be subject to a legal penalty, including, but not limited to being disbarred and prosecuted. The fact that there is no penalty to breaking this basic of all rules of evidence is disgusting, plain and simple. And if a innocent person was executed, they should be prosecuted for murder.

[pfd572]

Good luck and God speed the cause of freeing innocent men and women from jails all over the country. Long live the Constitution, once we save it from the bush/cheney criminals and other conservatives.

[pfd572]

algoresarse: It was one of the most conservative county''s in America that is responsible for these miscarriages of justice. How does that translate to your comment about bleeding heart liberals. Are you insinuating that these innocent men should still be in jail or that the DA was justified? It is because of the liberals in society that these illegal and gross convictions are being overturned and innocent people being exonerated. Nothing is scarier than a close-minded, ''my rights, but not yours'', self-centered and sociopathic right-wing conservative.

[tmittelstaed]

Henry Wade died back in 2001, of Parkensons, he was 86 years old. He retired as DA back in 1987 and even then some questions were being raised about his convictions - Lenell Geter was imprisoned for 2 years and released for wrongful imprisonment back in ''84 there.
It is my understanding that there are, today, a number of buildings and such named after Henry Wade down there. It''s my hope that every building, street, school, or anything that bears Henry Wades name gets renamed. I think a fitting tribute would be to rename them for the innocent people Wade prosecuted. And the Dallas County courthouse itself should be renamed the James Woodward courthouse.

[ramos937]

DA Wade and his Assistant DA''s knew the law governing their work and failed to go by it thus they are in violation of the law. Wade is deceased but the a number of the AD''s are still around. These ADs should be sued by someone for violating the law. They are not above it. Their names should be published and they should be shunned by the legal profession.

[promethe-2009]

All it takes for evil creatures like Wade to thrive is for good men, if any, to do nothing.

[promethe-2009]

Think Dallas is bad? Philadelphia is much worse. The DAs have labored mightily to prevent DNA appeals and refused to release exonerated convicts. It is still standard procedure to use torture and dubious professional "jail house snitches" to obtain "confessions", as is suborning perjury. Just consider the shameful case of Lisa Lambert, found "actually innocent" by a federal judge, but likely to spend her life in prison for a crime she (alone) tried to
prevent. In PA judges are elected and need not complete high school, much less know any law at all.

Not only should all these people be released and compensated immediately. But the crooked judges and DAs should serve the complete sentences of their victims. Guatemala is no worse than this.

"Land of the free and Home of the Brave" Now where would that be? Certainly not here!

[algoresarse]

we are in the verge of discovering technologies that would make it easier for society to pin point the guilty...ALL WE NEED TO DO NOW IS DEAL WITH THE BLOOD SUCKING LAWYERS AND THOSE BLEEDING HEART LIBERALS

[jennifer_71]

These people who are found to be innocent, should be given by all those who put them in prison, some sort of cash reimbursement for each day behind bars, and a fully furnished home, a vehicle,clothes,food, and a job, and some type of education paid for. The state of Texas should have to give them what might have been. I agree w/ the other person,...retirement should as well be given.

[jennifer_71]

These people who are found to be innocent, should be given by all those who put them in prison, some sort of cash reimbursement for each day behind bars, and a fully furnished home, a vehicle,clothes,food, and a job, and some type of education paid for. The state of Texas should have to give them what might have been. I agree w/ the other person,...retirement should as well be given.

[jennifer_71]

These people who are found to be innocent, should be given by all those who put them in prison, some sort of cash reimbursement for each day behind bars, and a fully furnished home, a vehicle,clothes,food, and a job, and some type of education paid for. The state of Texas should have to give them what might have been.

[jennifer_71]

These people who are found to be innocent, should be given by all those who put them in prison, some sort of cash reimbursement for each day behind bars, and a fully furnished home, a vehicle,clothes,food, and a job, and some type of education paid for. The state of Texas should have to give them what might have been.

[milesbrown49]

Sad isn''t it that Wade lived and died as a great man when he was really a monster. Who else would steal lives for no real reason at all. Wade was a monster!!!

[innocencbuff]

Texas doesn''t have a corner on the market when it comes to bad DA''s and crooked law enforcement. Oklahoma has it''s fair share also. I hope to soon see a story like this on "60 Minutes" about my fiance who has been in prison for 20 years for two murders he didn''t commit, as well as a few others who are in the same position. There''s one on Oklahoma who has been in prison for 28 years for something he didn''t do, and has also been up before the parole board 12 times and always denied. Another case of bad police work, and bad DA''s only out to make a name for themselves, as well as governors who won''t parole anyone because they might parole someone who will repeat a crime. What about the ones who have died at the hands of the executioner who were innocent during your watch? Do you governors lose any sleep over those?

[innocencbuff]

The parole board owes Mr. Woodard a HUGE apology, as well as many other parole boards for not believing that there are innocent people incarcerated in every state in the union. They will not allow claims of innocence so people are punished DOUBLE for something they didn''t do. This is terribly wrong on their part.

[ja76214]

James Woodard and anyone else wrongfully convicted should never have to pay federal or state income tax ever and should also receive a monthly check from the government to pay for their retirement!! What they took from them is time which is the most important thing you have.

[daaxx]

I absolutely admire this man for maintaining his innocence throughout the injustice which was dealt him by a corrupt office of the D.A.

In this story, Mr Woodard is shown to have maintained his innocence, refusing claim his guilt thereby denying himself freedom is now a free man with all the world knowing of his innocence and integrity.

This story shows that a man is no better than his word. Mr. Woodard''s word was Innocence. And although Mr Wade''s word was guilt, it was not the truth. It was done to be built up among his peers. And now, to the detrement of his profession and leading to doubt among the public of anyone in his position, his abuse of his office in effort to build himself up with a reputation of "getting the guilty ones off the street" has only caused his office to be scrutinized and prossibly riduculed by the public.

I applaud the group who have helped this man be free and the many others they have and are helping.

Even if a person is imprisoned unjustly, a person can know, in his heart, that he is right and he has the truth. Truth will set you free. Regardeless of how man may treat you.