frogman042 wrote:tlynn78 wrote:Bob78164 wrote:Not always. And don't call me a liar, you jackass. --Bob
LOL - don't call me a name, doodoohead.
No way is someone on death row based solely on one individual's eye-witness testimony. Not in the USA, anyway.
Please click on the link on my response above - it sure looks like these were all in the USA, some had 1 witness and only 1 witness and no physical or supporting evidence and they were sentenced to death.
In case you don't want to follow the link here is just a few of the 46 cases listed (some had more than 1 eyewitness - i just picked a few that seems to have had only 1 eyewitness):
Adams, Randall Dale (convicted 1977, exonerated 1989) — Mr. Adams was sentenced to death
for the murder of a police officer in Dallas County, Texas. A purported eyewitness, who in fact
was the actual killer, framed Mr. Adams and received immunity from prosecution in exchange
for his testimony. Mr. Adams was not involved in the crime. The facts came to light after filmmaker
Errol Morris took an interest in the case and produced a now-famous documentary — The
Thin Blue Line.
Beeman, Gary (convicted 1976, exonerated 1979) — Mr. Beeman was sentenced to death for
the murder of a man in Ashtabula County, Ohio. The conviction rested on the testimony of a
prison escapee who claimed he saw Mr. Beeman with the victim at about the time the coroner
estimated the murder occurred and saw him again shortly thereafter with blood on his clothes.
The witness also claimed Mr. Beeman had admitted the crime. The Ohio Supreme Court
reversed the conviction because the trial judge had prevented Mr. Beeman from calling an
exculpatory witness. At the retrial, Mr. Beeman was acquitted after five witnesses testified that
the man who had been the prosecution’s star witness at the first trial had confessed that he
committed the crime and that Mr. Beeman was not involved.
Smith, Charles (convicted 1983, exonerated 1991) — Mr. Smith was sentenced to death for the
murder and robbery of a young woman in Allen County, Indiana. The state’s case was based
entirely on the testimony of a purported accomplice/eyewitness who was granted immunity from
prosecution. Mr. Smith had a solid alibi, which he was prohibited from presenting by the trial
judge because his attorney had failed to file a pretrial alibi notice. After initially affirming the
conviction and death sentence, the Indiana Supreme Court four years later granted a retrial based
on ineffective assistance of counsel. At retrial, the defense presented not only the alibi but also
evidence that the original eyewitness had falsely accused Mr. Smith of the crime.