this post was submitted on 26 Jul 2024
350 points (99.7% liked)

News

23259 readers
4606 users here now

Welcome to the News community!

Rules:

1. Be civil

Attack the argument, not the person. No racism/sexism/bigotry. Good faith argumentation only. This includes accusing another user of being a bot or paid actor. Trolling is uncivil and is grounds for removal and/or a community ban. Do not respond to rule-breaking content; report it and move on.

2. All posts should contain a source (url) that is as reliable and unbiased as possible and must only contain one link.

Obvious right or left wing sources will be removed at the mods discretion. We have an actively updated blocklist, which you can see here: https://lemmy.world/post/2246130 if you feel like any website is missing, contact the mods. Supporting links can be added in comments or posted seperately but not to the post body.

3. No bots, spam or self-promotion.

Only approved bots, which follow the guidelines for bots set by the instance, are allowed.

4. Post titles should be the same as the article used as source.

Posts which titles don’t match the source won’t be removed, but the autoMod will notify you, and if your title misrepresents the original article, the post will be deleted. If the site changed their headline, the bot might still contact you, just ignore it, we won’t delete your post.

5. Only recent news is allowed.

Posts must be news from the most recent 30 days.

6. All posts must be news articles.

No opinion pieces, Listicles, editorials or celebrity gossip is allowed. All posts will be judged on a case-by-case basis.

7. No duplicate posts.

If a source you used was already posted by someone else, the autoMod will leave a message. Please remove your post if the autoMod is correct. If the post that matches your post is very old, we refer you to rule 5.

8. Misinformation is prohibited.

Misinformation / propaganda is strictly prohibited. Any comment or post containing or linking to misinformation will be removed. If you feel that your post has been removed in error, credible sources must be provided.

9. No link shorteners.

The auto mod will contact you if a link shortener is detected, please delete your post if they are right.

10. Don't copy entire article in your post body

For copyright reasons, you are not allowed to copy an entire article into your post body. This is an instance wide rule, that is strictly enforced in this community.

founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
rjc@lemmy.world
Thekingoflorda@lemmy.world
dezmd@lemmy.world
Tenthrow@lemmy.world
JonsJava@lemmy.world
gedaliyah@lemmy.world
Blackbeard@lemmy.world
little_cow@lemmy.world
jeffw@lemmy.world
enu@lemmy.world
350
Missouri Supreme Court blocks release of man whose conviction was overturned after more than 30 years in prison (www.nbcnews.com)
submitted 3 months ago by MicroWave@lemmy.world to c/news@lemmy.world
24 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

The case of Christopher Dunn marks the second time Attorney General Andrew Bailey has appealed the swift release of a person whose murder conviction was overturned.

For more than 30 years, Christopher Dunn has been incarcerated in Missouri, accused of a murder he insisted he did not commit. Freedom seemed within his grasp when a circuit judge overturned his conviction and ordered for his release Wednesday — only to be overruled when the state Supreme Court granted the attorney general’s request for a stay.

The legal showdown over Dunn’s release marks the second time in a matter of weeks that Missouri’s Republican Attorney General Andrew Bailey has fought a court order to release an inmate who was found to be wrongly convicted.

Last month, Sandra Hemme, 64, the longest-held wrongly incarcerated woman known in the U.S., had her conviction overturned, only to have Bailey appeal her release, keeping her behind bars. Ultimately, she was released July 19 after a judge threatened to hold the attorney general’s office in contempt of court.

top 24 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] Erasmus@lemmy.world 137 points 3 months ago (3 children)

A quick Google search on the AG fighting Dunn’s release gives more light to this case.

It turns out Andrew Bailey is in fact a total cockbag, not a partial cockbag but complete and total one. A line from his Wiki:

During his tenure as attorney general, Bailey has adopted hardline conservative positions. He has refused to release prisoners after overturned convictions, attempted unsuccessfully to restrict gender-affirming care, battled initiatives to restore access to abortion in Missouri, and staunchly defended former President Donald Trump over his legal problems.

He appears to just take any hardline right, douchebag, position he can and then almost troll with it.

It’s amazing how the US has allowed so many of these assholes to get into power.

[–] Yawweee877h444@lemmy.world 21 points 3 months ago

Probably a psychopath/sociopath. Or at least close to it.

It’s amazing how the US has allowed so many of these assholes to get into power.

In our capitalist system the sociopath will always be favored to gain power. They can make decisions without empathy for how it affects people or the long term, decisions of which help propel them to the top of whatever it is they do. This includes bending or breaking the law. Someone who is not a sociopath, more altruistic, more honest, won't follow the tactics of the sociopath and therefore has less options to gain power and success.

This is how our society is designed and functions, objectively and undeniably. Also arguably it is part of human nature (competition, survival of the fittest) which is what conservatives love at their core. The fact that we try to overcome this with laws and such is difficult and challenging as we can see here. This person should have never got into a position of power, yet he did. How do we restructure society to make sure this doesn't happen?

[–] Madison420@lemmy.world 5 points 3 months ago

That's most politicians in Missouri and Kansas, they're just shitty people pandering to the loudest shitty minority. The states are just so gerrymandered it's not funny. In Missouri specifically all of the population is centered around 3 major areas that are overwhelmingly larger and blue but somehow we go red every single time.

