Following an inves­ti­ga­tion indi­cat­ing that Missouri may have exe­cut­ed an inno­cent man for the 1980 mur­der of Quintin Moss, New York Times colum­nist Bob Herbert wrote that the case was filled with prob­lems that are typ­i­cal of wrong­ful con­vic­tions in cap­i­tal cas­es. Herbert stat­ed that St. Louis cir­cuit attor­ney Jennifer Joyce has tak­en ​“the extra­or­di­nary step of offi­cial­ly reopen­ing a mur­der inves­ti­ga­tion after the defen­dant was exe­cut­ed,” adding that it is dif­fi­cult to prove that an inno­cent per­son has been exe­cut­ed because offi­cial inves­ti­ga­tions cease once the death penal­ty has been car­ried out. Herbert wrote:

If Larry Griffin were being tried today for the mur­der of Quintin Moss, he would almost cer­tain­ly be acquit­ted. The evi­dence is over­whelm­ing that he did not kill Mr. Moss.

But Mr. Griffin is not being tried today. He has already been exe­cut­ed for the murder.

While sig­nif­i­cant, this devel­op­ment is not that much of a sur­prise to those who under­stand that human beings are fal­li­ble and that much of the crim­i­nal jus­tice sys­tem in the United States is a crap­shoot. Whether it is this case or some oth­er, it is inevitable that we will learn of some­one who has been exe­cut­ed for a crime that he or she did not commit.

Judges and juries are no less prone to mis­takes than politi­cians, reporters, doc­tors, engi­neers or cen­ter field­ers. Which is why the death penal­ty should be abolished.

(New York Times, July 14, 2005). Read more about this case. See Innocence. 

Citation Guide