jimrandomh comments on Soulless morality - Less Wrong
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In Virginia, if you're convicted of murdering someone and sentenced to life in prison, and that person shows up alive and healthy more than 21 days after your conviction, that is not grounds for an appeal of your sentence. So there's little interest in releasing innocent people. In many states, you can be sentenced to life in prison if you are convected of any 3 felonies. So there just isn't this concern over prison sentences being too harsh, as long as they don't kill.
And you can't compensate someone for 15 years in prison.
You're not thinking any of these things through; but I'm not going to think them through for you here, because I would have to say things more socially unacceptable than I'm willing to say.
The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F-22_Raptor">F22 Raptor</a>.
In general, you are seizing on individual examples and using them as a justification to ignore my point.
I don't believe you. Or rather, I believe that you have been confused by legal terminology. If a lower court reviews new evidence and decides to reverse a conviction, then that is not an appeal, because appeals can only be granted by a higher court, but it leads to the person being released anyways. You have confused a statement about legal procedure for a statement about outcomes, leading you to an obviously absurd conclusion about the value of innocent peoples' freedom.
Phil is stuck in the 20th century. In 2001 "biological" evidence became admissible later. This is supposed to mean DNA, but might cover a living "victim." In 2004, more evidence became admissible. But those who plead guilty are stuck. http://truthinjustice.org/VAevidence.htm
In Virginia, until 2001, neither a lower court, nor any other court, could review new evidence after 21 days. In 2001, an exception was made for DNA evidence. In 2004, an exception was made for evidence that could not possibly have been discovered within 21 days, that would have led any "reasonable" person to a verdict of innocent, for people who pled innocent. See http://www.vadp.org/21day.htm, http://truthinjustice.org/VAevidence.htm .