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To: J. C. Dithers who wrote (3543)	3/19/2002 7:51:17 PM
From: Solon	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 21057

"...my impression of the Canadian justice system is that it is excellent and trustworthy, so I would be very skeptical of such claims. I would rather suspect that what has happened in the U.S.A. has happened in Canada -- that death penalty opponents play fast and loose with the facts in asserting that it is a proven fact that innocent people have been put to death." Given your respect for the Canadian justice system, you will be gratified to know that death penalty opponents are not playing "loose and fast" with the facts. The Government of Canada does not like to admit error. It is embarrassing and costly. These are the amounts paid out in compensation by the Government for wrongful conviction of murder: Morin received about $1.25 million for four years. Milgaard received ten million for 23 years. Benoit Prolux received $1.6 million Thomas Sophonow was awarded (I think) 1.5 million. That was recent, and the amount is not immediately showing up on my web search... Marshall received 1.5 million for 4 years. I actually have a list of 22 wrongfully convicted for murder. I am only speaking of a few of those. Studies estimate that up to 1% of convictions for various crimes are wrongful. Indeed, very few death row appeals are based upon a claim of innocence. The great majority of such appeals are based upon legal issues arising from the conviction -- what we usually call "technicalities." That may be true; but it is irrelevant to what I was presenting. Canada does not have the death penalty (except in military or police murders, I believe). None of the people I put forth as accepted examples of wrongful conviction had their conviction overturned because of technicalities. Rather, it was (eventually) accepted (Sophonow's took 15 years, for instance) by both the prosecution and the defense, that they were examples of the miscarriage of justice. That innocent people get convicted every day for crimes committed by others is a fact--not an hypothesis. Whether or not one finds that fact important is another matter. How have you been?