Procedure Over Innocence

Jeffery Deskovic, a strong advocate for the wrongly convicted and a DNA exoneree spoke recently with Amy Goodman on "Democracy Now" about the nomination of Sonia Sotomayor and how politics interferes with a discussion we need to have on how judges and courts handle post-conviction claims of innocence. Please watch this brief interview:

Jeffrey Deskovic Takes on Judge Sonia Sotomayor

Jeff Deskovic's voice grows louder and carries further as he rails against the Supreme Court nomination of Sonia Sotomayor. You have admit, his anger at her nomination is understandable. He spent an additional six years in prison for a crime he didn't commit because Sotomayor chose procedure over justice.

Many pundits will tell you that Sotomayor's approval is likely, and that Deskovic's campaign against her is quixotic. But he has a point. And it's high time for a national discussion on the merits of having judges who seek substantive justice rather than merely enforce bureaucratic procedure.

Take a look at Deskovic making his point on this video:


Jeffry Deskovic is first and foremost a friend and advocate for the wrongly convicted. His Face Book group is at http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=213251725203&ref=ts&__a=1.

Brook Shields performing as Sunny Jacobs, one of "The Exonerated"

At the Innocence Project Celebration of Freedom & Justice, Brooke Shields performed the Sunny Jacobs story from the award-winning Broadway play "The Exonerated":


The take-away: "Imagine everything you did between the years of 1976 and 1992. Now remove all of it. Those 16 years were taken away from Sunny Jacobs, convicted and sentenced to death for a crime she did not commit......it could happen just as easily to you."

Brooke Shield's reading took place on May 6, 2009 at the Innocence Project's Celebration of Freedom and Justice. Here's CNN's coverage: