Putting Prosecutors Above the Law

Putting Prosecutors Above the Law

The Supreme Court has again upheld the principle that prosecutors are above the law. Connick v. Thompson is the newest peak into the gross corruption of American criminal justice, and a reminder of what government power means.

John Thompson was convicted of armed robbery in 1985 in New Orleans. Then he faced a murder trial, and knowing his robbery conviction would come up if he testified, he waived the opportunity. He was convicted and sentenced to death. He sat in prison for eighteen years, including fourteen on death row.

But he was innocent. The prosecutors in both cases had withheld evidence. They had a blood sample that later proved his innocence in the robbery. They had a report of eyewitnesses describing the murderer as six-foot tall with close-cropped hair. Thompson was 5