Man imprisoned for 27 years hopes that some evidence is enough for freedom...2/4/11

Kyerre Hawkins
SOC 202
Blog post #3

In my recent blog postings I have discussed how crime is always occurring and how I am not quite sure what causes people to commit crimes. After reading the article I'm about to discuss, it made me think more about what happens in prisons and even years after someone is placed in prison. In the article by The Washington Post, Thomas Haynesworth was sentenced to 74 years in prison because of rape charges. Now, in his 27th year of sentencing the jury is reconsidering his trial because of some evidence found which proves he is innocent of the crime. Haynesworth was identified by five women as their rapists. One of the five women worked at a day-care center and testified in court that he was the man who raped her one day at work. Haynesworth was 18 years old, had no high school degree or criminal record when he was arrested in 1984. While Haynesworth was in prison he received his GED and wrote letters to local newspapers and law students for help with his case.

"Courts are very reluctant to reopen criminal convictions, for reasons of finality and because they worry that the new evidence may be less reliable than the evidence available at the time of trial," said Brandon L. Garrett, a University of Virginia law professor who has studied exonerations. The fact that this case was reopened is a blessing for Haynesworth. Some of the evidence found was that there was discovery of a man named Leon W. Davis who is a serial rapist that favors Haynesworth and has the same blood type as him. Davis is serving time for the same crime as Haynesworth in the same community which leads me to believe that all the women that accused Haynesworth made the same mistake. Haynesworth is not free yet and may not be free but he is on a good start of freedom.

This article shows that there have been some mistakes dealing with identifying criminals. This was always a possibility but it makes it a social problem because of the pain and struggle of the innocent and the fact the true criminals are still on the loose. This mistake of false identification has caused many problems and should not be taken lightly. I am not sure how the court systems deal with false identification but I think this issue should be observed more in depth.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/01/AR2011020106863_4.html?sid=ST2011020106873