This is John Jerome White. He was convicted in 1979 of raping a Meriwether County woman but was released in 2007 after DNA evidence conclusively proved he was not guilty. Let me note this again: he IS NOT a rapist (although he is a convicted felon related to another matter). He was, and is, NOT guilty of rape.
But why is the State of Georgia going to cut White a check for $500,000.00?
At no point has it been demonstrated that a police officer, prosecutor or judge committed malfeasance in any form. A duly-constituted jury of White’s peers convicted him based on the evidence presented at that time. But now he is entitled to my money and the money of the taxpayers of Georgia?
Before some of the weak-minded who cannot fathom the barest criticism of any minorities have a heart attack, let me suggest that what is happening is, if it is going to become the norm now that Georgia has already paid out $3.9 million to four other inmates cleared through DNA evidence, on its face unfair if it continues.
For example, individuals charged with murder frequently are not given a bond and are left to wait in a county detention center until their case is called for trial. It is not abnormal for the wait for trial to extend many, many months…if not years.
I’ve seen several murder cases result in a “not guilty” verdict in my time. Those defendants are then free to walk out of the courtroom and continue with their lives. But what about the time they lost while waiting for their trial?
Clearly, there is a difference between “not guilty” and “innocent.” But the man who is acquitted by a jury still has lost his freedom for a significant period of time based on a less than convincing case which wrongly kept him incarcerated.
Why the double standard? Or, more accurately asked, why can’t we ALL be sent a check from Sonny Perdue for being “wronged” by the government?
If we are going to start paying people like White where no government actor was at fault, then shouldn’t we also be paid compensation for time fighting property assessments every year? Can I get a check for standing in the line at the Department of Driver Services for my few minutes waiting for a new driver’s license? Or if a speeding citation is dismissed in a Municipal Court because the officer failed to appear, why shouldn’t a check be issued to compensate the defendant for attending at least two court sessions when he was ultimately vindicated through a dismissal of the citation?
White is the victim of mistaken identity, nothing more. If it had been demonstrated that a police officer, prosecutor or judge acted improperly and knowingly fabricated evidence, this would be a different story. But that has not occurred and a dangerous precedent continues to be set where people are being compensated for events where no one is to blame.
In the end, convicted felon John Jerome White gets his check and Sonny “Feel Good” Perdue can rest easy knowing that he failed to make tough, responsible decisions yet again. What’s $500,000.00 among friends, right?
{ 64 comments }
← Previous Comments
Doug Deal
That is a valid point!
John
Thanks, I knew you would come around. People always do
But if a person has track record of committing crimes and the prosecution had a legitimate case and if latter he was found innocent why should they receive money?
Take away an innocent person’s land and they get paid. Take away an innocent person’s freedom and they get paid. It ain’t complicated. It’s about affirming that the system works and that we believe in it so much that we’ll pony up for those precious few who are failed by the system. You either agree or disagree, but there’s not much left to discuss either way.
I looked up more information and I’m still not totally clear on how the sentences were divied up.
Some stories state that he spent 22.5 years in prison. The confusion comes about when the story says he was exonerated 28 years later. That is not the amount of time he spent in prison. (?) He was let out in 2007. I’m still coming up short, and I’m curious to know how long he was sentenced based on the burglary/drug counts.
Regardless, I think it was a fair compensation. $500k/22 years in prison comes out to around $22.7/year. That’s actually lower than many other states offer the wrongfully-imprisoned, but, is a good ball-park figure for unskilled labor jobs here in Georgia. I know there are more factors involved than that, like the difficulty he’ll have finding a job and moving on now that he’s much older. At 50, he’s still not quite old enough to retire, so his options for getting his life back together are limited.
seen,
It is a ridiculously low amount to pay. Would you rather work in an unskilled job or serve time in prison? I think anyone facing 20 years+ in prison would rather work the rest of their life as an unskilled laborer. Paying him such a low amount does not even scratch the surface of what was taken.
Jerome White deserves every penny he gets. He was robbed of decades of his freedom by the excessive ambition of an ADA and the indifference of a jury – a pattern repeated all to often. ADAs, judges, and juries work as agents of the State of Georgia and thus the State of Georgia becomes financially liable for their gross failures.
There has been and still is a problem with ADAs (some, but not all) who are interested in enhancing their careers more than they are with justice. The way that is done is by having a high conviction rate. An ADA with a high conviction rate over time has a much better chance of promotion, attaining higher office, or moving to a partnership in a law firm.
I could (but won’t) name a middle Georgia Superior Court judge who did exactly that. This judge was a young ADA who knowingly convicted people that the ADA knew were not guilty because it was easy to get juries to convict on the alleged crimes involved. That led to moving from a junior ADA, to Chief ADA, and to becoming a Superior Court judge. I have talked to law enforcement officials involved, and listened to their stories about how often this happens and how they despise the ADAs and those in law enforcement who help them do these things.
A person who commites a crime should be punished appropriately for the crime they committed and for which it can be proven beyond a reasonable doubt. But few juries understand and apply “reasonable doubt”, and many ADAs take full advantage of that failing.
