Calif. agents use award ruse to reel in fugitives

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An actually guilty person being found innocent is less of an issue than an actually innocent person being found guilty and punished for something they didn't do. Beyond the moral and ethical issues, a system that regularly convicts and incarcerates demonstrably innocent people will rapidly lose credibility with, and the support of, the public. It may even get to the point where the system can no longer function as it starts to be seen as the enemy.



There's a major issue here that make this sort of standard undesirable. Proving your own innocence in front of a court is a daunting task. It is quite possible to be completely innocent but unable to provide solid evidence of this fact, and the state's evidence can be relatively weak (read: would not prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt) and still secure a 'conviction.' The result would be a large number of innocent people win up in jail (see above for why this is a problem). It also leaves the door open for some serious abuse, where the state concocts an alleged crime as a pretense for arresting someone who holds views that are deemed wrong by the state. It would be a simple matter to put together a story that leaves the defendant with little means of defending themselves (the 'crime' took place when the defendant was in the area and when they have nobody to confirm their alibi). Without the 'innocent until proven guilty' standard, the state is not forced to 'show it's work' as it were, so ferreting out the frame-up job is much harder.

One thing to keep in mind when coming up with new laws or legal procedures is that these also apply to you. If you stack the deck against defendants, you may find yourself facing that stacked deck one day (after all, innocent people do find themselves at the business end of the justice system). If you make a law that runs roughshod through a suspect's life (not even a defendant yet), you may find that law running roughshod through your life. While we may not like watching someone walk away from a crime because we disagree with a not guilty verdict, or frustration as due process and procedures slow a criminal investigation, I can guarantee we'd feel worse, if, through no fault of our own, our lives are turned upside-down by a system stacked against anyone who falls under its suspicion.

That was so wrong. This was fraud committed by the state, and for what? To spend money they don't have imprisoning people? There's a court order for them to release a large percentage of the prison population by the way, why aren't they obeying that court order?