WASHINGTON — A USA Today investigation has concluded that a number of federal prosecutors across the country have “put innocent people in prison, set guilty people free and cost taxpayers millions of dollars in legal fees and sanctions.”
The paper said it had documented 201 criminal cases since 1997 in which “judges determined that Justice Department prosecutors — the nation’s most elite and powerful law enforcement officials — themselves violated laws or ethics rules.”
“In case after case during that time, judges blasted prosecutors for ‘flagrant’ or ‘outrageous’ misconduct,” the paper reported. “They caught some prosecutors hiding evidence, found others lying to judges and juries, and said others had broken plea bargains.”
Former Attorney General Dick Thornburgh told USA Today that the worst consequence of misconduct is a wrongful conviction.
“No civilized society should countenance such conduct or systems that failed to prevent it,” he said.
To read more on the report click here.
