The News And Observer editorializes Sunday on credibility issues inside North Carolina's legal system after another murder conviction is thrown out:

Jerry Lee Hamilton is for now off North Carolina's death row, thanks to a judge who recognized an appalling flaw in his prosecution. Superior Court Judge Michael Beale of Wadesboro ruled last week that evidence that should have been available to Hamilton's defense attorneys was withheld by prosecutors or police. The ruling echoes one from December, when another judge tossed out the death sentence of Alan Gell of Bertie County, criticizing prosecutors for withholding evidence that supported Gell's claim of innocence in a 1995 murder. The credibility of the system of justice rests on one principle: fairness. And that depends on prosecutors and police who understand that their duty is to find the truth, not to win a case. Justice is not a competition. Withholding evidence is withholding justice -- it is not akin to stealing a baseball catcher's signs.

Check out the paper's excellent series, Time of Death, examining the cases of Alan Gell and Jerry Lee Hamilton.