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Wrongfully Convicted Man Dies

By TChris, Section Innocence Cases
Posted on Tue Oct 11, 2005 at 02:57:19 PM EST
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by TChris

A wrongful conviction may have cost William Nieves his life. Certainly, it robbed him of many productive years.

"I was 27 years old when I was convicted. At the time I went to jail, I had just enrolled in community college," Nieves told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette in a 2002 interview. "I would have had my degree. I would have had my feet in something I enjoy doing. I would have spent much more time with my daughter."

Nieves was convicted in 1994. Prosecutors withheld exculpatory evidence, and he was eventually awarded a new trial. He was acquitted and released from custody in 2000, but he complained that the prison failed to treat his ailing liver. By the time he was released, it was too late. Nieves died Saturday at the age of 39.

"This is a guy that got put on death row for something he didn't do. Eventually this injustice was found," [Jeff] Garis said. "Yet he left prison with another kind of a death sentence."

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    • Wrongfully Convicted Man Dies | 9 comments (9 topical)
    Re: Wrongfully Convicted Man Dies (none / 0) (#1)
    by Al on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:04:53 PM EST
    Do the people who contributed to this wrongful conviction pay any price? It's great to see that at least occasionally an innocent person is recognized as such, but it seems to me the system ought to do more than just say "Oops, sorry". What incentive is there for prosecutors to be more careful, for example, or defenders to be more thorough?

    Re: Wrongfully Convicted Man Dies (none / 0) (#2)
    by Sailor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:04:53 PM EST
    This is one of the few cases a death penalty would be appropriate. If a lawyer (or any court officer) knowlingly contributes to a death penalty with an ommision or commision of perjury, they should die. Bet that would make them think twice.

    Re: Wrongfully Convicted Man Dies (none / 0) (#3)
    by Che's Lounge on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:04:54 PM EST
    Sailor, Or at least the sentence that was handed out.

    Re: Wrongfully Convicted Man Dies (none / 0) (#4)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:04:54 PM EST
    This is one of the few cases a death penalty would be appropriate. If a lawyer (or any court officer) knowlingly contributes to a death penalty with an ommision or commision of perjury, they should die. Bet that would make them think twice.

    So playing a little Devil's Advocate here... If a defense attorney knowingly defends a killer and gets him acquitted, and that killer kills again, should the lawyer face the death penalty?

    Re: Wrongfully Convicted Man Dies (none / 0) (#5)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:04:54 PM EST
    I knew Nieves, but not overly well. We used to sneak out after he would give his pitch against the death penalty, invariably for real food instead of church food. He was a fundamentally decent guy who got jammed up. After his acquittal they gave him tokens for transit fare to get home. Last time I talked to him their wasn't a way (other than suing) to get compensation. If I hear of anything as far as getting up money for his funeral I will post it here and/or at my site

    Re: Wrongfully Convicted Man Dies (none / 0) (#6)
    by Sailor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:04:54 PM EST
    bbickel, reading thru your inability to close tags, yes, it would encourage both sides not to suborn perjury, or exclude evidence that the other side was due.

    Re: Wrongfully Convicted Man Dies (none / 0) (#7)
    by Peter G on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:04:54 PM EST
    This is very sad news (which I had missed in the Phila papers, so thanks, TChris, for catching it). My exonerated PA death row client, Nick Yarris, also left death row with an incurable liver disease which he did not have when he went in. Thankfully, it is stable and in remission, for now.

    Re: Wrongfully Convicted Man Dies (none / 0) (#8)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:04:56 PM EST
    sailor.... If a defense attorney knowingly defends a killer and gets him acquitted, and that killer kills again, should the lawyer face the death penalty? Or...how about a judge that post a low bail on a 'known' sex offender (as in what happened out East) and that guy then goes and kills 4 members of a family and then rapes their 10 year old girl? I'm surprised TL has no posts on that. Talk about the politics of crime!

    Re: Wrongfully Convicted Man Dies (none / 0) (#9)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:04 PM EST
    I was imprisoned here in Md for 10 years of a 20 year term for a robbery I did not commit, I was 17 years old when that conviction took place. To date, I am still fighting to have the expungement of those criminal records removed, even though there has been 3 seperate court orders issued to State and City agencies to do so. I received a full unconditional pardon for the crime I was erroneously imprisoned for in 1986. Last year I was accused of an assault and I voluntarily surrendered to police and when I went for the initial appearance, the court commissioner ordered me held without bail based on the prior criminal records which the State and City stated were expunged, I was held until my trial, which took place this year in July, and after a three day jury trial, I was found "not guilty" of all charges after the jury deliberated for less than 45 minutes. I lost my employment as an Employment Specialist, my home and my children I was custodial parent to, have been placed in foster care because I had no where for us to live... Presently, I have communicated with the Governor's Office here in Md, the State's Attorney Office and various other members of local and State Government regarding this continued injustice without assistance. My case has been used in all the other "wrongful imprisonment" cases which have taken place here in the State of Maryland, yet the City of Baltimore and State of Maryland has not corrected the errors since my release in October 1984...WHAT DOES THAT SAY CONCERING MD's JUDICIAL SYSTEM?

    Wrongfully Convicted Man Dies | 9 comments (9 topical)