{"id":2248,"date":"2016-07-11T02:03:55","date_gmt":"2016-07-11T02:03:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.littlerascalsdaycarecase.org\/?p=2248"},"modified":"2016-07-11T08:42:13","modified_gmt":"2016-07-11T08:42:13","slug":"the-chilling-body-count-of-personality-driven-prosecutors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.littlerascalsdaycarecase.org\/?p=2248","title":{"rendered":"The chilling body count of \u2018personality-driven\u2019 prosecutors"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Kristin
Kristin Collins<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

July 11, 2016<\/p>\n

\u201cThis week Harvard Law School\u2019s Fair Punishment Project issued a report<\/a>\u00a0detailing the legacies of five of the nation\u2019s deadliest prosecutors, and (Joe Freeman) Britt<\/a>\u00a0was among them. The report highlights what it calls \u2018personality-driven capital sentencing,\u2019 which leads overzealous prosecutors with a flair for courtroom theatrics and a desire for personal fame to pursue death sentences at disproportionate rates….<\/p>\n

\u201cThis personality-driven system means that a death sentence often says less about the severity of the defendant\u2019s crime, than it does about the prosecutor\u2019s enthusiasm and courtroom skills. Personality-driven prosecutions can also lead to wrongful convictions, when prosecutors making winning cases a higher priority than seeking justice….<\/p>\n

\u201cBritt often cut corners to win. Appellate courts found that Britt committed misconduct in 14 of his capital cases, the new report shows. His offenses included hiding evidence that might have proven defendants innocent and making inflammatory and improper statements to jurors….<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen they were exonerated by incontrovertible DNA evidence, Britt did not even have the heart to admit his mistake. Instead, he continued to loudly proclaim their guilt….\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2013 From \u201cNC \u2018deadliest prosecutor\u2019 valued winning over justice, new report shows<\/a>\u201d\u00a0by Kristin Collins at NC Coalition for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (June 30)<\/em><\/p>\n

I shudder to speculate what might have happened in Edenton had North Carolina sanctioned capital punishment for child sex abuse.\u00a0The Little Rascals prosecutors, most strikingly Nancy Lamb,\u00a0 bore many of the \u201cpersonality-driven\u201d characteristics\u00a0seen in a Joe Freeman Britt:<\/p>\n