This is not a particularly busy news day. On page 1, Bernanke testified before Congress about the mortgage crisis and the Iraqi army's readiness to fight is questioned. Below the fold, home schooling is featured.
Not many people will read all the way to page A16 to read the story beneath the headline "Death row inmate is set free." Glen Edward Chapman spent 14 years on death row in North Carolina before being released after it was discovered that police detectives had failed to disclose evidence that might have proved someone else committed the murders he was condemned for. His own lawyer was also ruled "ineffective" for failing to investigate enough.
This is such a common tale that it is barely news at all. It is not even the lead article on Page A16. That honor belongs to the jarring headline: "FEMA liquidates its free ice policy," which occupies columns one and two.
By the way, the "Death row" article notes that the conviction was actually reversed 4 years ago. It took the local prosecutor 4 years to decide to dismiss the case.
Speedy justice? Of course, all of this would have been moot if Mr. Chapman had been executed in a "speedy" manner, thus providing closure for the system. What a pity.
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