re: #445 iceweasel

Justice Scalia posts on beliefnet?

Just reading this case :

The evidence at that trial consisted of nine eyewitnesses who claimed Davis shot MacPhail (Davis had been inside a nearby pool hall and was part of a crowd that came out of the hall in response to the commotion in the parking lot where Coles was beating the homeless man).

The prosecution’s star witness was none other than Coles himself. No physical evidence tied Davis to the crime—the gun was never recovered—and in the years since Davis’ conviction, seven of the eight other eyewitnesses who claimed to have seen Davis shoot MacPhail have signed sworn affidavits recanting their claims. Several now claim Coles was the killer and that they were coerced by police threats into testifying against Davis.

Eyewitness testimony is such an overrated kind of ‘proof’. Scientific investigation shows it to be very shaky indeed. Terrible that people are still executed on the basis of that alone.