The week of injustice....

Today, America seemed transfixed as they sat waiting with bated breath to hear the verdict in the Casey Anthony murder trial. When the jury found her not guilty, many feigned shock and outrage at such an injustice. Much like the OJ Simpson case, the prosecution built a case on forensics and circumstantial evidence and when the defense brought that evidence into doubt, the case falls apart. That does not mean that she didn't commit the crime, but that the prosecution failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt Casey Anthony's guilt to a jury.

While all of this went on, the Supreme Court committed a real injustice in the case of Connick v. Thompson. In this case the Orleans Parish District Attorney's office headed by Harry Connick Sr. tried John Thompson for murder. A jury found Thompson guilty and sentenced him to death. He spent the next 18 years in prison, including 4 on death row. Shortly before his 1999 execution case, a private investigator uncovered evidence that the DA's office withheld which would have proved Thompson's innocence. He was freed, then sued the DA's office for wrongful imprisonment. A jury found the DA's office liable in that action and awarded him $14 million in damages. Based upon precedent in a 1963 case, Brady v. Maryland, where the Supreme Court ruled that prosecutors had the duty to hand over all evidence, including evidence that might prove the defendant's innocence during discovery as part of fulfilling the constitutional requirement of due process. This Supreme Court thought differently.

Our favorite Justice, Clarence Thomas, authored the majority opinion where, in a surprise vote of 5-4, the Court held that the DA's office could not be held liable for the actions of a lone prosecutor. In defense of decency, Justice Ginsburg authored a scathing dissent and opted to read it aloud in open session. She clearly pointed to numerous cases over period of many years where the DA's office under Connick routinely suppressed exculpatory evidence, particularly in capital cases.

When you look at these two cases, while Casey Anthony's case can be labeled tragic, it is the Thompson case which seriously undermines our sense of justice, which is the bedrock our nation and its freedom is built upon.