The combination of these ADAs and juries that do not know or do not care to take their responsibilities seriously result in a number of people who are convicted of crimes they did not commit. I have seen this same pattern at the federal level, also.
Personally, I’d like to see the GBI take one or two of these current and former Georgia ADAs, fully investigate what they have done in cases alleged to have been wrongly prosecuted, and see them get justice tempered with the mercy they did not show. When a few of these people spend some time in a detention center, are disbarred, and have to pay back those they have wronged, you’ll see juries better informed, and ADAs and judges who, wishing to avoid the same fate, will seek to build their careers through the real application of justice.
The justice system is only usable by those who have the money to pay lawyers to work in long, drawn out cases. Prosecutors know that for most people, they can delay and obfuscate long enough that the accused runs out of money and thus out of the services of a competent lawyer. And good luck getting decent representaiton out of a court-appointed attorney. The solution is not spending more money by the State to pay for defense lawyers, but to change the legal system so that everyone can defend themselves of criminal charges without spending exorbitant amounts of money.
“Better that ten guilty persons escape than that one innocent suffer,” says English jurist William Blackstone. Those of us familiar with what the Founders based their concept of justice on will recognize that name.
I am in accord with Mr. Deal. Both with the fact that amount of compensation is low, as well as the proposal of what should be awarded. The Governor’s salary per year of incarceration is a great idea.
He should receive much more. Frankly I am shocked that he received anything in this state. Not that I do not believe that Georgian’s have no civil faith in justice, I do believe that Georgians are fervent in their pursuit of justice. Given the background of what the legislature has done regarding torts, on the other hand, it does come as a bit of a suprise that $500k was granted.
Seenbetrdayz, White was in prison for 28 years. A few of those were for a burglary…essentially leaving 22+years from the rape charge. Although, to split some hairs, he was sentenced to life…then paroled briefly in 1990, violated his parole and was thrown back in prison to serve the remainder of his life sentence for the 1980 rape conviction.
DD,
You certainly won’t find me protesting that this was too much compensation. I guess what I was getting at is that most states have a standard rate of compensation for the wrongfully imprisoned. When you leave it to arbitrary amounts, you end up with some people getting more compensation than others for the same loss of liberty (of course, if wrongful-imprisonment starts becoming a habit, then something is incredibly wrong in the justice system), or people with differing opinions on how much compensation they should receive. California offers $100/day of imprisonment, Tennessee puts the cap at $1,000,000 and New York has no cap. I was just trying to figure out how the legislators arrived at the $500k figure, for better or worse.
Blackstone was a wise man. Benjamin Franklin was believed to have suggested a ratio of 100:1. Our justice system is (was?) unique in that errs on the side of innocence, and I’d rather have it that way, than to have one that errs on the side of guilt, for sure.
Thanks for the clarification.
I’m sick of these black people who are constantly pissing off Pete Randall. Leave the guy alone, blacks.
Andisheh:
Too quickly we forget–he’s the victim here.
Seen,
You’re welcome. I must say thank you, to you as well. Bringing up the concept of fixing the rate is very important. Doug Deal brought this up as well.
The legislature needs to clarify this. We are a few more cases, like this one, away from a serious lawsuit against the state. As a man who believes in justice, I do not believe in caps on such suits. Afterall, who can place a price on freedom aside from the few that lack the mental and psychological capacities to unilaterally engage in contract.
All in all, is is not a political issue…yet. $500k might be enough for White to go on about his life, when Pete Randall is wrongfully convicted of a crime and sues for $50million (and because he is probably white, unlike White, he probably thinks he deserves it more_) a political issue may arise. That issue being that all collected DNA evidence that was unable to be examined prior to more modern scientific analyses be examined immediately at the cost of the taxpayers.
Afterall, a DNA test costs what…$2k…and the cost of incarcerating a person is around $20k per year. I have no estimates of how many people have been wrongfully convicted. I hope it is very low. I do not, on the other hand, believe justice to be a project that cost benefit analysis can justify the use with.
GC, I am not incorrect in my statement. Lincoln suspended habeas corpus, G Washington destroyed private property, the same with Sherman. When the justice system solves the problems on the battle field of survival, let me know. We will have entered utopia where Libertarians rule on earth.
Why not rely on the courts? Without taking the steps necessary to preserve our country, there will be no liberty for anyone because there will be no country to protect our liberties.
As for confusing Taliban and Al Qaeda, you fools better get a grip if you think there’s a difference. Do you have any idea why President Obama entertained the Pres of Pakistan and Afghanistan? No you don’t.
bowersville is right about the Taliban and al-Qaeda. Both are pro-Wahhabi Sunni Muslim, both have their roots in the leftovers of the Afghan Muslims after the Soviets pulled out, both seek to establish a caliphate and destroy those who will not submit to the false god Allah. In addition, the Taliban, when they ruled in Afghanistan and even today, fully support and give aid to al-Qaeda. The Taliban and al-Qaeda (founded 1988) have been intertwined since the Taliban was established in 1994.
Thus, whatever difference one sees between them, when the ignorance and misinformation is stripped away, is a difference without a distinction.
← Previous Comments
Comments on this entry are closed.