In fact, there's a far greater likelihood of this then of an innocent man taking that long walk. In our understandable desire to be fair and to protect the rights of offenders in our criminal justice system, let us never ignore or minimize the rights of their victims. The death penalty is a necessary tool that reaffirms the sanctity of human life while assuring that convicted killers will never again prey upon others. It's just that their politicians don't listen to them. They sabotage the system at taxpayer expense, then say executions are too costly.
Defense lawyers salt the record with deliberate mistakes, then say the killer had a lousy defense.
No one who genuinely worries about the legal system putting innocent people at risk can afford to waste time denouncing the death penalty. The current death penalty discussion is dominated by considerations of the innocent sentenced to death. Professor Cruel and Unusual Leniency Opponents of capital punishment shed few tears for the many victims of judicial leniency. When Allen Lee Davis got a nosebleed during his execution, it caused an uproar. Few of those crying foul even knew what he had done to deserve execution.