Witness recants, but court refused to believe

[forestal]

Amazing, she recants her lie and this guy is still in jail. Something to think about for you death penalty propopents who trust the court system to do things right.

http://www.wtopnews.com/index.php?nid=25&sid=1076926#

Recanted Testimony Fails to Free Va. Inmate


By LARRY O'DELL
Associated Press Writer


<!-- the str_replaces are for WC3 validation --> RICHMOND, Va. - She was only 9 when it happened: Her mother's boyfriend had repeatedly touched her private parts and asked her to touch his, the girl told the Roanoke County jury.

She acknowledged she disliked Aleck J. Carpitcher and resented his relationship with her mom. But that didn't make the abuse any less believable in the jury's eyes.




<!-- the str_replaces are for WC3 validation --> So after a 35-minute trial in which the girl was the only witness, Carpitcher was convicted of aggravated sexual battery, taking indecent liberties with a minor and three counts of animate object sexual penetration. His punishment: 38 years in prison.




<!-- the str_replaces are for WC3 validation --> That was in August 1999. Less than a year later, the girl told her mother and a therapist that she made it all up. Carpitcher had never touched her. She just wanted him to go away.




<!-- the str_replaces are for WC3 validation --> The penitentiary, however, was not what she had in mind.




<!-- the str_replaces are for WC3 validation --> "I did not know that he would get in so much trouble or that he would have to spend the rest of his life in prison," the girl said in an affidavit filed in Roanoke County Circuit Court in 2002. "I felt like everything backfired, and now I am trying to make things right."




<!-- the str_replaces are for WC3 validation --> But the circuit court, the Virginia Court of Appeals and now the Virginia Supreme Court have refused to free Carpitcher, saying the girl _ now a teenager _ is not a credible witness because it's impossible to know which of her conflicting stories to believe.




<!-- the str_replaces are for WC3 validation -->

 

[hvp05]

Amazing, she recants her lie...

So all the people that are actually involved with this case can not overwhelmingly determine one way or another if she lied... but you, after reading this article, are able to reveal the truth. Well you should just travel down there right now and get this guy out of prison! You have the proof!

Something to think about for you death penalty propopents who trust the court system to do things right.

Not really... considering Carpitcher did not receive the DP, and the DP sentence is on another level above other cases, like this one.

Did you read past the first few paragraphs?

The court said recantation evidence generally is "viewed by courts with suspicion because of the obvious opportunities and temptations for fraud," and noted that in this case the circuit court had found the victim might have been coerced to change her story.

Not everyone is as convinced by everything they read as you are. The point of whether or not Carpitcher should still be incarcerated is debatable. But I am glad the DP is still out there, and under the control of fairly intelligent people; I don't even want to imagine the shambles our justice system would be if left in the hands of daft, spineless ideologues like yourself, forestal.

 

[aps45819]

Amazing, she recants her lie and this guy is still in jail. Something to think about for you death penalty propopents who trust the court system to do things right.

what does this have to do with the death penalty?

 

[hvp05]

what does this have to do with the death penalty?

I know this is scary, but you have to think like forestal for a few moments.

The flaws in this one case prove that the entire system is flawed.

Just as if... you see someone become ill from food poisoning. Obviously, we should stop eating.

 

[aps45819]

I know this is scary, but you have to think like forestal for a few moments.
.

That's a dark and scary place, don't make me go there

 

[FromTexas]

That's a dark and scary place, don't make me go there

Theres lots of clowns here, and they want me to try their candy.

 

[AndyMarquisLIVE]

That's a dark and scary place, don't make me go there

:

 

[AndyMarquisLIVE]

I know this is scary, but you have to think like forestal for a few moments.

The flaws in this one case prove that the entire system is flawed.

Just as if... you see someone become ill from food poisoning. Obviously, we should stop eating.

Even I support the death penalty. Hell, I support the express lane.

 

[RadioPatrol]

Rotflmao .................

Even I support the death penalty. Hell, I support the express lane.

Drive Thru ....

Would you Like some Fries With that Lethal Injection

 

[forestal]

WTF? She admitted to lying. What more proof do you need?

If her testimony is in doubt, and the state has admitted it cannot determine if what she said is true, at the very least this guys presumption of innocence takes priority again.

So all the people that are actually involved with this case can not overwhelmingly determine one way or another if she lied... but you, after reading this article, are able to reveal the truth. Well you should just travel down there right now and get this guy out of prison! You have the proof!

Not really... considering Carpitcher did not receive the DP, and the DP sentence is on another level above other cases, like this one.

Did you read past the first few paragraphs?
Not everyone is as convinced by everything they read as you are. The point of whether or not Carpitcher should still be incarcerated is debatable. But I am glad the DP is still out there, and under the control of fairly intelligent people; I don't even want to imagine the shambles our justice system would be if left in the hands of daft, spineless ideologues like yourself, forestal.

 

[forestal]

Oh, sorry, I forgot to connect the dots for you.....

VA court system keeps innocent man in prison, despite his accuser admitting that she lied -> VA court system cannot be trusted to determine innocence-> VA court system could execute an innocent -> as long as we have a death penalty innocents can be executed.

Now maybe you think that executing a few innocents now and then is just the cost of doing business when you have a death penalty, but I'm not willing to accept those costs. We can safely incarcerate people for life that would have gotten the death penalty. That would hopefully give time enough for justice to catch up with those poor souls who get treated unfairly by the government.

what does this have to do with the death penalty?

 

[hvp05]

She admitted to lying. What more proof do you need?

I do not need anymore proof to reinforce my statement that I am glad you have no power in the real world.

If her testimony is in doubt, and the state has admitted it cannot determine if what she said is true, at the very least this guys presumption of innocence takes priority again.

Why don't you read an entire article before you begin trumpeting it?

"Recantation cannot be used to overturn a conviction unless the recantation is found to be true," he said. "The courts found that Carpitcher failed to show it was true."

Also, are you still touting this case as a reason to banish the death penalty?

 

[forestal]

WTF? It's my stipulation that the laws in VA are so f*kked up that they allow the state to keep an innocent man in prison despite the fact that the witness admitted she was lying.....

Are you having comprehsensive problems here?

I do not need anymore proof to reinforce my statement that I am glad you have no power in the real world.

Why don't you read an entire article before you begin trumpeting it?



Also, are you still touting this case as a reason to banish the death penalty?

 

[AndyMarquisLIVE]

WTF? It's my stipulation that the laws in VA are so f*kked up that they allow the state to keep an innocent man in prison despite the fact that the witness admitted she was lying.....

Are you having comprehsensive problems here?

Apparently you do so here it goes...

Witness recanted but could not prove her point. VA law, written before you were born, states prisoner be kept in prison.

Do you understand it now?

 

[AndyMarquisLIVE]

OK someone was found guilty for something. I was a witness that testified against him. They sentence person to 50+ years, but I don't think he should've been in prison that long, so I say I lied then after the person has served enough time for my liking.

You see how it goes yet?

 

[hvp05]

Are you having comprehsensive problems here?

The only "comprehensive problem" I have is conceiving how it is possible for someone to be as daft as you.

You are clearly not paying attention to the entire article - just what suits your "argument".

I guess I should, in a way, be glad that you have responded at all; typically, you run away after being beaten.