well we see once again that people lie and don’t care the white police, lawyers and judges have mostly a ” birth of a nation ” mind set and we all know that racism is alive and well in AmeriKKKa the smart KU KLux Klan don’t register in a group they have became lawyers, prosecutors, judges,police man, and jailers theyno longer call you n****r but their putting in work they hate you and your guilty no matter what the evidence shows once your in the system the want to keep you in it you have become revenue for the city, state or federal government they recieve more tax dollars having you looked up then you pay working we are fighting spiritaul wickiness in high places whats higher than the those whom enforce the law of the land wake up!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Like I said earlier… Man forgive those who do harm to others. This is sad and the worst part about it is that it’s many more out there incarcerated just like him, for no reason. To them dirty crooked a** cops, manipulative prosecutors and heartless judges that incarcerates innocent men like that… y’all better get it together… Judgement Day is coming and those badges, degrees, and treating people wrong will not be included in the Book of Life.

This is why women ‘play games with false accusations of rape…it’s a damn hard charge to defend against.

How the hell did this turned into Obama-bashing???? Your people are at news one are bigots and mind-controlled lackeys. And you are a jealous, evil, puppet boyce atkins. Your attempts at covert proselytizing show you to be the pompous slime that you really are.

bcuz dis man spent all his years in jail and wasn’t given the opportunity to provide for himself the government needs to pay for all his needs, housing, food and a lil spending cash for the rest of his life or another 35 years, dats da only thing remotely close to fair… sh*t is ridiculous

Being angry is VERY understandable( I would be pissed off if I was in jail for a crime I didn’t commit), but If I was him. I would sue for a million for every year they took off my life, then move away from the U.S. from all that longwinded. bulls**t preaching about liberty and justic for all..this is almost 2010 and it’s clean that the U.S (not Whites only) don’t give a s**t about Black men and wants to condemn them and scorn them for ANYTHING; be a scaopegoat for no reason whatsoever!

this brotha is by no means the only blackman that has went thru this. dna evidence is freeing black men on a regular these days. this system has put black men thru it since the day we got here. I am sooo suprised black folsk aint went totally 5150. we need to bring back the BLA to seek justice as it should be given

Wow that fkd up and all those responsible for his false imprisonment will get theirs or have already sob’s

The government should have to buy him a house, land, cars, and make sure he’s taken care of inside and out until his days are over…my heart goes out to people who are wrongfully accused and have to spend years upon years behind bars, payin a debt 2 society for something they didn’t even do…God will bless u…

I actually used stories like this as an example in another article, point proven!

This has happened WAY to often to be blind justice… They zero in on exactly who they want!

There are thousands just like him who have been refused despite request to have their cases looked into. It’s very disturbing! Ten million dollars is a good start, throw in no taxes and diplomatic immunity then we have something equal the the horror he received in prison.

@beeutea,I agree with what you said..Simply isn’t fair..Someone should have to pay.He can’t get back the years he lost..So tragic..

Thats just wrong, and it hurts because even if he does decides to sue, no amount of money can give him back 35years you know? Even though they probably can give him 35yrs worth,it wont have sh!t on all tha stuff he could have, would have and should have been able to do. *(and thats just my opinion)*

WHY DO EVERYTHING GOT TO BE ABOUT WHITE AND BLACK GOD GIVE IT THE F**K UP IT IS THAT TYPE OF Raciest mind that keeps all people a pressed mentally and physically!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yes he should get reparation he endured a long false sentence. I pry for the people who put him away and i hope he finds happiness in his last few years

Well I guess justice is flawed (blind), I just hope that it’s gotten more competent over the years. Hell if not I might catch a case being in the wrong place at the wrong time. I guess jutice needs to a seeing eye dog or something…damn, 35 years is a travesty,but never getting out is a tragedy.

YEah that is why the system is so sh!tty. If you can’t afford a good lawyer then u a$$ed out. FREEDOM=MONEY here.

Just like when it comes to health care, you get only as much “justice” as you can afford. ;)

You can’t put a price on life. Still, 1.8 mill is nothing for 35 years. He should get ALOT more than that for all of the years he wasted rotting in a cell. In addition, the state that prosecuted him should help him get his life back together. Counseling, job/skill training, reintegrating him back into his community, etc.

PREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEACH

thats sad. some black people make others look bad so i can see both sides of the table. he deserves the best in life after enduring such false accusations, its not just black men or people that make each other look bad, but there are other races as well. this isnt race driven, but ignorance driven and its sad he didnt get the equal opportunity to live out his life and i wish him well.

