Actually, I'm told that a shocking number of prisoners request DNA tests that confirm their guilt; they have nothing to lose, and apparently want to gamble on the slim possibility of a miracle exoneration. But this seems irrelevant to me.
McArdle does not provide a shred of proof of this statement, which she instantly calls irrelevant anyway.
If they get a DNA test and it proves them guilty, we've lost little time or money. If they get a DNA test and it exonerates them, we've set an innocent man free. DNA tests would have to cost $1 million apiece for me to consider that a bad bargain.
So why bother with this useless post?
It is, of course, a bad bargain for a justice system that suddenly reveals how many innocent men prosecutors have sent to death row...
So Megan can call the government incompetent.
...and if I were a prosecutor I've no doubt I could find any number of excellent reasons that we should not double-check my work.
It's not a good idea to admit that you're a shoddy worker whose work would not stand up to double-checking. That's why I'm here.
But making prosecutors feel better about themselves is not a legitimate goal of criminal policy.
Oooh, snap! to you, prosecutors, who want innocent people to go to jail so they can feel good about themselves! Because Megan says so!
