While driving today, I heard a radio ad calling for a moratorium on the death penalty. The ad said that of all the people on death row, 1 is found innocent for every 4 that are executed. That is a misleading statement. Since everyone on death row is sentenced to be executed, the statement should say for all the people on death row, X number have been proven innocent.
This ratio will be much. much smaller so it would not support the call for a moratorium, therefore the false ratios is used. Because of numerous appeals, it is over ten years before a death row inmate is executed. During that lengthy process, the truly innocent are freed and others get new trials. Contrary to what to the misleading ad says, there is no proof of an innocent person having been executed.
Also, being granted a new trial and the trial not being held due to a lack of current evidence or witnesses, or the trial being held and the person being found not guilty, does not mean the person is innocent. Innocent means the person was proven not to be the person who committed the crime, while not guilty means the state could not prove to a jury that the person committed the crime.
The ad also said that the innocent people on death row means that the actual killers are going free. If there was no death penalty and those innocent people were given a life sentience instead, the actual killers would also be going free.
Listen to what you are hearing. People mislead, people lie.