This is such a BS article. Dr. Boyce Watkins has no clue about what he is saying. If my young daughter trips on a crack in the sidewalk and falls and skins her knee, should I expect President Barack Obama to make a public out cry that the public infrastructure in my mostly black area has been neglected causing my child to be ABUSED by the city??????

Yes – this is a sad and disturbing event. Not because he was black, but because the WHOLE justice system failed him. Including the jury who convicted him. How does Dr. Watkins think those people feel??? This isn’t a Federal issue anyway. This is more of a State issue since they are the ones required to uphold the Federal and State laws and insure fair trials are conducted.

I’m disappointed again in the false cry of racism from Dr. Watkins. He and WE as a people need to push past this type of BS logic and drive forward. Yes – he should have some type of public compensation from the STATE system. He should be granted training, housing, counseling, food, and other items until he can be brought back up to speed. The ACCUSER needs to apologize to the man!

If Dr. Watkins thinks President Obama needs to beome involved with ever little incident of a balck person being wronged, then President Obama will not have any time to run the country. Especially since if he does it for black people, he WILL HAVE TO DO IT for whites, asians, hispanics, middle easterners, …….. I think you get the point.

I think Dr. Watkins needs to stop crying wolf and start manning up and actually SOLVING the problem. Any SHALLOW man can write BS, but doing something constructive about it is ACTUALLY BEING A MAN!

I do agree with Dr. Watkins on basically all the points. Some maybe were out of order, but #1 is the most important. We have a gluttony of lawyers in private practice it seems, just check out their web sites. What we need is more legal aid. These graduates of law school. do not want to go into this field, it does not pay as much and the hours are probably longer. Why not make the new graduates that $1,000′s in debt to the government in loans spend 2 or 3 years as public servants in legal aid? They would get practical experience and might want to win most of their cases, as that might land them a better job.

Their’s not enough money in the world…He’s been “Institutionalized”,his whole life destroyed mentally and physically.The physical part being in their all those year’s,thinking he’s never gonna see the light of day.He’s probably suffered with a ULCER or two.Now that he’s out every time he see’s a police/law enforcement.I’m sure he’ll be affected mentally some how.Like a war vet having FLASHBACK’S!…Really he deserves a BILLION dollar’s.He got caught up in that ol’ any Black man will do syndrom.Thank god for DNA technology now.

IS THERE A PETITION WE CAN SIGN TO HELP THIS MAN? YES HE’S BEEN INSTITUTIONALIZED BUT HE’S NEAR RETIREMENT AGE NOW TOO LATE TO START A CARRER OR ANYTHING HIS LIFE HAS BEEN STOLEN FROM HIM. SO GIVING HIM A SUBSTANTIAL AMOUNT OF MONEY IS THE VERY LEAST THE GOVERNMENT CAN DO.

Dr. Watkins,

As a black man in America, I think the first thing we need to do is realize that though this is a terrible example of a VERY flawed justice system, it does not make it a Federal government issue. Your complaining about President Obama in this case is not fair or justified. No one man can be expected to right all of the injustices committed throughout the history of this country in one years time.

Nelson Mandela spent 27 years in prison yet he said “I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.”

Race is not the issue in Mr. Bains case or money. The issue is how the justice system can be made fairer and more responsive for ALL people. According to The Innocence Project, since 1989 there have been 248 exonerations. 149 are African Americans, 71 Caucasians, 21 Latinos, 2 Asian Americans and 5 race unknowns. Though African Americans have the largest numbers, I think it’s important to realize that ALL races are effected.

In closing, there is no denying the injustice committed to Mr. Bains and his family as well as others. They DO deserve to be compensated for the years lost as much as possible and the system DOES need to be fixed. To blame President Obama though is totally unfair and divisive. The disunity among our people is what helped us to be taken advantage of in the first place. Let’s rationally identify and attack the issues, not emotionally throw money at them.

These are the days. This is the type of story that BP should be focused on rather then the bS that we are often feed. The question is not “is this wrong” we know that it is. The question is not “should more people demand change in the legal system especially on a political level” we know they should. The only question, the real question, is what are you, me, and the hundreds of millions other Black Americans, Americans period going to do about it. We act like we’re helpless. All this talk and absolutely no walk behind it. These things that you claim should be done, is there a petition behind that or is this just talk? Where is the action?

If you’re like me, maybe you don’t know where to start. So maybe we start here. Maybe something should form from this discussion other than the normal post of anger. Maybe there should be a post of resolution.

i fully agree. no amount of apologizing will give this man back those 35 years!! he now enters society having had no chance to actually be a productive member of society. he deserves the money

[...] OPINION: Man Exonerated after 35-Years Should Be Given Recourse [...]