[–] Samvega@lemmy.blahaj.zone 4 points 3 months ago

It’s amazing how the US has allowed so many of these assholes to get into power.

It's amazing how shit some people want to the world to be.

[–] DirkMcCallahan@lemmy.world 82 points 3 months ago (3 children)

"Cruelty is the point" is one of the most overused (and misused) phrases on the Internet, but it actually seems to apply here. What other reason could there possibly be for the AG and SC to act this way?

[–] dustyData@lemmy.world 49 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Pure fear of admitting mistakes and being held accountable.

[–] snooggums@midwest.social 39 points 3 months ago (1 children)

"If he goes free, then other falsely convicted black people will clog up the courts with appeals!"

[–] worldwidewave@lemmy.world 26 points 3 months ago (1 children)

“And then all that free labor will be gone! Won’t someone think of the poor private prison owners?”

[–] teft@lemmy.world 6 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

Literally what's happening at Angola with their farm line. The farm makes 8 million a year (at least so says the farm) so they "can't" shut it down even though prisoners are dying out there in the heat. Free labor is the racist's drug of choice.

[–] Rooskie91@discuss.online 21 points 3 months ago (2 children)

The Missouri judicial system is racist as hell. I can almost guarantee that the person that decided to make those people stay in prison did it because the prisoners were black.

[–] jettrscga@lemmy.world 7 points 3 months ago

Strangely, it's not racism. This Attorney General is just notoriously an asshole.

Sandra Hemme, a white woman, was the longest wrongfully incarcerated person, and she recently went through the same issue in Missouri.

I'm sure you're not wrong about the racism, but his bullshit seems to transcend race.

[–] Eldritch@lemmy.world 5 points 3 months ago

The answer is almost always incompetence over malice. But as Missourian I can say in this case that there is a heavy dose of both.

[–] Num10ck@lemmy.world 6 points 3 months ago

BOP (Bureau of Prisons) = Backwards On Purpose

[–] homesweethomeMrL@lemmy.world 17 points 3 months ago

It's a very simple reason. The Missouri Supreme Court was having a retreat in Ferguson this week. To decide how best to suppress the black vote in November.

Also, fuck all these motherfuckers.

[–] Steve 15 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (2 children)

How do you write that article, never mentioning the grounds or reasoning in the AG's motion?

It should be public record right?

[–] Got_Bent@lemmy.world 15 points 3 months ago

I'm not sure if this is the same case I read about recently, but it was something along the lines of there being some other much more minor conviction and the AG is arguing that the thirty years spent on the wrongful conviction shouldn't count towards the time given for the other conviction.

I'd suppose the real motivation is hiding from the enormous civil lawsuits that will be coming in.

[–] snooggums@midwest.social 11 points 3 months ago (1 children)

From a different article, the reason is absolutely ridiculous.

Judge William Hickle agreed at a 2020 evidentiary hearing that a jury would likely find Dunn not guilty based on new evidence, ABC News reported. Hickle did not exonerate Dunn, however, citing the 2016 Missouri Supreme Court ruling from Lincoln v. Cassady that only death row inmates can make an innocence claim.

[–] Promethiel@lemmy.world 5 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (1 children)

The solution seems simple. AG Bailey and Judge Hickle both need to be seen engaging in [illegal action they are innocent of] by a sane Missouri Justice System officer and an arrest warrant issued for them.

Only death row inmates...it's not just that it's beyond the pale but it's so stupid while it's at it I can't summon words.

[–] snooggums@midwest.social 4 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

Oh, I forgot to include the part from Lincoln v. Cassidy which makes it even worse.

We conclude that Relator would be unable to sustain his burden to establish the procedurally barred claims that he was denied a constitutionally adequate trial, rendering it unnecessary to determine whether Relator has sustained his burden to establish a gateway to review those claims. Because the Missouri Supreme Court has not recognized a freestanding claim of actual innocence in cases where the death penalty has not been imposed, we are not at liberty to expand Missouri habeas jurisprudence to permit consideration of the claim in this case. Accordingly, Relator's habeas petition is denied.

When you read further into the weeds it gets even worse as there are apparently limitations on whether you can claim innocence depending on whether the trial was "constitutionally adequate" and when issues were raised. Just a bunch of excuses that procedure is more important than justice.

[–] Jiggle_Physics@lemmy.world 12 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Anyone who knows about Mumia Abu Jamal knows this type of shit is not unique, or even rare.

[–] electric_nan@lemmy.ml 3 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Or Leonard Peltier. What was likely his final request for parole was just denied.

[–] Jiggle_Physics@lemmy.world 3 points 3 months ago

Yeah it wouldn't take much to find many examples.

[–] norimee@lemmy.world 11 points 3 months ago

With these headlines you NEVER have to look at the pictures to know this is about a black person /a POC.

[–] Hugh_Jeggs@lemm.ee 9 points 3 months ago

So all this, ahem... Freedom©®™ yous claim to have. That doesn't include actual human rights, does it?