Dear FRONTLINE,

I believe this report is something that all of our citizens must see. People who have been wrongfully convicted and then have been exonerated should be given their freedom. A quote from John Adams in his closing arguement during the Boston Massacre Trial:
"It is best that ten guilty go free than for one innocent to be convicted."

Leo Backs
Chicago, Illinois

Dear FRONTLINE,

It had been my impression that the novel "Catch 22" was fiction. Now I find that I am wrong. How can any right thinking person countenance this? I am disgusted with the "educated" people who insist on keeping innocent people in prison because of a "legal" "principle." Shame on the state of Texas. Shame on the state of Louisiana. Shame on the Commonwealth of Virginia. Shame on former Governor Douglas Wilder. I hope his political career is over. Maybe that will demonstrate to politicians there is a price for lying and doing the wrong thing.

Patrick Sheehy
St. Paul, Minnesota

Dear FRONTLINE,

I am disgusted and nauseated by the actions of our supposed "justice system" evidenced in this episode of Frontline. This country is no better than Russia or any other dictatorship when it comes to the treatment of suspected criminals. The American Gulag should be considered a national shame and the American people need to start waking up to what our government is doing to us in the name of "fighting crime". The continuing erosion of our civil rights, especially at the hand of the overzealous judicial system is truly frightening! Thank you for exposing this brutality. You have spurred me into action as I feel compelled to do what I can to fight this as well as the "conspiracy laws" shown on your episode "Snitch".

Martin X
oakland, california

Dear FRONTLINE,

There is a word for people who knowingly put their career interests ahead of the liberty or life of an innocent person. The word is "criminal". No new statutes are required. Police, prosecutors, and judges who knowingly hide, ignore, or misapply exculpatory evidence are guilty of kidnapping, unlawful restraint, false imprisonment, and other offences already on the books. If more than one person is involved, that is conspiracy. If a capital case is involved, it is attempted murder. If an execution results, then it is murder.

A few exemplary well-merited prosecutions might begin to right the widespread, systematic, cynical wrong that your report documented.

Jonathan Marin
Brooklyn, NY

Dear FRONTLINE,

It is absolutely disgusting and heartbreaking to see how easily one human being can turn his back on another for personal gain. You can use words like "institutional problem" or "failure of the system,"to soften, but not erase the reality that there is a person behind each and every decision of a "system" and "institution."

Ann Werner
Torrance, Ca.

Dear FRONTLINE,

Bikel revealed a remarkable irony. In an effort to preserve public confidence and political futures, the criminal justice system fights tooth and nail against reopening cases. In so doing, it undermines public confidence in its ability to do real justice.

Tamar Pachter

Dear FRONTLINE,

You never indicated if Mr. Roy Criner had any explanation for his alleged comments that he had picked up a hitchhiker and engaged in some sexual activity with her.

I'm inclined to believe, based on your show, that he is not likely guilty. But, considering that his alleged comments to his friends seems to have been the state's strongest evidence, one must wonder why you did not address this issue more directly. Is it because he has no good rebuttal on this point?

Adam Lane
Vancouver, B.C.

Dear FRONTLINE,

This Frontline report showed more of the devastating truth--Our country's basic principals of liberty and truth are fading away. If we can let the injustices shown here go on, then any of us could be next. why is this happening? In other reports over the last couple of years, we have seen whole towns accussed of drug dealing, based only on charges, no physical evidence, mothers jailed for their son's alleged crimes, high schools raided by the INS. these horror stories go on and on.

It seems more and more we are being directed by armies of out of control prosecutors, and a criminal justice industry that never heard of the bill of rights.

Guy Morgan, Jr.
San Jose, ca

Dear FRONTLINE,

Once again Ofra Bikel has presented a compelling image of a justice system in crisis. The program also showed judges, prosecutors and politicians at their sleaziest. Forget about Clinton's sex scandals - this is the kind of dishonesty from people in power that really frightens and enrages me.
There was one group in this program that we did not hear from: the families of the victims. Do they really want innocent people in jail or executed for the crimes committed against their loved ones? Don't they care that the true perpetrators be caught and brought to justice? For that matter, don't the prosecutors and law enforcement care about the guilty people left out there to commit more crimes? Or would they rather save face and cover their posteriors?

Arie den Breeijen
San Francisco, CA

Dear FRONTLINE,

I add my comments to the excellence of your presentation. I also am worried about the real perpetrators of these horrific crimes. If the men described in your story are innocent and I do not say they are NOT innocent, where are the criminals, and why are they not being tracked down? How many more women will be treated like this with apparently sham convictions of their victimizers?

Theresa Gabel
Vallejo, CA

Dear FRONTLINE,

perhaps a national body could be formed to review
innocence claims. juristrictions would agree to
provide case files and defendants evidence submitted for review. when a meritorious case
evolves, the body would file in the juristriction
for retrial or dismissal etc. while the body would not be empowered by government, it would achieve
a highly regarded status by the public and media.
if fact the force of public opinion would pressure local juristrictions to cooperate with
the body recommendations.
the theory behind this is to eventually encourage
local authorities to impartially reopen worthy
cases rather than send them to an outside body.

bob mcdonnell
cypress, ca

Dear FRONTLINE,

Kudos on a wonderful show. If this show, coupled with the current revelations in Los Angeles about corrupt police framing multiple suspects for crimes they did not commit do not wake up society at large, and especially future jurors, nothing ever will. As a public defender, not a day goes by where I don't absolutely dread the notion that an innocent person will go to prison for the rest of their lives based on either my actions or inactions, or based on complete falsehoods. Jurors tend to believe a prosecutor's charge is proof of guilt, every day new laws are passed by "tough on crime" legislators to make the standard of proof for conviction lower and lower. As long as we have a weak and compliant judiciary afraid to review injustices in 1986, 3 Supreme Court justices were recalled in California for just such review and contradict local prosecutors, the system will continue to fail to do justice.

Greg Apt
Los Angeles, California

Dear FRONTLINE,

In response to one of your posts, if I was Gov. Wilder, I would sleep easy at night knowing that:
1. I saved a man's life. As stated by Gov. Wilder, himself
2. Any man who breaks into a house to burglarize it and hits a 72 year old woman over the head with a chair poses a threat to our peace-loving society, and therefore should be locked up. I think 99 years is a fair sentence for this crime.

The Kriner case is particularly disturbing, and made me think of a quote from Abraham Lincoln:

"Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves"

mike anderson

Dear FRONTLINE,

One of my paralegal classes was taught by an Assistant DA, who taught that our system of justice only works when all those involved - prosecution, defense, police and Judges do their jobs ethically and responsibly. But, they are human. Accordingly, they will make mistakes. They need to be held reasonably accountable for those mistakes - as in any other profession - and to be able to correct those mistakes in a timely fashion. We need the tools to do so and we need them now.

Janet Dillingham
Saline, MI

Dear FRONTLINE,

The true "subversives" in our society are those in public trust who put their personal agendas ahead of their sworn obligation to the citizenry.

Sheldon Padawer
Broken Arrow, OK