Spoiled with Chewing Gum

One of the small gifts he gives himself is trying all the gums. "I can spoil myself a little so long as I stay within my means," he says.

This is portion of an article describing a man who served 28 years and 8 months for a rape of an 11 year old girl that he did not commit.  He spoils himself by trying the various flavors and brands of chewing gum, a luxury he hasn't had in almost three decades.

You think these things don't happen, but I'm sure they do.  Hopefully they don't occur nearly as much as they used it, when the practice of law was really the 'old boys club.'

As a prosecutor, this type of thing is always in the back of my mind.  There are many cases that are open and shut and don't cause concern, but there are some that you get involved with and it's in the back of your mind.  I'm sure others in the my office would disagree, but if they don't have that in the back of their mind, I think they are failing at their jobs. 

After all, who knows when the case will come up where that fear isn't in the back of their minds, but front and center.  The pieces don't add up.  Something doesn't seem right.  The defendant's story seems to be truthful.  Will they go ahead anyway and blindly prosecute?  If the answer is yes....we've failed.