I fear that even with this gross miscarriage of justice over decades, people may not be granted a retrial. It's the entire reason the Innocence Project exists.
I've never understood how the possibility of new evidence doesn't immediately reopen a case (in general). I thought we wanted real, actual, blind justice based only on facts and absolutely nothing else. It turns out it is rarely that simple.
All people have an agenda. Their agenda generally favors themselves in some way or another.
We, as the potential victims of injustice want a real, actual, scientific, blind justice system that presumes innocence and requires proof beyond a reasonable doubt, checked by a jury that can nullify laws, and the like.
Politicians want to be "tough on crime" so they appoint judges and prosecutors who get convictions.
Judges want to be re-elected because they are "tough on crime" (in places where judges are elected)
Prosecutors want to have a successful career so they will do anything they can get away with to get a conviction.
The police want to have the case be off their hands and to be "closed" so that their stats look good because it's good for their career because the Mayor wants to be "tough on crime" and so the police find the first plausible suspect and try to build a case.
All these organizations are in cahoots, literally, and so no prosecutor is going to indict a judge or cop unless they absolutely have to.
So long as the public can be lead to believe they live in a society with the "rule of law" not the "rule of man" then nothing more needs to be done. And the public is very gullible! (Especially when you control the schools and you raise them to be gullible.)
IT's not that these people are evil. ITs that they are self interested.
The founding fathers attempted to put in checks and balances and they did a damn good job.
But over the past 200 years, they have been systematically eroded.
But there are far more potential victims of injustice than politicians, judges etc. Since we're talking about a democracy here, it should be possible for this majority to create an environment where the selfish interests of politicians and judges align with the need to protect innocents. Yet this same democracy creates an environment where protecting innocents puts officials at a disadvantage.
Conviction rates matter. Also the justice system "congestion" that judges and prosecutors are always pointing to as an excuse for their failure to uphold real justice.
http://www.innocenceproject.org/free-innocent/improve-the-la...
I've never understood how the possibility of new evidence doesn't immediately reopen a case (in general). I thought we wanted real, actual, blind justice based only on facts and absolutely nothing else. It turns out it is rarely that simple.