(September 21, 2015 at 2:37 pm)rexbeccarox Wrote: It's good to have you here, Rocket. I hope, when your attorney clears you, you'll share how compensation works out for you. I totally understand if you don't want to do that, but it would be very interesting.
I can't imagine what effect being wrongfully accused and imprisoned had, but I'm SO impressed with your good attitude. I can't believe they could put someone like you in solitary for three years with any kind of good intentions. It reminds me how horrible humans can be.
The odds of getting compensation aren't even 50/50. You have to demonstrate to a civil jury, who comes in there believing in the essential fairness of the system, that not only were you wrongfully incarcerated, but that the prosecutors knew or should have known (that's the exact wording of the statute) that you were in fact innocent. "Oops" is quite literally a defense for the state.
My lawyer says we have a good case, but it's far from a sure thing.
As far as the solitary goes, it's actually close to the standard method of breaking guys who want to insist on a trial. The other is "upping the ante" (which they also did to me), by stacking on more and more charges so you'll plead down to the original charge rather than getting 30 years if you lose at trial, as I did. Calculations of how many are innocent in prison (depending on the groups doing the estimates, it's between 2% and 10%) never take into account the people who pled Guilty, because they are presumed to be guilty, but a Guilty Plea doesn't mean actual guilt-- it means the person has no faith in the system to fairly try them, and the see going to prison (which is far less cruel than jails are) as a relief, after they have broken by the interminable wait for "speedy" trial. There are dozens of ways for the state to get around the Constitutional requirement for a speedy trial, and even in the best of circumstances, a "speedy" trial is 6-8 months.
A Christian told me: if you were saved you cant lose your salvation. you're sealed with the Holy Ghost
I replied: Can I refuse? Because I find the entire concept of vicarious blood sacrifice atonement to be morally abhorrent, the concept of holding flawed creatures permanently accountable for social misbehaviors and thought crimes to be morally abhorrent, and the concept of calling something "free" when it comes with the strings of subjugation and obedience perhaps the most morally abhorrent of all... and that's without even going into the history of justifying genocide, slavery, rape, misogyny, religious intolerance, and suppression of free speech which has been attributed by your own scriptures to your deity. I want a refund. I would burn happily rather than serve the monster you profess to love.
I replied: Can I refuse? Because I find the entire concept of vicarious blood sacrifice atonement to be morally abhorrent, the concept of holding flawed creatures permanently accountable for social misbehaviors and thought crimes to be morally abhorrent, and the concept of calling something "free" when it comes with the strings of subjugation and obedience perhaps the most morally abhorrent of all... and that's without even going into the history of justifying genocide, slavery, rape, misogyny, religious intolerance, and suppression of free speech which has been attributed by your own scriptures to your deity. I want a refund. I would burn happily rather than serve the monster you profess to love.
